"THE CHINA MAIL, NOVEMBER 5, 1940,
FOUGHT FIRES WHILE BOMBS
FELL
IN BETWEEN air raids shopkeepers in Lon- don's bombed areas were doing a roaring trade even though some of them had only half a shop left, and much of their stock had been ruined. The anxiety of housewives to get in food for the next day before another warning sounded accounted for the exceptionally heavy morning trade.
A communique issued by the Air Ministry and Ministry of Home Security announced: "Enemy attacks during last night were dispersed over many parts of the country. Reports indicate that al- though a considerable number of enemy aircraft were engaged they did not cause heavy damage. "High explosive and incendi- of a large house in the ary.bombs were dropped in the road. Another house was set London area, apparently hapha- on fire and damaged. zardly. Damage was done to houses and buildings in residen- tial districts. Sume casualties have been reported.
There were a number of casual- ties, nine fatal, in the Midlands town that was bombed.
Six H. E. bombs fell on a working-class quarter, demo- ilshing several houses.
Nine people, including seven small children, standing at the doorway of their home, had а remarkable 'escape. When a bomb scored a direct hit on
an adjoining house they were thrown backwards by blast and blown stairs.
partly
the up-
STRANGE SOUNDS
same
IN LONDON
100
SON OF PROMINENT
NAZI CAPTURED
The Vicar of Maple- durham, the Rev. E. L. Macassey, reveals in his parish magazine that the son of one of Hitler's most emin- ent air advisers is а prisoner in Britain.
He adds: "The young man, when cap- tured, ripped off a special Nazi decora- tion, and said, 'I do not want this ever again.
New forms of defence DISEASE IN
and attack have been used during the past few night raids on London.
ITALY
By A Diplomatic Correspondent Citizens heard thunderous ex- FROM A NEUTRAL DIPLO- plosions disintegrating into stac-MATIST JUST RETURNED A man, woman and child lie cato cracks high in the heavens. FROM ITALY IT IS LEARNED There was also a muffled rattling, THAT AS A SEQUEL TO PRE- which has been dubbed "carpet VAILING MALNUTRITION THE Islipper" machine-gun fire.
DISEASE PELLAGRA HAS
dead in the mortuary of one London hospital. A little boy who had his skull fractured by
In the house which suffered the main force, a married couple and their adult daughter were buried under the wreckage.
a bomb splinter is not expected Another of the new strange AGAIN. MADE AN APPEAR- -to recover. His mother, who is noises is a curious flat roar, which ANCE THERE.
who suggests that something has struck also the mother of a girl
This was formerly a scourge of was killed, is a patient in the an imaginary ceiling miles up the rice-growing areas and cer- same hospital.,
and bumped clamorously along tain other Northern agricultural Three more bodies recovered the top of the sky.
districts where the peasants lived from ruined houses are in
These queer noises actually are on pollenta, a dish made а
from mortuary of an adjoining dis- caused by new types of weapons maize, and on little else. It was trict.
or well-tried weapons adapted to lat. one time believed to be pro- new uses. There are also new duced by diseased maize, but was, types of shells, whose composition later traced to a lack of vitamins." and effect are secret. New and Those affected begin by, show- more elaborate types of "flaming ing debility and inability to work; onions" have been noticed also.
jin the later stages of severe German surprises include acases the brain is affected. What. A North London area suffered parachute bomb, described
as appears to be lacking in Italy is a badly during the night raids. shiny and cigar-shaped. Appar- balanced diet. There are four Many high explosive and incen-ently it is constructed of an alu- meatless days a week, which diary bombs were dropped.
minium alloy, and is designed to means that macaroni and pollenta A-block of Council-Bats float down. gently and explode are the staple foods and are too hit, but most of the occupants
after landing.
little varied. were sheltering. Those who re- mained in their homes, however, escaped serious injury.
Council Flats Hit
was
the
Incendiary bombs lit up district. Bricks fell in the grounds
ITALY'S
SECRET WEAPON
A bomb which is a com- bination of a hand gren- ade and a miniature mag- netic mine and which resembles in shape and| size a vacuum flask is be- ing dropped in hundreds from Italian 'planes upon the Western Desert and Egypt.
The bombs are called "Musso- lini's secret weapon," and they go off at the slightest touch.
"The "Sunday Despatch's" cor- respondent in the Western. Desert says that every morning the Bri- tish forces find the desert littered with the booby traps. Sappers go out and mark the position of each bomb with a red flag. Later the bombs are exploded by rifle fire or by lassooing them with a long rope, the jerking of which sets them off.
"The idea," the correspondent says, "is to scatter the bombs among the camps. und aerodromes along the roads, where it is hoped that they will act as traps for the unwary. The, British forces were not taken in by them, even on the first day they were tried out. The bombs produce a surprisingly loud and · spectacular explosion, capable of doing considerable damage to any lorry which fails. to avoid the trap.".
***Usually the bombs roll- under the camel.scrub, and some become
· partially hidden in the loose sand,
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