Town set to commemorate historic bombardment

Published Tuesday, 12th December 2017

PEOPLE are invited to remember one of the most momentous days in Hartlepool’s history this weekend at the annual commemoration of the bombardment by the German Navy in the First World War.

A total of 130 civilians and military personnel were killed and more than 500 were wounded when German warships fired more than a thousand shells on the Hartlepools just after eight o’clock on the morning of 16 December 1914.

The Headland’s Heugh Battery returned fire in what was the only battle to be fought on British soil during World War One, and one of the Battery’s soldiers, Theo Jones of the Durham Light Infantry, became the first British soldier to be killed by enemy action on home ground in the war.

On Saturday 16 December, Hartlepool will pay tribute to those it lost in a special ceremony in Redheugh Memorial Gardens on the Headland organised by the Heugh Battery Museum.

The 'Bombardment Clock' - stopped by a shell splinter at the time of the bombardment.

The 'Bombardment Clock' - stopped by a shell splinter at the time of the bombardment

People are asked to gather in Redheugh Memorial Gardens by 8am, and at 8.05am veterans and cadets will parade to the gardens from the museum.

At 8.10am there will be a 25-pounder gun salute from the museum to mark the start of a two-minute silence, following which there will be addresses by Ralph Keeton, Director of the Heugh Battery Museum, and Hartlepool MP Mike Hill.

These will be followed by the reading of the names of the 37 children who were killed during the bombardment, and at the same time members of the public will be offered crosses to plant next to the memorial – one for each of the children who lost their lives.

After this, at 8.25am, there will be laying of wreaths at the memorial in the gardens by the Mayor of Hartlepool, the town’s MP and members of the public.

The ceremony will conclude with prayers led by the Reverend Verity Brown of St Hilda’s Church and the event will end at 8.40am, following which people are invited to have a cup of tea or coffee at the museum.

The museum will be open for free throughout the day until 3pm and there will be various activities including the Durham Pals Re-enactment Group performing drill on the parade ground and an opportunity for families to contribute to the Hartlepool Bombardment Centenary Scrapbook.

Diane Stephens, Heugh Battery Museum Manager, said: “It’s important to remember – at the location, on the day and at the exact time – the terrible impact which the bombardment had on the local population, the echoes of which are still felt by the descendants of those families today.

“We also hope that people will join us after the ceremony to visit the museum for free and find out more about the historic role which the battery played on that momentous day.”

Councillor Allan Barclay, Hartlepool Borough Council’s Member Champion for the Armed Forces, added: “The bombardment of the Hartlepools was an event of massive significance, not only locally but nationally.

“I very much hope that people will join us for this extremely moving commemoration and then take the opportunity to explore the excellent Heugh Battery Museum.”

For more details of the event, contact the museum on (01429) 270746.