On this day .... 103 years ago on the north Yorkshire coast

Now I like the way the blog occasionally gets requests to do a story.

Picture postcard pf the attack, 1914

And this week David Harrop asked me to run the account of the attack on Scarborough on December 16, 1914.

We are all familiar with the devastation caused by German bombers during the Second World War and the Zeppelin attacks during the Great War, but the bombardment of a British coastal town maybe less well known.

So given that today is the anniversary of the event David asked if it could be commemorated on the blog.

The extent of the damage, 1914

The attack was carried out by the German High Seas Fleet and resulted in 592 casualties, many of them civilians, of whom 137 died.

It caused public outrage given that it was an attack on civilians, and led to a series of patriotic posters calling for men to enlist and avenge the bombardment.

Also attacked were Hartlepool, West Hartlepool and Whitby, of which Hartlepool was a more significant target because it had extensive civilian docks and factories.

St Nicholas Parade near the Grand Hotel, 1914

In total something like 200 people were killed and 300 houses, seven churches and five hotels were damaged across the four towns and along with the public outcry, the enlistment posters and media coverage, the picture postcard industry was quick to exploit the event.

They rushed out a series of cards featuring the devastation and one in the possession of David has a detailed account of the attack.

So there you have it .......... a little bit of Scarborough’s history a century ago.

Location; the Yorkshire coast,






Picture; Scarborough after the raid, picture postcards, 1914, from the collection of David Harrop