Evening star., 1940-09-08

said to another standing in an
alleyway:
"You know, If we are to play
Harry and Cyril tomorrow for
shilling a hole, we really should
go home and get some sleep. After
all, our chaps are doing this every
night to the Germans"
Firefighters Sweat.
But down in the sections that had
been bombed, people weren't think
Of that. Bedraggled men who looked
as if they had not slept for weeks
were sweating over fire equipment.
Women staggering under loads
of clothing, mattresses, household
goods, stumbled past, their faces
haggard in the fitful glare. Around
the fire, figures ran, worked and
gesticulated.
There was no sound louder than
the roaring of the flames. In a
little park, birds awoke and twit-
tered in the trees.
In an air raid shelter, a few per-
sons were awake, but most were
snoring Justify. There was a heavy
smell inside, compounded of smoke
and dust and unwashed clothing and
bodies. A baby whimpered.
This was nighttime, following up
the Saturday afternoon in which the
Germans came back to give the
center of this vast city its closest
look at total war so far.
Appear Before s PM.
They had left us alone all day, and
the sirens hadn't howled since Fri
day midnight. But just before
O'Clock they came laundering in
In an hour and half I counted
well over $50 planes, the bombers
heavily protected by Messerschmitt
fighters.
The first attack formation of seven
came laundering over just as the
West End shows were letting out.
Chorus girls trooped into the
streets with the audiences to watch
the new performance, laughing al
worried air raid wardens-until the
streets got too hot.
At one football field, they tell me
crowd of 1000 turned their eyes
from playing ground to sky to watch
the battle, most of them glued tc
their seats.
Wave after wave, they came ir
groups of from 5 to IS or more
There must have been so dive bomb
ers alone, attacking in relays of II
while others wheeled and loafed ir
the sky, waiting for their turn.
Seagulls Routed From Roosts.
The rumble of their bombs shook
| the table where was writing. Build
ings trembled from the thud of ex-
plosives and the crescendo of anti
aircraft fire.
Directly over the Associated Press
building, two blocks from the
Thames and a mile east of Charine
Cross, the sky was speckled with
anti-aircraft bursts.
Nine raiders, just within eyeshot
! flew over the city. The bombs
rumbled again. Thousands of sea
gulls, terrified, fluttered from their
roosts on the river and wheeled In
frightened circles.
The clocks struck 6, and I heard
the dull "woo-oo-oo-n" of a diving
bomber, coming from the clouds. II
came so low we could see the crosses
on the wings. There was no fol-
lowing sound of bombs, just a long
breathless sWoop and we lost sight OF
the plane in the sun.
Another formation of half 9
dozen Germans passed over and
sped on by the anti-aircraft guns
in tight formation.
Spitfires Pounce on Enemy.
A moment later, British fighters
were on their tails and the dog
fight was on. 1t was too far away
TO see what happened.
From above the silver envelopes
of the balloon barrage, I saw one
formation of planes drop perhaps
Is little cylinders. Three spitfres
dived onto the formation A para
chute blossomed from one plane.
In the distance, big plumes of
smoke were rising from the ground
Still the planes wheeled and twisted,
and there seemed no end to the
bomb and anti-aircraft explosions
Then there was a pause, and
could hear the folks in the streets,
shouting with excitement.
Slowly, a blanket of smoke rolled