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Junction, and Wandsworth and Clapham Junction. On the night of the 29th/30th both the up and down main lines and the relief lines at Acton were put out of action.

(d) In other parts of the country railways have been damaged at Filton (Bristol), Coppenhall (Crewe to Liverpool line), Eastbourne and Sherborne. The railway station at Maidstone was hit on the 27th.

(e) Other military objectives damaged by enemy action include the Liverpool Docks (twice), Irongate Wharf (Paddington), Oil tanks at Portland, and the Chelsea Barracks.

(f) Damage to industry other than in (b) above has been fairly widely distributed and has been largely due to fires started by incendiary bombs. But in most cases it has not been very serious and has caused only temporary interruption. The firms most seriously affected are almost all in the London area. They are Muller and Co. (Acton), Thames Ammunition Works (Crayford), S. & G. Brown (N. Acton), Johnson & Son (Hendon), Smith & Sons (Motor Accessories), Tampiers (Cricklewood), the Cork Manufacturing Co., Manganese Bronze (E. 4), Messrs. Crosse and Blackwells, Messrs. Ruston and Hornsby of Grantham and the Standard Motor Co. of Coventry.

(g) There has, as usual, been considerable damage to civilian property and main services in the London area, particularly in Wandsworth, Hendon, St. Pancras, Hornchurch, Acton, Southwark and Cricklewood. The explosion of parachute mines caused much damage at Chingford and Southall and dive- bombing did considerable damage to houses at Greenford.

Elsewhere in the country the South Coast towns, particularly Dover, Eastbourne (twice), Bexhill and Hastings suffered badly, and considerable civilian damage was also inflicted at Sherborne, Maidstone, Lowestoft, Ipswich, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Civilian Casualties.

are:

52. The approximate figures for week ending 0600 hours the 2nd October

Killed, 2,000; wounded, 2,800.

These figures included 1,700 killed and 1,600 wounded in London.

Parachute Mines and Bombs.

53. (a) About a hundred parachute mines have been reported during this period, principally from the London and Cambridge Regions. Some sixty of these mines have failed to explode. The naval parties who have dealt with them have shown the greatest efficiency and courage, and have sustained a number of casualties. Their work receives no public recognition, owing to the paramount necessity of not informing the enemy that so many of these mines have failed to explode. Since the 17th September just under 300 parachute mines have been dropped on land. Of these, approximately a third exploded on impact and of the rest 125 have been rendered safe.

(b) Though the unexploded bomb problem remains, it seems now to be rather less acute. The issue of memoranda on the identification of unexploded bomb craters and on evacuation appears to have reduced the number of erroneous reports and restricted the extent of evacuation from their neighbourhood.

(c) There are some indications that a higher proportion of heavy calibre bombs is now being used particularly against London. A number of 1,000 kilo. bombs have been reported, and in many cases these have penetrated very deeply and have completely demolished the buildings hit. This depth of penetration seems also to have directed the blast upwards so that buildings very close by have been only slightly damaged. This may also account for the small proportion of injured to killed in a number of recent incidents.

Civil Defence Operations.

54. (a) During the past week the cumulative effect of enemy action over London made it necessary to reinforce the resources of the public utility companies, particularly those dealing with gas and water, if repairs were to keep

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