The once cloistered atmosphere of St. John's University is now reverberating to the violent noise of war. The Japanese front lines have crept up from the north-east and are directly in line with the campus. Within a clump of trees not 100 yards from the campus boundary is a Japanese field battery which' was yesterday firing steadily towards the Toyoda Mill No, 2, just across the Soochow Creek, Instead of the university people, long since evacuated, British soldiers stride across the wide green lawns, They have constructed a sandbag post in an elevated position by the creek fon the northern boundary of the campus. From that post late yesterday afternoon was seen an aweeinspiring war panorama, Brilish Property was previously reported that British property along Hungjao Road had been occupied by the Chinese. An owner of 'a residence beyond Rubicon Road bridge visited the area yesterday and found this report incorrect from that point outwards. 'Along Macleod Road, however, practically every gate has been forced open and the houses cecupeld, as are many along Hungjao Road' up to Rubicon Road. Of interest _yesterday was the fact that the Municipal Sanatotium in Hunglao Rood was among the occupied premises while a private Sana'orium in Hungjao Road near Fraser Road was empty.
Japanese batteries persistently shelled the area bounded by Brenan Road, Chungshan Road and the Soochow Creek, and the vicinity of the Yung An Cemetery. Between 4
Six Japanese planes, arking dividually, were counted in the sky. Four sprinkled bombs while the ster two appeared to be observing only.
Towards dusk, the planes were! diving at precipitous angles from the leaden skies. As their roar reached the ears of the observers at the: campus post, glinting Chinese tracer bullets were seen climbing to meet them. Heedless of the anti-att] fire, the planes shot downward a thousand feet or more, coming close fo the ground before releasing their bombs and climbing away.
Across the Creek, Chinese batteries were replying with trench mortars and short bursts of machine-gun fre. On the campus the sound. of exploding shells" was "deafeningly close at times. Too much "stuff" was going through the air on the western
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.