The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-09-09

of searchlights," it was stated. Clouds made defense work diff cult, especially for searchlights. On Sunday night one or two extensive fires in the London area hampered the efficiency of searchlights."
 Authorities said they doubted that the Germans were bombing prom isciously, pointing out however that it is hard to find a target at night from 10000 to 30,OOO feet" They said they doubted that the Nazis were attempting to "erase" London.
 Most of them walked, some for miles. Many started from ruined homes and in some of these homes the broken bodies of relatives still lay.
 They walked through streets lit tered with debris, past fires which burned or smouldered.
 Knew Little of Raids
 Londoners knew less, as whole, of the whole story of the night through which they had passed than did people in the United States. They had spent hours in shelters or standing in the open with fists clenched, watching the raiders rain ruin on their city. They had no newspapers to read until after the morning rush hour had started Screamer and explosive bombs and anti-aircraft guns still echoed in their ears. The acrid fumes from hundreds of fires was in their nostrils and there was a great pail of smoke over them.
 A survey showed that the raid was the greatest of the war.
 Two hospitals, a, nursing home, and two world famous museums were struck. A bomb scored direct hit on the offices and a patients wing of one hospital and there were many casualties.
 Numerous persons, men, women and children, were feared dead in a big public shelter in the central London district Two great bombs struck the shelter direct. A four story building above the shelter was smashed and piled in the street. Walls of buildings on each side were shorn of. the twisted remains of a bus lay among the debris, its red paint fantastic. A rescue worker, probing in the ruins, said that the Germans had dive-bombed them and f1remen in the light of flames after the bombs hit the shelter. Every District Hit
 High explosive, incendiary and time bombs struck in almost every London district.
 Bombs struck near a number of railroad lines and caused a general slowing up of morning traffic-that which was not interrupted complete ly.
 It appeared that Central London this time had been the main target of the Nazi planes.
 Scores of shops, other business premises, cafes and public houses were damaged within about 100 yards of one central London street where incendiary and exploseive bombs fell in quick succession.
 Bremen were still fighting flames in the ruins of a block of tenement buildings in central London. It was feared that some residents were buried in the basement.
 The faces of people in the streets were grim and were taking on the bulldog look that Britons get in such situation. It was noticed that there was more insistence on reprisal bombing of Germank by the British air force than of the nights devas- tation.
 During the morning rush hour a plane passed westward over south western London. It was 8:2O a. m Flames burst up from a fire in the area before the sound of engines died away. Anti-aircraft guns open- ed, but there was no alarm.
 Crisis of War at Hand
 There was general sensing that the crisis of the war was at hand, that the Germans were ready now