“
A lot of buildings were burnt out, others badly racked and unsafe, some completely smashed. Off the main road it was worse; here and there houses were being demolished, blasting going on sometimes, traffic being cleared, here a bridge being propped up, there a loudspeaker van telling people where to go for money or food. All windows gone everywhere... everywhere was the smell of plaster and burning, everywhere this incredible mess, everywhere people trailing about with a mattress or a bundle or a few pots and pans.
”
”
Naomi Mitchison (Among You Taking Notes...: The Wartime Diaries of Naomi Mitchison 1939 - 1945)