大象传媒

Ref. Letter to Ron Edmunds from his Brother Reg.
Tuesday Morning

Dear Ron
BUNGAY HAS BEEN BOMBED

As you can see I have given this momentous happening a splash heading. I will give you the whole story as I experienced it and from what I have heard from other people. On Monday at about quarter past eleven I was sitting at my machine designing a monogram. No warning was in operation and everyone was working peacefully and 'quietly' as usual. You will understand why the quietly is in quotes. All of a sudden there was a bang followed quickly by another and another. We couldn't hear any plane and for the moment didn't realise what was up, after the third bang someone shouted 'Bombs' and everyone galvanised into action. I can't describe very well what happened as it was all over in 5 seconds, up in our place it was like this.
First bang, everyone still tapping away. Second bang dead quietness, Third bang, 'Bombs' and everyone moved like greased lightening. I grabbed my gas mask as the fourth bang went, simultaneously the works electric buzzers and steam hooter gave the alarm. The fourth bang was closer than the others , the fifth went as I whizzed down the circular stairs and that was closer still. The whole works shook, the windows rattled and the very earth quaked. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. In the comp room the fire brigade and ambulance men were racing to their posts. The spotters ran for the crows nest. The strident note of the buzzers was adding to the noise and confusion. All the personnel of the works were marching orderly and calmly but very very quickly to the shelter. No one ran except the A.R.P. people who manned their posts in about half-a-minute.
As I reached the bottom of the stairs the sixth one went bang to be followed in close succession by the seventh and last one. The buzzers and hooter ceased their clanging and all was very quiet again. As I reached the white paper warehouse I saw that the steel helmeted firemen had already manned the engine. The telephone in the control room shrilled into action and I heard someone shouting out orders. Someone standing in the gangway leading to the doorway near the fishpond said "There out that way" and pointed through the door towards the common and the railway line. How right he was, you will read later. We all got down to the basement without incident and all was strangely quiet. Even the card school did not start playing. Much speculation was rife as to what had been hit if anything. Duke burst in through the emergency exit and said that he and another had been machine gunned while they were up in the tower. This statement caused a lot of shouting and excited argument round about where he was but he was a good way down the gangway we could not make much else out. The telephone bell sounded shortly afterwards. Mr Hawes came out and told us that the spotter could see flames and smoke coming from Rumsbys way and that thay thought the iron works had been hit. Bob Parsons told Mike that 'Haw Haw' would be able to say that another important munitions factory had been destroyed. After about a quarter of an hour the all clear went and we made our way back to our various departments. On the way back I saw a form of type lying flat on the floor where someone had put it in a hurry. We got back to our room and at once hurried over to the window and looked out. We could see a column of smoke rising from Earsham Street way but could not tell where exactly. It did not look far enough down for Rumsbys.
Archie Rowe came off the roof and we heard our first authentic account and this was it. As far as they could tell, three fell on the marshes. One near Sprakes and one near the White LIon. The one at the White Lion seemed to be the most serious and when the spotters first reached the roof flames were rising 30 feet above the chapel in Chaucer Street which as you know is no small place. A squad of soldiers were lying all over the road in Webster Street and Archie turned to Duke Ling and said that they were only laying on the ground for cover. The smoke around Earsham Street began to subside so I went down to get what news I could from Dad. As soon as I got there Mr Alexander came in and said that one had dropped in Mr Sprakes front yard, one on or near our paper store at the back of the White Lion yard near the British Legion Rooms and one on Mr Wightmans furniture shop. With this new information we could begin to reconstruct what happened. No one at the works actually saw the plane but from other accounts heard since it appears that it came out of the clouds from the direction of Earsham. It dropped seven bombs all in a line. One on the marsh next to the Rec, one on the Rec, one each Sprakes, the White Lion and Wightmans and the last one on the Falcon Meadows. If you picture this you will see that they are more or less in a straight line.
To get back to the story. It was now about 12 o'clock and I am afraid that there was not much work done during the rest of the morning. At quarter to one I got on my bike and proceeded to Chaucer Street. Near Hadinghams corner a special constable was on duty, Mr Hollis from the International, he told me to get off and walk so I did down Earsham Street. There was a lot of people standing about and some more special wardens and A.F.S. to Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all. I found enough room to walk down Earsham Street and could count five hoses leading into the White Lion yard. Cock's end windows near Charlish's had been blown out or perhaps I should say in. Mr Butcher was in charge of the brigade at this point and I could see him near the White Lion gate issuing orders to the firemen. The Rolls Royce auxiliary fire engine was parked in front of the new Post Office and a trailer pump was pumping from a hydrant near Rumsbys gate. The White Lion yard looked a sea of mud and water so I didn't attempt to go up there. The fire appeared to be out but some water was still being sprayed somewhere at the back of the buildings. The buildings principally affected were the ones at the back of the yard near the sale ground, The place you can see from the road was pretty badly burnt about and I could see some of our paper there. More about paper later. I passed down to Sprakes and I had to lift my bike over the hoses. As I stood there the ambulance went over the special blocks provided for traffic. All other traffic however was being diverted round the 'back of the hills'. A sentry was posted at Mr Sprakes front gate and some of the army were lending a hand down there. Another pump was on the lawn pumping from the river. The house suffered severely from the blast but not fire. The bomb fell about five yards from the front door. The crater was surprisingly small considering the amount of damage done. It was only about a foot and a half deep by about three feet wide. The pillars near the front door had been blown down, all the windows shattered and a lot of the tiles taken off the roof. The blast went through the house and took some tiles off on the other side of the house near St Marys school. I didn't stop very long down there but the damage seen was pretty extensive. I haven't been there since so I don't know much about that part. The bombs on the marshes,rec, and falcon Meadows did little or no damage. I think the grandstand on the football pitch was caught slightly by flying shrapnel.
Time was getting on so I retraced my steps to the market place. Trinity Street was roped off, and I could see the regular fire engine and pump stationed in front of the Bank house. I went round to Cross Street and found that was also roped off. Percy Harmer was on duty there. On the other end it didn't half look a mess. As far as I can fathom out it dropped actually on the store as most of the outside walls on the ground floor were standing. It is very difficult to know what has happened as Monday dinner time you were not allowed near and at night it was too dark to see. The roadway was covered with broken glass, all the windows were shattered as far as the Tea Rooms. The demolition squads were busy as a part of the roof was dangerous and had to be pulled down. The furniture part was completely wrecked. The house itself was not damaged only some windows were broken at the side. Douglas Pointon has a narrow escape. He and Mr Knights (Tom's father) were actually among the furniture when the bomb fell. As luck would have it,they were on one side of a staircase
protected by lino, and the bomb dropped on the other side. The lino protected them from the blast and Douglas was unhurt except for a few cuts.
As for the other casualties as far as I know for certain there were eight. A six week old baby in apram near the Earsham Bridge died from shock. A soldier in the cook house at the back of the White Lion was hit by shrapnel and taken by ambulance to the N and N Hospital. Unfortunately he has since died. Another man was coming out of Ling's cycle shop when the bomb exploded and I think he had both ankles broken. The others were minor injuries.
TUESDAY AFTERNOON
I had a quick look round this dinner time. The one on the Rec fell nearly in the middle of the pitch. Mr Sprakes crater has already been filled in. The roof has been covered with tarpaulin but the whole house will need a lot of repair. The R.E's from Mettingham came down to help at Wightmans yesterday with the work of making the building safe. It is alright now though in a terrible mess.
We had about 1,000 reams of paper at the back of the White Lion valued at 拢2 a ream. This was chiefly damaged by water and a lot of people think that if a bit more care had been exercised most of it may have been saved. A lot of things are being said about the A.F.S. but I don't know how true they are. I was told this morning that there was a bit of a muddle in Earsham Street and that troops finally laid the hoses out, perhaps it will be best not to say anymore about this.
I don't think there is much more to say about this, the works had only one casualty. Charlie Honeywood was walking across the yard and got hit on the wrist by a bit of splinter. It was nothing serious. The girls in the bindery behaved marvellously, they got underneath the benches and there was no panic or anything like that. Bert Alexander has constructed us an emergency shelter in our room so in the event of us not getting a warning we can easily get there and have some protection against flying glass etc. This shelter is made out of key bank cases and full spool boxes so it is fairly strong, though it hasn't a top. It is a good job we have the shelter as our room is the farthest away from the other shelters and our machines are not big enough to get underneath. The readers get under their desks, that is all except Dad and he says he didn't think about it but stood watching the roof. It all started and ended so suddenly that no one really knew what to do. Fred Knowles pulled the hooter and sounded the alarm on his own initiative as no warning was received. Still I hope we don't get anything like that again.

When you have finished with this letter you might let me have it back as it is an account of the first air raid on Bungay and I would like to preserve it.
The front windows of the Wesleyan Chapel are smashed and Mr Bowerbank has one window broken. Mr Godfrey told us at ambulance class last night that although Cocks on one side and Mr Mayes on the other had windows broken the Post Office was not touched at all. The Co-Op bakery was damaged a bit. With regard to the machine gunning no one seems to have heard any. I can't quite (............. original damaged ...........)
as the aeroplane only came over once.
The siren has gone twice today and there is a raid on now but nothing has happened.
There was a big fire at Norwich last week, not due to enemy action in which about 20 shops were destroyed. we had a lot of activity here on Sunday night, guns firing bombs exploding but it wasn't very near. (Family news here...)
Have just heard that two bombs fell on Beccles this afternoon but I don't know if this is right.
Reg

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