Evening star., 1943-02-20
London Now Displays
Only Annoyance
Over Nazi Raid
Groups of Cofe TobIes
Show Little Interest
And Music Continues
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
Star Staff CnrresnnnHn,nt

star STAFF Correspondent.
LONDON (By MaiD The violin
ist of the hotel orchestra, a buxom
woman with flaming red hair-was
playing the sweet, sentimental old
ballad tune. Smiling Through"
1t was Sunday evening in the
lounge of family hostelry on Pic
sdilly, which Londoners used TO call
the center of the universe If ever
the name was appropriate, it is now.
A more colorful. cosmopolitan crowd
could not have been found any
where. There were scores of officers
wearing the red shoulder stripe
marked Poland" their jaunty. tri-
angular blue uniform caps in their
hands. There was a Polish general
walking up and down with a riding
crop. There were soldiers n the
uniforms of Yugoslavia, Greece,
Norway, Czechoslovakia, Belgium.
Holland, Denmark, Free France.
There were members of the
armed forces of all the far-flung
British Empire-scores of Canadian
airmen in their blue uniforms
adorned with silver wings, men of
the various Scotch regiments 0f
both Canada and Great Britain with
the red, blue and green plaids of
their caps and ties, there were Aus
tralians and New Zealanders. Hindu
Sinks with their brown and blue tur-
bans and long, flowing bands reach
ing down their backs, Cinnamon and
West Indians. men from the North
of Ireland and men from South
Africa. There we're many American
officers and enlisted men.
Languages of the World.
There were women in a greater
variety of uniforms than the men,
for about every third women-it
would seem specifically in this part
of the city-wears some kind of
uniform. The snappy khaki of the
various British womens services
mingled with the equally militant
looking dress of girls from all the
services represented by the men.
And there were the habitues of
London's remaining vestige of night
life in their minks and silver foxes.
And under the soft notes of the
violin there was an undertone of
conversation in half the Languages
of the civilized world. 1t seemed a
most casual sort of an evening un-
til the violinist had finished and
the voice of the hotel announcer
sounded over the hum Of conversa-
ton:
The all-clear signal has been
sounded"
And thus, without knowing it, !
many American soldiers now in the !
United Kingdom went through their |
first experience of being under fire. !
For a half hour London had been |
experiencing its worst air raid in |
nearly year
But to those Londoners WIZ had |
passed through the blitz it seemed !
the most commonplace of expert |
ences. They were not even inter !
ested enough to leave their tables |
A good many of the Americans and
Canadians seemed to feel as if they
had been cheated out of show
A lot of us got in on the tail end
Of 1t when we drifted into the lobby
when the violin solo ended. There
was seated woman whose ankle
was being bandaged by the hotel
doctor. Two policemen were ques-
tioning her. She evidently had
sprained her ankle rushing for shell
ter and was counted one Of the air
raids casualties.
~
But there was an opportunity to
witness an air raid after all for
about 4 am. the sirens sounded
again, loud enough to awaken all
sleepers. With all lights out the
raid could be watched by pulling
aside the blackout curtains of the
bedroom window.
There was the constant roar of
the anti-aircraft guns. Against the
overcast sky to the south there
was the constant momentary twink
ling of reddish little stars and what
seemed to be wisps of blue smoke
where the searchlights, penetrating
through the fog, hit the clouds.
Finally there was cracking bon
fire in the sky where the guns had
been concentrated on one spot But
apparently no plane was hit A
few moments later the all-clear sig
nal sounded.
For many from overseas it was
quite tame baptism of fire
But in the morning the hotel ele-
vator girl expressed the sentiment
Of lots of LondonerS:
Damn dirty black Jerry" she
said, getting me out Of bed at in
the morning"