went up, but the mist prevented an engagement. One airship, L 45, having shut off its engines, drifted across London from north-west to south-east, dropping three bombs near Swan and Edgar's in Piccadilly, at Camberwell, and at Hither Green; 43 people were killed and 49 injured. The bomb that fell at the corner of Albany and Calmington Roads demolished four four-story houses and seriously damaged twelve others. A number of people had taken shelter in the cellars here, and seven were killed and twice that number injured. But the raiders met with disaster on their homeward journey. They apparently lost their way in the fog and drifted over France, where L 45 and three sister ships were brought down, whilst a fifth is believed to have been lost in the Mediterranean. Their failure is attributed, on good authority, to a peculiar condition of the atmosphere which prevented their utilising wireless signals to ascertain their whereabouts, and a gale from the north-west in the higher strata of air (to which they were driven by gunfire) of which they had no warning beforehand. After this disaster there were no more Zeppelin raids on London.

With the moonlight on the night of Oct. 31-Nov. 1, the aeroplanes came in increased numbers-some 30 of them. Determined and repeated attacks were made. The first group approached from Kent, but did not get very far inland. Two more groups steered towards London along the south bank of the Thames, and emitted a smoke-screen which made observation difficult, but they were broken up by the barrage fire about 11.50 p.m. on the south-eastern outskirts, where some bombs were dropped. A fourth group, which came along the Thames estuary, was turned back about halfway to London. A fifth group, which crossed the Essex coast about 12.15 a.m., came along north of the Thames; some were turned back by the outer defences, but one or more got through and dropped bombs in South-East London. The sixth group followed a quarter of an hour later, and some dropped bombs in the north-east outskirts and in Upper Tooting. A seventh group was dispersed by gunfire before reaching the outer defences. A bomb demolished two houses in Romberg Road, Tooting, killing three people and injuring three others. In Crockerton Road, Wandsworth, Vol. 236.-No. 469.

U

also, three people perished in the destruction of more small villa residences. Damage was reported also in Upper Charlton, Greenwich, Millwall, and Deptford.

In the early hours of Dec. 6, Londoners were awakened by an attack by about 25 aeroplanes, the aim of which seems to have been to deliver five simultaneous attacks, from the north-east, east, and south. One group was turned back by gunfire; of the others five or six machines got through and dropped so many incendiary bombs in various residential districts as to suggest that the new hope of the enemy was to burn the capital rather than smash it. Over 270 bombs were dropped within the Metropolitan Police District, and 52 fires were caused in the county, four of which were serious outbreaks, viz. at Curtain Road, Shoreditch, Whitechapel Road, South Lambeth Road, and Gray's Inn Road. This was the largest number of fires in any one raid. But preparations had been made for such an eventuality. Following the daylight raid of July 7, all the fire brigades in the Metropolitan Police area were co-ordinated for service during raids, and motor engines from as far as Twickenham and Wembley were used in extinguishing the fire at Shoreditch. The damage extended over a wide area, from Chelsea to Whitechapel, and from Battersea to Peckham and Upper Sydenham. Yet the destruction was only valued at 92,000l.; and, owing to the fact that nearly everyone was in bed, the casualties were only two killed and six injured. Two of the Gothas were brought down by anti-aircraft guns.

On Dec. 18 came a New Moon raid. From 16 to 20 Gothas approached in small groups, but five machines only, followed an hour later by a single raider, got over the capital and dropped their bombs. Serious fires were caused in Farringdon Road and Pentonville Road. Whilst the firemen were at work, the solitary raider came and dropped bombs on both these fires. Two firemen were injured, but fortunately not seriously. Lincoln's Inn, the Inner Temple, Victoria Station, Southwark Cathedral, and Bethlem Hospital were damaged; and among other districts suffering were Clerkenwell, King's Cross, Kentish Town, Belgravia, Holborn, West Smithfield, Aldersgate Street, and Bermondsey. There were 13 fires; 10 people were killed

and 49 injured. The damage amounted to 225,0007. One Gotha was hit by gunfire while over London and descended in the sea off Kent; another is believed to have come down in the Channel.

These and the September raids were carried out by Gotha aeroplanes, but towards the end of the year 1917 a new, larger, and noisier aeroplane was used. One of these giants was over London on Dec. 18, and in January 1918 they became fairly common. The wing span of these new machines was between 138 and 157 feet, they were painted dark grey or black, their speed was 70 or 80 miles an hour, and the maximum height they attained perhaps 12,000 feet; they carried a crew of five, and had four 200 h.p. Mercedes engines. They made so much noise that at first they were taken for airships, or, heard 20 miles away, for Gothas near at hand. They dropped bombs of 300, 100, and 50 kilograms, often fitted with a fuse which delayed action for two seconds.

Six raids were carried out by these giants between Jan. 28 and March 7, 1918. On Jan. 28 the moon was just past the full; the raiders came in four groups, each composed of two or three machines, or 10 in all. The first two came in over Romford, and, while one dropped bombs on Stepney and Poplar, the other attacked Lambeth and Wandsworth. The second pair of machines reached London along the south bank of the Thames, and one dropped bombs on Hackney and Holborn. Of the next three machines, which came over Walton and Clacton, one was turned back, one bombed the neighbourhood of Camden Town, and the third attacked West Hampstead and then flew back eastwards, pursued from the east of London by two scouting aeroplanes, which brought it down in flames at Wickford in Essex. The fourth group (three machines) only got as far as Thanet and Sheppey. The damage was spread over a wide area, in Stepney, Poplar, Hackney, the City, Holborn, Somers Town, Kilburn, St John's Wood, Lambeth, Kennington, and Wandsworth, Yet the places of amusement in the West End carried on as usual.

Shortly after midnight other raiders attempted to reach London, but only one giant succeeded in entering from Chingford, and dropped bombs in Bethnal Green, in the river near Waterloo Bridge, on the Savoy

Mansions and in Long Acre. The roof of the Chapel Royal, Savoy, was struck; but the most serious disaster was in Long Acre, where the premises of Odhams, Limited, printers, were struck by an incendiary bomb, which went right through to the basement and then exploded and set fire to the building. The basement was used as a shelter, and a large number of people, mostly women and children, who had gathered there as usual, were buried in the debris, 29 being killed and 91 injured. Among them was the Rev. E. H. Mosse, Rector of St Paul's, Covent Garden, who had been engaged in fetching his parishioners into the shelter. His body was found next morning, under a heap of wreckage, badly burnt.

People had been frequently warned by the authorities that, while such shelters might be of use for those who were in the streets at the time of the raids, those who were at home were as safe in their own houses. Practically no buildings were safe against the direct impact of a bomb. But people were getting accustomed to assemble, on hearing warnings, in these shelters. This was especially the case with aliens. At one shelter in the East End on that same fatal night there was a panic among the foreigners, and 14 children were crushed to death, all of the Jewish race. I remember, when coming home by tube at night during a raid, the difficulty of getting through the mass of humanity with which the staircases and platforms were closely packed. The sanitary condition of these places became horrible.

The following night (Jan. 29-30) another series of attacks was made between 10 p.m. and 12.30 a.m. by about 15 machines, which failed to get in, except one giant, which skirted the north and west of London in vain attempts to get through the barrage. It expended its bombs in Isleworth, Kew, Richmond, Chiswick, Barnes, Wandsworth, and Camberwell. The casualties were few-10 killed and 10 injured. One of the giant aeroplanes, which failed to get through and was chased by four of our machines, incontinently dropped its whole load of 20 bombs all at once on Wanstead Marshes. All fell harmlessly within a distance of 300 yards. A new mode of defence was brought into use in this raid-the balloon aprons-a row of captive kite-balloons joined by

cross-cables from which wires descended and formed a screen; no machines were caught by them, but one Gotha is supposed to have been damaged by contact with the net.

On the evening of Feb. 16 six raiders crossed the coast, but all were turned back save one, which penetrated the capital along the line of the river and dropped bombs over Woolwich Arsenal. One missile fell on the Royal Military Parade Ground, killed a colonial soldier and a girl, and wrecked the west end of the garrison church. Another fell on the other side of the barracks, destroyed three shops and killed four people. Then, sailing westwards, the raider dropped a 300 kg. bomb which fell on the officers' quarters at Chelsea Hospital, demolished a Wren house and buried an invalid officer, his wife and two children. Turning back, the raider showered eight bombs on some allotments at Beckenham.

On the following night (Sunday, Feb. 17) a single giant raider, coming by way of Tilbury and Dartford to Eltham, travelled in a straight line from that point to Islington, crossing the Thames near Blackfriars Bridge, and dropping bombs at regular intervals of about threequarters of a mile all the way. Then, looping round towards Hackney, it recrossed the river and went out over Sydenham and Bromley. This was one of the raids in which the anti-aircraft guns are said to have troubled our own airmen more than the enemy. The chief destruction effected was at St Pancras, where bombs dropped on the Midland Grand Hotel, killing 20 people and injuring 12 others; but the line of the damage was marked through Lewisham, Lee, Peckham, Southwark, Euston Road, Holborn, and the City. Five or six other machines which followed were all turned back. Again on the following night the Germans returned to the attack, but none of the raiders penetrated the defences, and no casualties or damage were reported.

On the night of the next raid (March 7-8) the attackers were aided by an unexpected phenomenon. It was a moonless night, but, when we were awakened from an early sleep at 11.30 p.m. by the firing of the guns, the northern sky was illuminated by an Aurora Borealis, which was so bright as to give the impression of distant fires. Some half-dozen or more giant machines joined