One big store, which is a famous landmark, a well-known church, a restaurant, a club and theatre familiar to all American tourists, and a crowded cinema and hotel were all directly hit by German bombs.
An incendiary bomb penetrated the glass dome of a hotel and landed in the middle of a crowded salooü where the guests were sitting, drinking and listening to the orchestra.
The head porter leaped forward grabbed a chair by its legs and started to beat out the flames. Other hotel employees went to his aid and the fire was subdued in severa] minutes. While many guests watched the proceedings, the orchestra continued playing.
High explosive bombs crashed through several floors of a club and burst into the library, but the members were all downstairs in the shelter, Another bomb shattered several floors of an office building, but 300 persons in its underground shelter were unharmed, A rectory of a church and cinema were set on fire.
As the cinema was hit and set ablaze, the audience felt the building rock. A policeman told the people to keep their seats and the audience continued watching the picture for two minutes. Then the police ushered them quietly out of the side door while the flames were being extinguished When the rectory was hit, the sexton and his wife were buried under debris. The rector ran for help. Army officers donned steel helmets, collected any soldiers they could find and began digging out the couple. They worked despite the fact that gas was escaping from a main and bombs were falling all round them.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.