Zeppelin Blitz

by Neil Storey

  One HE and one incendiary bomb fell in the Alexandra Dock, a second incendiary fell on the stern of the Swedish SS Igor lying in the Victoria Dock basin, doing slight damage. A third fell through the roof of a timber shed on the quay at the basin, damaging it and causing a small fire, which was extinguished by NER (North Eastern Railway) firemen. This was followed by an HE bomb on the railway lines close by, making a crater which destroyed about 12ft of track.

  Another incendiary bomb was promptly extinguished in Alexandra Terrace, Delapole Street, while an HE bomb exploded in St Paul’s Avenue, Church Street, partially destroying three houses. Several people were injured.

  An incendiary in Feather Lane dropped on the footpath, doing no damage, but an HE in East Street then demolished two houses, killing a man, a woman and a child. Two incendiaries in Church Street and Clarence Street had no effect, and a third in a grain warehouse in High Street was smothered by the loose grain and extinguished. Two more incendiaries and an HE bomb in the same street injured five people and damaged property within a radius of 500 yards.

  Three incendiary bombs then set fire to a large drapery establishment in the Market Place, which was completely burnt out, and to a public house at the Old Corn Exchange, causing a small fire.

  Hull Market Place after the Zeppelin air raid of 6 June 1915. Holy Trinity Church was saved by the excellent work of locally billeted troops and the fire brigade.

  Holy Trinity Church, which stood a short distance from the drapery shop, was saved by the excellent work of the troops and fire brigade, only some of the outer protective glass of the windows was destroyed by the heat. An incendiary bomb in Mytongate did no damage, but another at the Golden Gallon Inn dropped through the roof and did considerable harm before it was extinguished, and two incendiaries landing in Blanket Row killed a man and two boys, and injured a third boy.

  Three HE bombs fell together into the Humber Dock; the concussion of the explosion broke windows in the surrounding buildings. Two incendiaries then caused a small fire in Myton Place, north-west of the dock.

  The Zeppelin, which had hitherto pursued a sinuous course over the docks and the old town of Hull, following to a great extent the line of the quays in order to bomb warehouses, now went off over the western portion of the city as far as the line of the North Eastern Railway, dropping bombs as she went.

  The damage inflicted by the HE bomb dropped on Edwin Place, Porter Street, Hull, where four houses were demolished and several damaged. Four people were killed in this area and several injured on 6 June 1915.

  One HE bomb fell in Edwin Place, Porter Street, demolishing several small houses and killing three people. In nearby Sarah Ann Place, an incendiary bomb killed another person. In Albert Terrace, Pease Street, an HE bomb smashed several windows and did other damage. In Great Thornton Street, Walker Street, Goodwin Street and Campbell Street five incendiary bombs did slight damage to houses, set a hayloft on fire and injured two people.

  In St Thomas’s Terrace, an HE bomb totally demolished two houses and shattered the roof of St Thomas’s Church, killing two women and a man and injuring two further women. In South Parade, Regent Street, Coltman Street, Gee Street, Cholmley Street and Constable Street, seven incendiary bombs killed two girls and burnt two motor cars, but only did very slight damage to houses.

  The last bomb, an incendiary, dropped on Selby Street at the west end of the city, close to the railway. It fell through a roof, but caused no other harm. The Zeppelin then turned east and flew back the way it had come, but this time passing north of the Paragon Station, and dropped no more bombs until it was north of the Victoria Dock.

  Two incendiary bombs were then dropped in Danson Lane; one fell in the playground of St Mary’s School, wrecking all the windows of the school, and the other set fire to a furniture warehouse. A third incendiary bomb was dropped, along with an HE bomb, on a large sawmill in the same street, destroying it. The fire was extinguished by NER firemen.

  An incendiary bomb set fire to a house in Bright Street, which was burnt down. Another fell on the railway lines near Waller Street, slightly damaging the track and breaking the windows at Southcoates Station, followed by an HE bomb in the same street, which entirely destroyed three houses and damaged others, killing a man, three women and one child. A further incendiary bomb was dropped on the Rovers’ football ground, followed by another in Woodhouse Street, doing no damage. These were the last bombs dropped. Three or four of the incendiary bombs had not ignited.

  L-9 had approached Hull at a great height, probably 8,000–10,000ft, but her commander brought her down much lower as soon as he realised that no anti-aircraft gun defence was to be feared, and bombed the city from a height of about 5,000ft. No anti-aircraft guns were mounted at Hull and the only defence that could be made was by the guns of HMS Adventure, which was under repairs at Earle’s Yard.

  In all, five men, thirteen women and six children had been killed, and twenty men, thirteen women and seven children injured during the raid – a total of sixty-four casualties.

  Those who lost their lives as a result of this raid were:

  Georgina Cunningham (27), 22 Edwin’s Place, Porter Street

  Elizabeth Picard Foreman (39), 37 Walker Street (Died from shock 7 June 1915)

  Joanna Harman (67), 93 Arundel Street (Died from shock 7 June 1915)

  George Hill (48), 12 East Street

  Jane Hill,(45), 12 East Street

  A. Johnson, Campbell Street

  Edward Jordan (10), 11 East Street

  Alfred Matthews (50), 11 Waller Street

  Hannah Mitchell (42), 5 Alexandra Terrace, Woodhouse Street (Died from shock 7 June 1915)

  George Mullins (15), 39 Blanket Row

  Norman Mullins (10), 39 Blanket Row

  Emma Pickering (68), Sarah Ann’s Terrace, Porter Street

  Maurice Richardson (11) and Violet (8), brother and sister, 50 South Parade

  Sarah Ann Scott (36), The Poplars, Durham Street (Died from shock 8 June 1915)

  Eliza Slade (54), 4 Walter’s Terrace, Waller Street

  Tom Stamford (46), killed at 5 Blanket Row

  Ellen Temple (50), 20 St James’ Square, St James’ Street (Died from shock 8 June 1915)

  Alice Priscilla Walker (30), 2 St Thomas’s Terrace, Campbell Street

  Millicent Walker (17), 2 St Thomas’s Terrace, Campbell Street

  William Walker (62), 2 St Thomas’s Terrace, Campbell Street

  Annie Watson (54), 21 Edwin’s Place, Porter Street

  William Watson (67), 21 Edwin’s Place, Porter Street

  Florence White (30), 3 Waller Street

  George White (3), 3 Waller Street

  In going off, the Zeppelin followed the line of the Humber to the sea, passing over Paull at about 12.10 a.m. and over Sunk Island ten minutes later. At 12.20 a.m. the Maxims at Sunk and Stallingborough opened fire, supplemented by rifle fire at the latter place. A minute later, the pom-pom at Immingham and a Maxim on the SS Kale, lying off the coast, joined in the fire. L-9 veered off eastwards and then went on, flying high, towards Grimsby, which she reached at 12.25 a.m. She stopped her propellers and hovered for a short time, after which she circled over the docks and part of the town. Seven incendiary bombs, one of which did not ignite, were dropped on the docks, damaging three railway trucks. No casualties were caused.

  Rifle fire was aimed at her from New Clee. She then left in a south-easterly direction, but was met with pom-pom fire at Waltham at 12.30 a.m. and was last seen at 12.40 a.m. from Donna Nook, flying south-east.

  The total monetary value of the damage caused by the raid was estimated at £44,795.

  PRECAUTIONS IN THE EVENT OF ZEPPELIN AIR RAIDS – 1915

  Further air raids during the war saw new and renewed precautions announced to the public in the press, on posters and on hand bills. Lighting restrictions had been employed to reduce the danger of bombardment from the sea, and had been in place at the request of the Admiralty since September 1914. These had b
een tightened up and publicity renewed along the coast in the immediate aftermath of the Zeppelin raid of 19 January 1915.

  A month after the first raid, the dangers of moving around streets in darkness and reduced lighting led to the edges of street kerbs at street corners being whitened with lime wash, along with the carriageway crossings of footpaths.

  In many areas, emergency plans for the care of air raid casualties were made and published. A typical example comes from Norwich, Norfolk, in May 1915, when Dr H.J. Starling, chairman of the Norwich division of the RMA, circulated printed notices of the medical arrangements for casualties occurring in the city of Norwich caused by enemy aircraft. The climate of fear of air attacks during 1915 was such that, to avoid any panic, the doctor was quick to point out first in his announcement: ‘It cannot be strongly emphasised that the existence of such a scheme in no way adds to the probability of such air raids taking place and is drawn up for the sole purpose of reassuring the public and to avoid congestion at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital’.

  The public were thus requested to direct all casualties in the first instance to the nearest dressing station. Seven schools were set up as dressing stations for the city of Norwich, namely Bull Close, Avenue Road, Crook’s Place, Wensum View, Heigham Street, Surrey Road and Thorpe Road. Each school was provided with ‘all appliances for first aid, dressings, splints, stimulants etc.’ At least three doctors were appointed to each school, and would give first aid to all casualties brought there.

  The Red Cross would also provide two sections, each with its own doctor and stretcher bearers to attend each school. They would work in the streets of the neighbourhood to search for and recover the injured, then direct, aid or remove them by stretcher to the nearest dressing station. The chief constable would also direct appointed members of the Norwich War Emergency Corps to assist those whose houses had been damaged by incendiary or explosive bombs.

  Lighting restriction order notice for Norwich, 1915.

  15/16 June 1915

  Zeppelins L-10 and L-11 set out from their sheds at Nordholz, but L-11, under Oberleutnant zur See von Buttlar, had its crankshaft break 90 miles north-west of Terschelling and had to turn back.

  L-10, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Hirsch, crossed the coast of Northumberland between Newbiggin and Blyth at 11.25 p.m., proceeding south-west. She came in at a height of about 6,000ft, flying very fast.

  The objectives of this raid were the shipbuilding and engineering works on the Tyne. The airship made the same landfall as on 14 April, and pursued the same course to strike the Tyne – only this time far more certainly and directly. In both cases, the direct approach up the Tyne from its mouth was purposely avoided, mainly in order to elude attack by the batteries at the mouth of the river. The course taken passed over Newsham, Gosforth and Benton.

  No bombs were wasted, as they had been on the former occasion, in the open country north of the river. The first were thrown at Wallsend. The course steered would have brought the airship direct to Newcastle but, when north-west of Wallsend, it was altered several points to the south-east and the airship bore directly down upon Palmer’s Works at Jarrow.

  Wallsend was reached at 11.40 p.m., the Zeppelin travelling at a speed of 60mph. Owing to the sudden appearance of the airship, and the fact that the telephone arrangements were not yet fully developed to deal with such emergencies, many of the Tyneside industrial establishments had not received the order to extinguish lights until the Zeppelin was upon them, and consequently showed a full blaze of light. Siren blasts sounded by HMS Patrol as a warning were also not understood, and Palmer’s Works presented a perfect target to the enemy.

  At Wallsend, one incendiary and two HE bombs were dropped south of the Infectious Diseases Hospital, one HE near Holy Cross Church and another at Burn Closes, none of these doing any damage. Two incendiary bombs then fell near the secondary schools at Church Bank, followed by six HE and three incendiary bombs on the North-Eastern Marine Engineering Works. Houses in Wallsend were affected and, though there was no fire, the engineering works suffered heavily, machinery being displaced and damaged to the value of £30,000. No casualties occurred. Slight damage was also done to Wallsend Colliery.

  The Zeppelin passed over the Tyne to Hebburn, where one HE and one incendiary bomb fell on Hebburn Colliery, having only slight effect. These were followed by one HE and three incendiary bombs on the Ordnance Works football field in Jarrow, which broke windows in a large number of houses in the neighbourhood. One HE and two incendiary bombs then fell in Blackett Street, breaking more glass.

  The airship turned north-east and went over Palmer’s Works, dropping seven HE and five incendiary bombs which did considerable damage and injured seventy-two, besides breaking more glass in the houses of the town. One incendiary bomb then fell at the back of Berkley Street and another in Curlew Road to minor effect.

  The Zeppelin recrossed the Tyne to the north bank and dropped bombs on Willington Quay and East Howdon. Two incendiaries and one HE bomb fell inside Cookson’s Antimony Works, destroying a shed crane and weighing machines etc., followed by an incendiary bomb in Pochin’s Chemical Works, two incendiaries in Stephenson Street and one HE bomb in Coach Open. The latter killed a police constable.

  An incendiary bomb was dropped in the Tyne Commissioners’ yard, another in Dock Street and two in Tyne View Terrace. A considerable amount of damage was done to small houses by these bombs.

  The Zeppelin then pursued a straight east-north-east course to the sea, crossing the river again between Albert Edward Dock and Haxton Colliery staithes, where two HE bombs were dropped, with one falling into the river and the other on a fairground adjoining the staithes. The explosion set fire to a scenic railway and did considerable damage to the windows of surrounding houses.

  L-10 went right over South Shields, and dropped another HE bomb between the Tynemouth Battery and Frenchman’s Point, on the Bents Ground, just outside the area of the South Marine Park. Slight damage was done to the park railings and to windows in the neighbourhood at South Shields. No casualties were caused. Finally, an incendiary bomb fell on the sands. The Zeppelin went out to sea at 11.52 p.m. on an east-north-east course, flying at an estimated height of 6,000ft.

  The response from the ground had seen the AA gun at Low Walker open fire when L-10 was at 3,000ft, and increased the range to 3,500ft for the second shot which, it was claimed, was very near. The guns at Carville and Pelaw opened fire at 4,000ft range and the pom-pom at South Shields at 5,000ft. In addition to these guns, a 4.7 gun of the Heavy Battery Durham Royal Garrison Artillery, stationed at Cleadon, fired five rounds of shrapnel at L-10. Rifle fire was also opened on her at East Boldon and by men of No 3 Supernumerary Company, Durham RGA, at Jarrow. One house was damaged by an AA shell at Wallsend.

  From a military point of view, this raid was one of the most effective that had been carried out by Imperial German airships or Zeppelins to date. Although the total monetary value of the damage, some £41,760, was somewhat less than the raid of 6/7 June on Hull, considerable military damage was inflicted, which was not the case in Hull. Owing to the low height at which she flew, the Zeppelin was able to choose her course carefully and bomb her objectives with accuracy.

  9/10 August 1915

  Five of the newest German naval airships (L-9, L-10, L-11, L-12, and L-13) set out from their north German sheds to raid England on 9 August.

  L-9, under Kapitänleutnant Odo Loewe, was first sighted off Ulrome on the Yorkshire coast at 8.15 p.m. Five minutes later she passed over the Naval Air Station at Atwick, going south at a height estimated at about 3,000ft. The Zeppelin was fired upon by rifles from Skipsea. Two aircraft took off at 8.25 p.m. in pursuit, and the airship, which was then off Hornsea, immediately rose to 10,000ft, stopped her engines and drifted, evidently listening for the aeroplanes. On their approach she steered eastward out to sea and was lost in the fog. Ten minutes later, she reappeared to the northward at Fraisthorpe, 6 miles south of Bridlington, but again went
out to sea and was next seen off Hornsea at 9.10 p.m., going north.

  A naval aeroplane again rose from Atwick, and the airship promptly went out to sea again, followed by the aeroplane for some thirty-five minutes. The Zeppelin kept out to sea for an hour, finally coming in at Aldborough at 10.05 p.m., from where she passed over Atwick at 10.15 p.m. going west-north-west. Ten minutes later she struck the railway at Hulton-Cranswick and turned south along it, evidently making for Hull.

  Before he had got far, the Zeppelin commander became uncertain of his position and, between 10.30 and 10.50 p.m., circled twice in the neighbourhood of Leconfield. Finally, he went off north-west of Beverley in a south-westerly direction and at 11.03 p.m. passed South Cave. At 11.10 p.m. he reached the Humber and followed it westward to Goole, which was showing lights and was severely bombed at 11.15 p.m. An empty goods train was travelling along the line from Hull to Goole and reached the Hook Bridge over the Ouse at Goole at 11.15 p.m. just at the same time as the Zeppelin, which apparently saw it and dropped three incendiary bombs just east of the bridge. Two more fell in the river.

  L-9 then flew over the town from east to west, dropping eight HE and thirteen incendiary bombs on the town and docks. One of the HE bombs appears to have been of the large type, weighing 200kg, and two of the others were estimated to have been 100kg in weight. Ten houses were demolished, and several others badly damaged by explosion and fire, a dozen people were buried in the debris. A large shed on the dockside was badly damaged, and in Aire Street, which was exclusively shop property, although no building was actually struck, a great amount of damage was done by the concussion of a large HE bomb which fell on the dock wharf opposite. Almost every window in the street was destroyed and doors were torn from their hinges. An incendiary bomb went through the roof of the Exchange but to no effect. The total damage to the town was estimated at £7,000.