Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-05-26
ENGLAND IS RA|DED;;
76DEAD;; HURT
Sixteen German Airships Kill
Many Women and Children
With Bombs.
THREE FLIERS SHOT DOWN

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, May 2S.-German airships
to the number of about sixteen ra1ded
southeast England on Friday evening.
according to an official statement is
suet today. Seventy-siX persons were
killed; ia persons were injured
Three of the German airships were
shot down. The raiding aircraft whlch
were brought down were airplanes.
Nearly all the damage occurred in
one town. where some bombs fell in the
streets, causing considerable casualties
among the civilian population.
Enemy Craft Fly High.
Witnesses of the German air raid
describe the first appearance of the
hostile machines as flying at a great
height toward the coast in formation
of fives. The first lot appeared over
the town and dropped shower of
bombs on the shopping center. This
was followed in quick succession by
other groups, which emptied their load
of bombs haphazardly on the startled
Inhabitants and on the outlying VII
lages The visit was short and the
hostile machines were flying very high.
British airplanes promptly went up in
pursuit of them and regular pltched
battle occurred over the sea in which
the fleeing enemy machines were op-
viously worSted.
Viscount French's Report.
The following report on the air raid
was made by Field Marshal Viscount
French:
"a large squadron of enemy aircraft
about sixteen-attacked southeast Eng
nd hof Il
last evening. Bombs were dropped at
q number of places. but nearly all the
damage occurred in one town, where
some bombs fell into the streets. cauS-
ing considerable casualties among the
civil population. Some shops and
houses also were seriously damaged.
THE total casualties reported by the
police from all districts are: Killed, rs;
injured, 174.
-Of the killed % were women and
% were children, while 43 women and
19 children were injured.
"Airplanes of the royal flying corps
went in pursuit and the raiding air
craft were engaged by fighting squad
rons of the royal naval air service from
Dunkirk on their return journey. The
admiralty reports that three enemy air.
Admiralty Statement.
The admiralty statement says:
Naval airplanes attacked the air
drome at St. Denis Westre, near Bruges,
yesterday morning, dropping many
bombs.
IN the evening seyerai. ,enemy air.
craft returning from the raid on Eng
land were engaged oversee by royal
naval air service machines An en-
counter took place between one British
and three hostile airplanes in mid
channel. and one of the latter was de-
stroyed. Several encounters also took
place off the Belgian coast. in which
two large twin-engined hostile ma
chimes were shot down. All our ma
chimes returned safely"
Biggest Raid of War.
A TOWN ON THE SOUTHEAST
COAST OF ENGLAND, Friday evening.
May 25, via London. May 26.-The most
ambitious airplane raid yet undertaken by
the Germans on Great Britain occurred
here late this afternoon while the streets
were crowded with shoppers, promenaders
and workers returning to their homes The
raiders dropped large number of bombs,
apparently in haphazard fashion, from a
mile or two above town. killing seventy
six persons, mostly women or children, and
injuring nearly IT'S more. The first raider
to arrive was the leader of squadron of
five. 1t was flying at such height that
1t could not be seen against the brilliant
sunlight which flooded the cloud flecked
sky, except by trained observers with
good glasses The raider was followed by
the other four at a slightly lower eleva-
ton. They sailed in bee line across the
town. dropping bombs continuously.
Many persons in the streets first learned
of the air raid when they heard explosions
of bombs around them The zone in which
the bombs were dropped cut a wide swath
across the city with the chief damage in
the shopping and residential districts The
bombs, which were of large size, demolSh-
ed completely houses and small shops
which they struck.
Villages Also Bombed.
Reports this evening from the sur
rounding district indicated there was
some bombing of neighboring villages.
even some distance inland. These
bombs mostly were dropped as the Ger
man airplanes were making a wide
circle to approach this town from the
land side.
after the departure of each squadron
of raiders were only broken by the
sound of distant firing of naval guns
out at sea, and were even more har-
rowing to the populace than were the
brief periods when the bombs actually
were bursting in the town.
People Keep to Shelters.
After each visit the people in shelters
or cellars asked each other whethe,
this was the last. Hours after the last
raider had gone many people kent tf
their shelters in belief that more raid,
ers were coming. There was much EN-.
ployment for volunteer relief workers
this evening. The hospitals were
crowded not oply with injured but VIII
women and children suffering from
shock. while the police and constable.
had their hands full patrolling the de
vastated districts and doing the grue
some work of rescue. Identification ant
hundreds of odds and ends which sucf
a crisis brings to an unprepare town,
Germans Name Towns.
BERLIN, May &c, via London, 4 ..
p.m--German air sq,> drons yesterda,
dropped bombs on Dover and Folkestone
says the announcement issued TODAY h,
the German war department
Second Recent Raid.
This is the second German air raid or