The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-09-10

Mirror had reached these outpoSts, more than 1000 miles from home by air to Cairo and 600 miles over the burning desert on trucks or camel. In that issue was an open letter from Lady Astor to the editor jeer- ing at Britain's crack regiments for "sun bathing in Egypt while the homeland faced the mortal danger of invasion"
 News travels fast by word of mouth on the desert, and the sold- iers everywhere were raging about the letter. On soldier in the far des- ert outpost of Fort Maddalena gave me a poem of his composition voic- ing the hussars resentment.
 One stanza:
 And when the Sandstorms blow
 and get in body and kit,
 And you start to cough your
 lungs up and then begin to
 spit,
 Just think of Lady Astor, who
 says you are not fit
 To fight for King and Country
 and do your little bit
 Churches Still Stand
 London, Sept. 10-(UP)-Although incendiary and high explosive Ger man bombs have damaged com- mercial premises in the vicinity of St. Paul's cathedral the church so far has come through German raids unscathed, it was established today.
 The greatest danger to the cath edral came from 8 fire which at time blazed f1ercely but the wind was in the opposite direction and blew the flames away from the edi- flee.
 Dean Matthews, Architect Godfrey Allen and other members of the St. Pauls administrative staff spent most of the night in the cathedral, not going to bed until long after the all clear signal had sounded.
 Another famous old city church, St. Mary-le-Bow. was saved from danger of fire by the work of hun- dreds of firemen.
 (St. Mary-le-Bow is in the Cheap side district, not far from St. Paul's, northwest of London Bridge. It in 1670-80 and the tower is regarded was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren as one of his finest works.)
 Officials said after hours of work that the church was out of danger. Persons born within the sound of Bow bells"-of which the church has 12-are regarded as cockneys or true Londoners.
 Names of Streets
 London, Sept. 10-(UP)-A col- lection of names of streets where bombs have dropped in London dur ing the last thre days reads like a map of London. But it was still possible nevertheless to drive for miles through the main London thoroughfares and see little or no damage.
 Illustratively, one member of the United Press staff rode in a taxi this morning through the Brompton road, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, in-l cluding Piccadilly Circus; Leicester Square, the Strand and Fleet street the veritable heart of the city, and saw only one evidence of dam- age. That was to a building which had been set afiire by an incen- diary bomb.
 The chauffeur made no detours because none was necessary. Street cleaners and policemen questioned at traffic light halts said that bombs had dropped within block or two of these main 'thoroughfares.
 'They dropped 'em again where the poor people live" said the driver. T myself had a strong watney (ale) last night and I slept soundly and did not hear a noise"
 Body of Nurse Removed
 London, Sept. 10-(UP)-The tor- tured body of an Australian nurse was taken from the ruins of a cen- tral London nurses home last night by air raid precautions workers who had worked since early morning and through two air raids in hope of saving her.
 She was Mortimer Thomas, 32. She had been buried under tons of tangled steel, wood and brick, near the remains of the bed in which she was sleeping when the bomb struck.
 For many hours she was fully conscious and lay quiet as the rescue workers cut their way toward her, on the second floor of the home under the wreckage of the third story of the garret. Doctors had handed her food and had injected and administered oxygen.
 Finally her body was entirely free, but one steel girder was in the way and had to be cleared. She died as 1t was being removed. The bodies | of five other nurses remained buried.
 Mercantile Losses
 London, Sept. 10-(UP)-The ad- said today that while Brit ish mercantile losses for the first | year of the war totalled 1,539, ,196 tons Germany lost 936,OOO tons and Italy 273,000 tons during the same period.
 Allied losses were placed at 462, ,924 tons and the losses of neutrals at 769. .213 tons.
 The admiralty said that the total British merchant tonnage now was greater than at the beginning of the war.