Aftermath of German naval bombardment of Whitby, Scarborough and Hartlepool, 1914

Photograph, World War One, Home Front (1914-1918), 1914.

On 16 December 1914 five battle cruisers from the First High Seas Fleet shelled the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, killing 130 people and wounding another 592. The incident caused outrage in Britain and was used by the press and propagandists as a recruiting tool.

One of 72 press photographs.