Unique bombardment footage unearthed in chance find

Mark Simmons, Hartlepool Borough Council’s Museums Curator, bought a box full of broken cameras and lenses for £20 at Tynemouth Market in 2018, thinking they might be useful for his personal art and sculpture projects.

“On getting home, I just took out a few useful pieces and put the rest in storage. It was only later that I got around to sorting through the entire contents. In the bottom of the box, wrapped in sheets of old grease-proof paper, was an old film reel and the title card on the first frames – The Attack on the Hartlepools – was just visible,” said Mark.

The accidental find is particularly amazing given his job and the fact that he has been actively researching the bombardment since 2011, looking for new information for use in museum displays, at events and for memorial purposes.

During the 40-minute dawn attack on December 16th 1914, the heavy cruisers Blucher, Seydlitz and Moltke fired at least 1,150 shells, killing 130 people and injuring over 500.

The film also includes footage of the German attacks on Scarborough and Whitby which occurred on the same day.

Mark added: "The film is mostly a previously unseen version of the newsreel footage of the bombardment originally made by the Gaumont Company. It is the best quality of any of the bombardment damage films but, crucially, contains a number of sections that have never been seen before, namely footage of Cleveland Street and the damage to houses at Carlton Terrace including a close up of local women and children.

Shocked and excited by his discovery, Mark donated the reel of film to the North East Film Archive (NEFA) which, along with its sister archive in Yorkshire, is a registered charity that works to connect people and communities to their local and regional film heritage.

Working with the British Film Institute (BFI) - and thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund – the archive arranged for the fragile Edwardian nitrate film to be digitised before being properly preserved and stored.

The restored film can be viewed online at: http://www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com/film/attack-hartlepools

Archive Manager Graham Relton said: “The World War One Hartlepool film is special, from its chance survival and discovery to its unique historical significance. We are delighted to have been able to ensure that the film is preserved for future generations and, importantly, make it accessible to audiences now.”