NORTH SEA RAID.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 731, 19 December 1914, Page 5

NORTH SEA RAID.

ENGLISH TOWNS BOMBARDED

London, Wednesday

The Government Official Press Bureau advises that important German movements are taking place in the North Sea.

The Germans bombarded Scarborough and Hartlepool. Our flotillas were angaged at various points. jjuter advices Btate that in addition to Scarborough and Hartlepool, the squadron threw ehel's upon Whitby, Redcar, and Middlesborough It is reported that two cruisers bombarded Whitby, a number of monks being hit. The shells partially destroyed the famous abbey. One person was killed and several injured. The Press Bureau reports that the GermanH engaged the fortress of West Hartlepool, but were driven off by the accuracy of the gunfire. Huge holes were torn in peveral buildings in Scarborough, and the Town Hal! was slightly damaged. The Scarborough wireless station is intact. Many of the inhabitants of Scarborough fled towards the hills when the bombardment began. The cruisers opened fire at eight o'clock in the morning, just after daylight. The Exchange Telegraph Agency reports that four cruisers participated in the bombardment. DESTROYER FLOTILLA ENGAGED RESULT NOT KNOWN. London, Wednesday. Particulars are meagre, the military authorities controlling telegraphic communication. About forty shells fell in Scarborough, the objectives apparently being the wireless station and the Town Hall. Two struck St. Martin's Church during communion, but t e congregation remained calm The cruisers steamed slowly past the town. The bombardment of West Hartlepool was simultaneous with that of Scarborough, and lasted 25 minutes. One shell set fire to the gasworks, but the result of the fire is not known. Rows of houses were destroyed, and a number were killed. The Press Association reports that a naval engagement was fought off Hartlepool. A destroyer flotilla encountered three German cruisers eight miles off the coast, but the result of the engagement is not yet known. WORK OF FAST CRUISERS. DISAPPEAR IN FOG. London, Wednesday. Apparently the raid waa the work of three fast German cruisers. They dropped shells upon the towns along a 40-mile stretch of coast, and then disappeared in a fog. Scarborough alone reparts that eighteen were killed and a hundred injured. Thirty shells were thrown upon Whitby, some falling three miles inland. The damage was chiefly in the Meadowfield district, where one civilian died from his injuries. SITUATION STILL DEVELOPING. HIGH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. Wellington, Thursday. The Premier has received the following from the High Commissioner, dated London, December 16th:— The fortress of West Hartlepool engaged German war vessels. The enemy was driven off. A small German vessel fired on Scarborough and Whitby. Germans shelled Scarborough and Hartlepool. British flotillas engaging them. The situation is developing. Whitby, Middlesborough and Redcar were also bombarded by the Germans.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY ADMIRALTY.

LOSSES REPORTED SMALL. London, Wednesday. The Admiralty announces that a number of the fastest German ships carried out a demonstration on the Yorkshire coast. They remained for an hour, and when the patrolling squadron endeavoured to cut them off they went at full speed and escaped in a mist. The losses on both Bides were small. GERMANY WANTS ZEEBRUGGE. TO ATTACK BRITISH TRANSPORTS. London, Wednesday. A German officer informed a Daily News correspondent that the Germans consider Zeebrugge the key to an attack on Britain. He added that not until the Kaiser's troops evacuated Zeebrugge would the invasion of England be abandoned. One of the chief functions of the place in the German plan of campaign was as a submarine base for the destruction of the transports which would be crossing the Channel next spring with the British reinforcements. Admiral von Kirpitz believed that suitable craft would be able to proceed from Wilhelmshaven to Zeebrugge undisturbed by the British navy. A plan had been devised for keeping them under water for days. The officer stated that only one submarine had been badly dam-