On Wednesday 16 December 1914, the German Navy raided the coastal towns of Hartlepool, Scarborough and Whitby. Rear Admiral Franz Von Hipper, commander of the German battleship squadron, devised a plan to enact the bombardment whilst his superior, Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, stationed the ships of the entire German High Seas Fleet to the East of Dogger bank to assist if necessary should the Royal Navy give chase to German battlecruisers. The bombardment resulted in some 137 fatalities and 592 wounded. The fact that Scarborough was an undefended town combined with the high numbers of civilian victims, including women and children, caused outraged amongst the British public, many of whom blamed the Royal Navy for failing to prevent the raid.
BTY/3/3/2
Here at the National Maritime Museum, we hold the papers of Vice Admiral Beatty, which reveal the Royal Navy’s response to the raids and the confusion that led to the German ships escaping. HMS Lion, commanded by Beatty, was the flagship of the First Battlecruiser Squadron for the Royal Navy. Document 15 in the Beatty papers (BTY/3/3/2) is a narrative report which reveals the events in the period leading up to the raids, the shelling of Scarborough, the search for German ships and the confused communication between HMS Lion, HMS Southampton and HMS Nottingham during in these hours.
Document 16, stamped ‘Secret’, is an official report which narrates the events that occurred, with particular attention to the signals sent from HMS Lion to HMS Southampton. The report blames the failure of HMS Southampton and HMS Birmingham to fully report sightings of German ships and their failure to attack or maintain contact with sighted ships as the reason for the German Navy escaping unscathed. The report is critical of HMS Southampton for failing to recognize an incorrect signal, intended instead for HMS Nottingham, which led to the Southampton simply returning to station instead of engaging the German ships.
The papers contain extensive reports on the Scarborough & Hartlepool raids and give an in-depth insight into the events that occurred. The papers are available to order for viewing in the Caird library and can be ordered via the online archive catalogue. The reference is BTY/3/3/2
Tara (Archive Assistant)
