The following article
appeared in the
The location of the bomb that
killed the four members of the Privett family is
believed to be 5 Burnt Common, Send.
Whereas the very final reference to a bomb on a village in
FLYING BOMB
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Kills Four in One Family
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INJURED PEOPLE RESCUED
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Four people were killed and
others injured (two seriously) when a flying bomb hit two Council houses in a
village in
Their son, Gilbert Privett, who was on his way home from work, missed disaster by a few minutes. The other three children, Yvonne (eight), Derrick (six) and Gordon (10), were at school. Gilbert and the other three children are at present being cared for by an aunt. Gilbert told our reporter that he heard the bomb coming and then the explosion, but did not know his own home had been hit until he got to the scene. The Privetts were well-known locally, having lived in the district for several years.
Two Council houses were entirely destroyed. In the next one to the Privetts, a Mrs. Wright and her little girl, Hilda (12) had wonderful escapes. They were rescued from the wreckage of their homes by A.R.P. workers, who were on the scene almost immediately, and sent to hospital. The other members of the family were out at the time. Another house which was destroyed stood back from the road on its own. Mrs. Mellum whose home it was, and Mr. Charles Weller, who lodged there, were dug from the wreckage by rescue squads and, suffering from serious injuries were hurried to hospital.
Many other houses in the vicinity were badly damaged, with shattered windows, doors and broken roofs. The front of one house was torn away, and the back of a Canadian Y.M.C.A. was destroyed so badly that everything had to be removed to another building. A tea room and garage on the corner of a main road were also badly damaged. Nearly all the crockery was smashed, a sink was torn from the wall, roof, windows and doors were broken, and the back of the garage was blown away. Four cards inside were not damaged. Sheds and lavatories were damaged, and two greenhouses, one full of tomatoes and the other of cucumbers, were destroyed and a rabbit enclosure broken, so that hundreds of tame rabbits escaped. The proprietor sustained cuts on the head and legs. A neighbour of his lost 26 rabbits in the explosion.
Among those injured (some of them
only slightly) were a lady, her daughter and baby granddaughter (who have now left
for
Besides A.R.P. and heavy rescue workers who did splendid work, soldiers, neighbours and passers-by appeared on the scene as if by magic, and were soon helping the homeless and distressed to salvage belongings and to find food and shelter. The W.V.S., too were soon on the scene, bringing with them a stock of good clothing of all kinds, with which they fitted out those who found themselves in need.
A flying bomb chose a convenient
spot to crash on a
Three other bombs on Monday fell in open country, injuring one person slightly and doing a little damage to property.
A flying bomb fell in an open
field alongside a stream near a village in
MANY HOUSES DAMAGED
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A considerable number of homes
were damaged in a
The A.R.P. services worked hard throughout the night and repair work on the damaged houses was quickly put in hand.
Earlier in the day a bomb fell in the same district. It came down on open ground and blast did damage to some houses. Two people were injured by glass and a third person suffered shock.
About the same time another robot fell on open ground at the other side of the same district, causing broken windows to houses nearby.
A flying bomb that fell on the outskirts of a Southern England village on Monday afternoon injured Mr. and Mrs. Ponsford. The latter being taken to hospital. In the early hours of the morning a bomb which fell in the same area caused slight damage to some houses and also shattered some shop windows. There were no casualties.