Sensational German bombing raid along east coast of England
London, 17 December 1914 - Towns along the east coast of England were subjected to bombardment by German warships last night.
The raids have left more than 120 people dead and up to 500 injured.
Amongst the dead was Patrick Sheridan, from Dalkey, who was struck by a portion of a shell in the stomach. He was interred at Middlesbrough with full military honours.
A flotilla of cruisers and destroyers bombarded the towns of Hartlepool and Scarborough before being chased from the area by ten British warships.
The bombardment caused severe damage to the picture house in Scarborough. (Image: Irish Life, 24 Dec 1914. The full collection of Irish Life is available from the National Library of Ireland)
Witness testimonies
An Irishman living in Scarborough reported: ‘My wife was upstairs looking our of the window, but when she saw one shell bursting about 50 yards away it caused her to move more quickly than she has done for some years.’
As the shells screamed and crashed over their heads, the couple hid in the coalhole and then decided to leave town for a few days.
Other witnesses spoke of children lying dead after the raid, of an old woman driven demented, and of the huge numbers of people who sought to flee from the coast.
Coastal towns all along the east coast of Britain are now taking steps to prepare for possible raids, with public notices advising of the safest places to hide in the event of shelling and stating that the gas supply would be turned off.
These raids have led to speculation that there will soon be other raids along the Scottish and Irish coasts.
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
