Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-10-10
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, Oct. 1O.-Destruction
of the high altar Of St. Pauls Ca
thedral was announced by the Brit
ish Air Ministry today as Nazi war;
planes returned to the attack on
London early this forenoon after the
longest night assault of the war.
st. Paul's, famous for centuries as
q London landmark, is the work OF
Sir Christopher Wren, 17th-century
English architect. and contains the
tombs of wellington and Nelson, two
Of Britain's greatest fighting men.
A single German bomb, missing
the great dome already menaced
many times in the past two months,
plunged through the roof at the
eastern end and with terrific roar,
smashed to dusty fragments the
altar where generations of English
men worshipped. The choir stalls,
the Air Ministry said, were undam-
agec.
Gale Whips Channel.
No date was given for the destruc-
ton, but it was disclosed that a
famous church was hit shortly be-
fore midnight last.
The southWesterly gale which
whipped the Channel yesterday was
still raging today, with intermittent
periods of heavy showers and bright
sunshine when the first waves of
German planes moved against Eng
land.
The first alarm sounded only a
short time after the last of the
night raiders had gone. The alarm
was brief.
The forenoon raid was brief. 1t
was followed by two others in the
afternoon. In the first of these a
bomb hit some houses. wounding
number of persons. The other alarm
lasted only a short time and persons
in Central London could hear light
gunfire in the distance.
The Royal Air Force, with the
tremendous job of defending Lon
don through day and night. carried
on its usual defensive work and
actually increased the extent of its
counter-attack, the Air Ministry
said.
Built in 1851.
st. Paul's is one Of London's most
historic landmarks. The cathedral
was erected in 1857 and is con-
sidered one of the finest specimens
of Renaissance architecture in Eng
land.
Menaced by nearby fires early in
the massed air attacks on London,
the cathedral was saved from pos
sible damage September IS by a
suicide squad which unearthed a
! pound time bomb nearby. The
bomb was removed after four days
and nights of digging, trundled away
and exploded harmlessly in the
Hackney marshes.
A Canadian, 1t. Robert Davies Of
St. GATHERINGS, Ontario, directed the
crew. st. Paul's dean, the Very Rev.
Walter Robert Matthews, declared,
1.-The whole nation owes a debt of
gratitude" to the crew. 1t. Davies
was decorated with the George Cross.
OlleIl pdlCIlcu anu lCpdAC Gu SC
Paul's was bolstered in 1925 with
steel bands and concrete pillars to
enable the dome to withstand the
vibration of heavy street traffic. The
grimy church stands atop Ludgate
Hill.
Bomb Hits Near Dome.
The bomb exploded actually on
the double eastern roof, a little dis
lance from the great dome which
distinguishes the Church of England
building. 1t ripped hole through
the upper roof of lead and rafters
and tore great blocks of masonry
from the main roof beneath. These
blocks crashed 80 feet onto the high
altar.
Conclusion buckled the heavy lead
roofing away from the rafters as
much as two feet. Showers of
splintered wood and pieces of stone
fell on other loaded roofs below
Nothing was left of the high altar
gave a heap of stones. Thick dust
lay everywhere Furniture, carpets
(See LONDON, Page A-3)