At approximately 8.00am on a cold December morning, under the cover of darkness a powerful German naval battle group negotiated the hazardous minefields of the North Sea, its target was the still slumbering north-east coastal towns of Scarborough. The bombardment lasted until around 8.30am when the ships moved north to the shores of Whitby and then Hartlepool. That fateful morning in Scarborough18 people fell victim to the German attack;
Leonard Ellis, back of Londesborough Road.
Harry Harland (30).
Harry Frith (45) 1 Bedford Street.
Alfred Beal(41) 50 Raleigh Street, killed Dunollie.
Margaret Briggs (29) Filey Road.
John Shields Ryalls (14 Months) 22 Westbourne Park.
Miss Bertha McIntyre (42) 22 Westbourne Park.
Mrs Johanna Bennett (58) 2 Wykeham Street.
Albert Bennett (22) 2 Wykeham Street.
John Christopher H Ward (9) 2 Wykeham Street.
George James Barnes (9) 2 Wykeham Street.
John Hall (65) 28 Westbourne Park.
Mrs Emily Lois Merryweather (30) 43 Prospect Road.
George Harland Taylor (15) 45 North Street.
Mrs Mary Prew (60) 17a Belle Vue Street.
Mrs Ada Crow (28) 124 Falsgrave Road.
Miss Edith Crosby (39) 1 Belvedere Road.
Mrs Duffield (38) Esplanade.
In sheer panic and fear the people of Scarborough fled the town in all directions, whilst few of the freshly recruited Territorials in the town tried to help the injured and wounded at the railway station.
This was the first attack on British soil since the start of the Great War and would not be the last. Young men in their droves rushed to their local recruitment offices to 'avenge' Scarborough, Whitby and Hartlepool.
As Britain mourned her dead and questions were asked in Parliament about the whereabouts of the mighty Royal Navy, Germany struck a commemorative medal of the raids.
In just 30 minutes on that cold December morning in 1914, the Great War had finally become a harsh and bitter reality for the people of Scarborough.
Sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/york/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_812... & http://www.rememberscarborough.co.uk
