MOTHERS and babies had a narrow escape after the maternity ward of a hospital was the latest building targeted in air raids.

The Blitz continued to devastate east London with the Advertiser reporting newborns had been showered in glass when a bomb struck part of the building.

While patients escaped the air raid with their lives, Sister Emily Morley had not been so lucky.

The night nurse, who had been on the second floor at the time, tragically died in the explosion.

It was reported the bomb landed between a chimney stack and the mental ward, narrowly missing the maternity section.

More than 80 bedridden patients had been in the three-storey building at the time.

Those able to walk or who could easily be moved were taken to shelters in the hospital grounds.

Staff spent four hours carrying epileptic and mentally ill patients to safer quarters.

The Advertiser continued its blanket coverage of the Blitz, reporting that women and children had been moved to the countryside for their own safety.

The flood of evacuees was part of a scheme announced by the government that week.

It was also reported that Mr Griffiths, sidesman at a local church and enthusiastic air raid warden, had been injured in the ongoing attacks. He spent his recovery at a hospital in the countryside.

An elderly man did not have such a lucky escape after the block of flats he had been living in was partially demolished.

The Advertiser reported: “The man had not been feeling very well and decided to stay in bed instead of going to an Anderson shelter.

“He was buried under the wreckage, the only casualty.”

An East End pub was also targeted in the raids, with the managers, Mr and Mrs Butler and their two children Frank, 14 and Pat, three, being rescued from the rubble.

The Advertiser said: “Mr Alan Foley forced his way through the wreckage until he found Mr Butler. Mr and Mrs Butler were removed to hospital, neighbours taking care of the children.”