London, and indeed the whole country, has been saddened and
*hooked by the explosion of Friday week, tlionghlortunately the loss of life has proved far less than was feared, and we have official assurance that it will make practically no difference in the supply of munitions. The scene of the disaster.was a chemical factory for refining explosives in the East of London. Shortly before 7 p.m. a fire broke out in the factory, followed in about ten minutes by an explosion so tremendous that. it was heard distinctly more than one hundred miles away. In the interval many of the workpeaple 'moped, the local fire brigade was summoned, and an engine was actually playing on the factory when the explosion took place. The engine, two of the firemen, and the chemist, Mr. Andrea Angel, were blown to pieces. Mr. Angel, after advising the workmen to escape, returned to face a certain death in the attempt to combat the fire. The day shift had just left, and of those at work a considerable pro- portion got away before the explosion, which completely destroyed the munitions factory, set fire to neighbouring warehouses and factories, demolished whole rows of workmen's cottages, and devas- tated an area of about three-quarters of a square mile.
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