Two great West End department stores were struck. Two big high explosive bombs went through one of them, from the roof to the first floor. Oil-container bombs followed and the building burst into flames, billow-smoke, Sparks spread over the centre of the busiest shopping ict. The damage to the Store, it seemed certain, would run into a couple of million pounds, Streets in the neighbourhood of the store were strewn with glass and ran with water from scores of fire hoses which played their streams of water on the building.
"Windows of smart shops in adjacent streets were knocked out and smashed by the explosion. Milinery, expensive frocks and perfumes were thrown into the streets, Paint ran down from the clothing worn by dummies in show windows and the hats and furs they wore were ruined, Beneath the building hundreds of refugees, including shop girls, the store's executives and mothers with children, were huddled in a strong Shelter. None of them was touched and a couple of hours after the bombing, a United Press corresponent found nearly all of them asleep, Air attacks made by the Germans during last night were directed mainly against London, the Air Ministry said.
Unconfirmed reports said that several thousand German troops recently arrived in northern Norway had come via Sweden.
Experts here discarded the theory that these new German forces were intended to support Finland against new Russian demands.
The general belief was that Chancellor Hitler might be planning an invasion of Iceland, which would be useful to Germany as a submarine base and as a base for ocean raiders which could harass communications between the British Isles and the United States.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.