How Hartlepool will remember the deadly Bombardment of town

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Thursday, December 16, will mark 107 years since the Bombardment of the Hartlepools, as the area was then known, by the German Navy.

Around 130 people died and hundreds more were wounded after a 40-minute onslaught began at 8.10am.

The exact number of fatalities is still unclear because casualties were dying from their injuries long after the attack by three German warships.

Members of the Durham Light Infantry, 18th Battalion (Durham Pals) at the Redheugh Gardens War Memorial during the 2020 closed service. Picture by Frank Reid.

Notwithstanding any additional coronavirus restrictions imposed before Thursday, the annual public vigil at the Redheugh Gardens Memorial, on the Headland, will return after a two-year absence.

Organised by the nearby Heugh Battery Museum, a gun salute will be fired at 8.10am before the names of the 37 children who died in the attack will be read out.

The public will then be invited to place 37 crosses in the gardens while a bugler from Hartlepool Youth and Community Silver Band will play The Last Post.

Members of the The Durham Pals Living History Group are also expected to be present and to stand to attention in period costume.

Diane Stephens laying crosses at the Redheugh Gardens ahead of the 2020 anniversary.

Museum manager Diane Stephens said: “It is the community coming together to remember an event that was so deadly for the town and for families, some of who still live in the town, who lost children before they had a chance to lead a full life.”

Both the Headland and West Hartlepool were targeted in fog on December 16, 1914, with further attacks taking place down the North-East coast in Whitby and Scarborough.

The poignant Redheugh Gardens memorial itself, which was designed by Hartlepool artist Philip Bennison, was unveiled on December 17, 2021, with further events set to provisionally mark its centenary.

A free exhibition will be open from 11am until 3pm from Friday, December 17, until Sunday, December 19, in the Moor Terrace museum.

Members of Hartlepool Headland Local History Group will be at the event on December 17 and December 19 with the Time Bandits First World War re-enactment group and the silver band present from 1pm-3pm on December 18.

Local author and artist, Ian Lightfoot, whose work features in the exhibition, will also be signing copies of his latest book, Healthful Hartlepool - The Untold Story of a Northern Graphic Icon, on December 18.

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