GERMAN NAVAL RAID.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 205, 6 February 1915, Page 5

GERMAN NAVAL RAID.

SHELLING OF ENGLISH COASTAL TOWNS.SHATTERING WORK OF THE MISSILES. London, December 19. When the morning's express from Scarborough arrived at King's Cross, about 4.15 p.m. yesterday, a pathetic little group emerged upon the platform. Mr Arthur Wood, of Scarborough, who stood with his wife and her mother and his little son, had a bandage round his

head, through which the blood had trickled in the train. His little so n was also wounded, and was very weary. Mr Wood and his family gave a vivid story of their experiences in Scarborough (says Robert Segar, in the Daily Mail, December 18). Mr Arthur AYood said:—"l live at 7 Hanover Road, Scarborough. At five minutes to eight this morning I was getting up as usual to go to business. The morning was veiy hazy, and there was a dense fog over the sea. My house is close to the lailway station, ju3t on the turning facing tiie railway. I was on the landing outside my room, when I was startled by a terrific crash, which at the moment I mistook for a violent thunderstorm.

"I found immediately afterwards on going to the window that « shell, the first of the bombardment, had fallen and burst in a place called Falsgravc. This was some little distance away from my house, but I saw from the window dense clouds of smoke and a fierce light like the reflection ,of the sun.

"Almost immediately afterwards, I heard a second terrifl* report, and then following that many others in various parts of the town. The second shell that followed, which I was able quite easily to identify, fell in Prospect road. ' That was the slicll which I am convinced killed Mrs Merryweather, Her husband keeps the post office at the comer of Prospect Road. "At this moment, shells seemed to be pouring i n all over the place, and the noise was frightful. The firing of the. shells was immediately followed by the explosions in the town. Looking from my window at that time, there was a vivid picture of destruction. The roads, streets, and pavements were covered with broken glass, bricks, stones, and shattered masonry, and there was a stifling smell of explosives. SEEKING. SAFETY. "I immediately thought T must place my family in safety. We went downstairs just as we weft. Then, as the. '

firing continued, I felt that the cellar jiidcrgrouml was the j;i;y safe refuge,) We accordingly went across the road ta the shop of Mr Warwick, a butcher. Wej had hardly left my door when another shell struck another shop belonging to a' neighbor, Mr Wilson, «nd took the tort of the roof clean away. The stonework; and wreckage from the roof was ihrasj in every direction, and clouds of brick* work came cbttc-'iig down tlw streafc Mr and Mrs were both in thfl li.'iw at the time, ai.d very shortly tftelj this I saw them bctr leaving the ''After tli is explosion, we began toi worm our way along the side of my house' before crossing to Mr Warwick's collar,' and just as I was striding opposite my shop window, a shell came and burst against the wall. I cannot have hvert more than a few inches from where if struck 1 he. noise was terrific and so . was the glare of the light. It burst in ill the window and right into the back gfti ting-room. *i WOUNDED BY SHELL. v\ "I felt a strange, hot pain on the tori found that a piece of shell had atruckl me in the- centre of the head, causing 3 deep wound from which the blood spurted all over my face and head and covered my start with ,p!„ 9 hes of blood. M? H arwick, who w,s close at hand, assist" ed me to Dr. Vassalli's house n Bar/ Irf flk T hCTe * had the "vouna dressed. My hair has always beeri slightly grey, but this evening it is quite white with the shock of to-day'*, adventure. * K "On tie w«y to the doctor's the picture or destruction was just the same as in the lerphborhood of my house. Whc, we left the doctor's about 8.50 a.m the hring had j«st ceased. Up t» that moment the shells had been bursts ing continuously, and the noise was incessant. There must lave been, at least* nity shells, making, of course, twice as many concussions. We felt the shock; of the firing shattering our windows and shaking the houses the instant bofore the shell burst o„ each occasionj Many women and cUdren madV their way towards the rrilway and others proceeded along the wad to York "Nothing whatever was done by any. once to render assistance or to give any advice, though, of course, no one could ' complain of this, having regard to the suddenness of the attack. ' "While I was at the doctor's, my wife - " her mother, and my ?,n Clifford were in Mr Warwick's cellar in hiding. On mv way back from the doctor's I went into my offices to see if any damage had been done there. I am on the staff in the counting-house of the Scarborough Electric Supply Company, York "Th c ships which were firing were moving, I should say, i n » northerly direction. There is no question tha« more than one ship was engaged in the bombardment. A cu'.Vous thing was that all the telephone communication with the to*T„ was cut off early in the morning. I do not know who was responsible for this, although it greatly added to the confusion where the mem- 1 ' bore of a family were separated and wished to get into touch with each' >■ other. ■ v WRECKAGE IN ROADWAY; "I found York Place i n a great state of confusion. The framework of brok- « en windows, loose bricks, piles of wreckage, strewed the roadway in every, direction. Huge pieces of stonework' from the cornices of the buildings had fallen into the street, and at Rowntree's large millinery establishment the win-! dows had all been completely riddled and broken. The shells in this part ofi trid 0 "'" mußt llave ver Jl"• "On my way home I met Mr Catlin, a highly respected resident.in Scarborough who said that he had just left thd Arcadia Restaurant, and that the bat. manager had been severely injured byi a shell falling into it. The restaurant! is on the seafront some distance to the' left of the Grand Hotel as one faces the ' sea, Mr Catlin produced to me in confirmation of his story a shell that was in. two pieces and was even then quite hot. He also told me that the house of a well-know n official of the borough council was destroyed by a shell and that the owner was very severely injured Mrs Wood, the wife of Mr Arthur Wood, said: "My husband was on the' staircase, proceeding with his dressing,; I was in bed. Suddenly the terrifid crash of the first shell,bursting startled mo and brought my I-usband back into the room. We were both puzzled, and for a moment could not account for the shaking of the house, nnd then wo said almost together: It must be the Germans come at last!'

"We went to the coal cellar to cs-i cape, hut the shells were bursting hi all directions, near the house, and we did not dare to remain in that position, as our coal cellar is not underground. "It was then suggested—l believe I thought of it—that it would be safer; if we could find an underground shelterand we thought of Mr Warwick's base-i ment. We rushed over there almost UJM dressed. As we were going along th.3 side of our own house, my husband waghit on the head, ari I noticed blood covering his face and forehead. Mr Warwick came and- took him away to the doctor.

When we had left us in the cellar, I began to ran; backwards and forwards trying to get back Borne clothing td cover us for the time. I had made onci of two journeys across the road when' my husband joined us again, and we decided to leave the town. I myself have a dress agency business at 7 Hanover Road. As we were going past o n our way from the cellar to the train. I noticed that inside my window there wsvi.a pile of shattered glass, and the framework of the window had bee n wrecked by a shell. I had a rather valuable toby jug in the window. The hat of the toby had been blown clean off, and was lying at the desk at the other end of the shop. Several houses that we passed had suffered more of less from the bombardment."