8/9 Aug 1916               

Bombed:

North-East, Yorks., Norfolk

& Scotland   

This large raid saw eight navy Zeppelins appear over the north-east coast of Britain and one over Norfolk. The most effective attack took place on Hull.

Kapitänleutnant Robert Koch, commanding L 24, came in south of Flamborough Head at 12.15am. He headed inland as far as Market Weighton where he changed course, appearing uncertain of his position until, heading south he struck the Selby to Hull railway line and the River Humber, which he followed to the east. At 1.18am L 24 passed over Hessle, dropping eight high-explosive (HE) and two incendiaries which all fell harmlessly in fields between Swanland and Hessle, only breaking a few windows. From there Hull became an obvious target. Approaching the city from the north-west, at 1.20am L 24 released three HE bombs that fell on the golf course followed by another which failed to detonate and four incendiaries dropping around the tracks just south of Spring Bank Junction on the Hull and Barnsley Railway. Koch then steered L 24 along the south side of Anlaby Road, dropping eight HE bombs causing considerable damage in Sandringham Street, Granville Street, Walliker Street and Selby Street. A bomb which landed in the backway between Sandringham and Granville Streets injured Mr and Mrs Broadley and killed their three-year-old son John Charles who had gone there seeking protection from the bombs. The bomb wrecked two houses in those streets and damaged others. A bomb in Walliker Street killed Charles Lingard at no. 61 and Emma Evers (46), who was sheltering in a doorway. It also destroyed a fried fish shop and a house in that street and wrecked two others on the corner of Brunswick Avenue. Bombs also destroyed two houses in Selby Street and damaged a number of others, killing Mary Louisa Bearpark (aged 44) and Emmie Bearpark (14), and three members of the Hall family - Rose (31), Elizabeth (9) and Mary (7). Three other residents of Hull died from shock brought on by the bombs. Engaged by an AA gun, L 24 started to climb and, while circling West Park and Hymers College, a bomb dropped in Arnold Street which set fire to a haystack, before Koch struck off northwards, dropping a succession of incendiary bombs on the following Streets: Wyndham, Derringham, Louis, Princes, Clumber and Belvoir. In Park Avenue four fires broke out, and in Victoria Avenue there was at least one fire. L 24 went out to sea near Hornsea at 1.47am.

L 14 (Hauptmann Kuno Manger) came inland at Berwick-upon-Tweed at 12.25am, crossed the border into Scotland and dropped an incendiary on a farm at Fallside Hill near Gordon without damage. Turning to the south-east, Manger released three HE bombs at Grahamslaw in the parish of Eckford at 1.08am where they fell in a turnip and grass field, followed by an incendiary at Kersknowe a minute later. Another three minutes and two more incendiaries landed at Clifton in the parish of Morebattle. The only recorded damage was to a field of thistles. L 14 then flew east over the Cheviot Hills, dropping an incendiary half a mile south of Southern Knowe before reaching the coast at Alnmouth at 2.00am.

 L 11 (Korvettenkapitän Viktor Schütze) came in over Whitley Bay, north of the mouth of the Tyne, at 2.30am. After releasing a flare, which landed in a field south of the cemetery, L 11 dropped seven HE bombs in a line from Whitley Road to the railway station, a distance of 223 yards. The first bomb seriously damaged premises owned by a confectioner, a fish merchant, a baker, a poulterer and the Tyneside Gas Company. The second bomb wrecked a house in Albany Gardens while the third bomb detonated in a yard at 23 Albany Gardens causing severe damage to the house. The next two fell close to the corner of Algernon Road and Clarence Crescent, bursting a water main, damaging a wall and breaking many windows. Then two more fell near the Station damaging a signal post, fences and a hen house. Turning south L 11 then dropped an incendiary on a house in Burnfoot Terrace but the Fire Brigade quickly extinguished it. Two more incendiaries struck houses in Lish Avenue causing minor damage, then another HE bomb dropped between Lish Avenue and Carlton Terrace but may not have detonated. The final two bombs, incendiaries, landed in Carlton Terrace where a serious fire broke out at no. 3 practically destroying the building. Five people suffered injuries in the raid. The 3-inch AA gun at Whitley Bay got off four rounds but mist prevented the searchlight from illuminating the target.

Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy, commanding L 31, arrived off the coast between Sunderland and Seaham and appears to have released a number of bombs over the sea between 12.15 and 1.15am, either aimed at shipping or to gain altitude. Coming inland at Whitburn, between Sunderland and South Shields, L 31 passed over Bolden and Cleadon at about 1.45am before turning back towards the coast. Over Marsden, Mathy aimed six HE bombs at Salmons Hall, a large house formerly known as Marsden Cottage, which along with surrounding buildings was now providing miner’s dwellings. The bombs broke numerous windows, blew slates off the roof, damaged the gable end and killed a horse, but no one was injured. Mathy then passed over South Shields and Tynemouth but a very effective blackout and fog on the Tyne meant he dropped no more bombs and went back out to sea.

At 1.30am. Kapitänleutnant Eduard Prölss, commanding L 13, came inland at Denemouth, north of Hartlepool. Heading west he dropped an HE bomb at 1.45am in a field at Wingate that broke windows in about 10 houses, then continued on the same course attracted by a burning waste heap at Kelloe Colliery and possibly a burning limekiln at Quarrington. On approaching these lights Prölss dropped 12 HE and 14 incendiary bombs. At Kelloe the bombs ripped up 24 feet of colliery railway track and smashed 12 panes of glass in a weigh cabin. At Quarrington Hill the explosions smashed windows in 40 houses and a shop. Others fell in neighbouring Bowden seemingly without effect. L 13 then headed back to the coast and went out to sea over Easington at about 2.05am.

L 30, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Horst von Buttlar, spent about 30 minutes off the north-east coast and dropped a number of bombs at sea before coming in over a blacked-out Hartlepool at 12.55am. It appears von Buttlar did not realise he was over the town and docks. Having turned south, von Buttlar dropped six HE bombs three minutes later in cornfields not far from the railway station and west of the Seaton Carew Ironworks, and three HE at the Ironworks close to a slag-tip. The explosions broke windows in Belle Vue and Longhill. A visible glow from the zinc works at Seaton Snook attracted a single incendiary but it did no damage. Caught by a searchlight at 1.05am, von Buttlar ended his raid and immediately went out over the mouth of the River Tees.

Kapitänleutnant Martin Dietrich, commanding L 22, came inland near Hartlepool. Attracted to Redcar by flares burning on the RNAS airfield, which had been lit when a BE2c took off at about 12.15am, L 22 released five HE bombs over the airfield. These caused no damage other than gouging craters in the field. He released four more HE bombs to the east of Wheatlands Farm, which landed in a field forming part of a military camp, but again no damage occurred. Dietrich followed the coastline towards the south-east and near Saltburn an AA gun at Hunley Hall opened fire at 1.12am as he passed. Five minutes later L 22 approached Skinningrove, which was under attack by L 21, then turned about at Carlin How and appeared to circle back to locate the AA gun, which had now fired again. Dietrich passed over the gun then followed a route inland to the south until he reached the hamlet of Houlsyke near Danby and dropped a single incendiary bomb on the moor at about 1.35am without damage. Dietrich then headed back towards the coast and was seen going out to sea from Robin Hood’s Bay, south of Whitby, at 1.50am.

L 21 (Hauptmann August Stelling) attacked the armed yacht Miranda two miles north-east of Skinningrove with three HE bombs at 12.58am; the nearest landed 400 yards from the target. The yacht replied with five 3-pdr rounds. L 21 came inland over the cliffs east of Skinningrove at 1.17am, dropped three HE bombs in a quarry, then steered over the ironworks at 1.20am dropping seven HE bombs. They demolished a small wooden time-office and damaged some pipes, pumps and tanks but there were no casualties, after which L 21 went straight out to sea. The RNAS BE2c probably pursued both L 21 and L 22 at different times but was unable to climb to a position to make an attack.

Far to the south of the other raiders, L 16 (Kapitänleutnant Erich Sommerfeldt) crossed the north-west Norfolk coast at Brancaster at about 12.30am. Sommerfeldt followed a course towards the south-west and ten minutes later dropped 20 bombs (ten HE and ten incendiary) at Dersingham. The bombs smashed windows and brought down ceilings at Wellswell House and 36 other dwellings with damage estimated at £40. Five minutes later another eight HE and seven incendiary bombs fell between Dersingham and Wolferton. A number of fires broke out on Sandringham Warren but local residents and special constables extinguished them quickly. Sommerfeldt then turned back to the north and followed the coast to Hunstanton where he went out to sea at about 1.09am.