Whitby had been lightly defended by a single company of the Devonshire Cyclists who had been ordered to be on alert early that morning, but with no artillery they were unable to do anything to prevent the attack or to retaliate.

After the dust had settled the question was asked, why had the Germans chosen to attack these particular towns? The basic reason for both Scarborough and Hartlepool being chosen as targets was that they were within a 24 hour striking distance from Germany. It was simply a case of the ships sailing through two minefields, shelling the towns and making good their escape before the Royal Navy could catch up with them, either from their Scottish base at Rosyth, or from their south-east base at Harwich.

There were, however, a number of reasons why the Germans chose to launch a major attack against the British mainland at this time. Firstly, they needed to raise morale in their own Navy after a very heavy defeat by the British in the Falklands. Second, they wanted to try and draw out the major part of the British Fleet and engage them whilst their U-boats picked off our ships one by one. Thirdly, they wanted to bring home to the British people the fact that they were not immune from attack, and with this knowledge they hoped to create a public clamour for the newly raised Kitchener’s Army to be kept at home for mainland defence, thus keeping them from tipping the balance on the Western Front where the situation was precariously balanced.

Another, perhaps more disturbing question then arose, why had the Government and the Admiralty let the attacks happen? To a large degree, the Royal Navy’s hands had been tied. Had they intercepted the German battle group before it could launch its attacks the fact that the British had broken the enemy’s naval codes would have been readily apparent. As it was the decision was made at the very highest level to allow the attacks to take place and then to ambush the enemy battle group as it steamed home for Germany. In effect, although no one knew which towns would be attacked, Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby had become the bait in a British trap, with the Navy hoping to catch and engage the enemy battle group as it emerged from the minefields on its way back to Germany, but a combination of bad weather, bad signalling and sheer bad luck resulted in the attackers slipping away unpunished.

The aftermath brought a great propaganda coup for the British, playing as they did on the ‘undefended’ seaside resorts and the many ‘innocent’ people who had been killed.

This was the first enemy attack against the British mainland which had resulted in loss of life (though a dry run had been undertaken by the Germans against the Norfolk coast on 3rd November 1914).

There followed major press interest and condemnation for Germany from around the world. The newspapers of the day were filled with stories and pictures and there were even news reels of the bomb damage and the funerals of the fallen. The attacks were the biggest world-wide news story of the end of 1914. Yet by the time of the 1917 submarine attack on Scarborough in which three people died, next to nothing was written about it and it only made page five of the local paper two days later. The nation, by this time, had suffered the appalling losses of the Somme and Passchendaele and such small losses were no longer considered newsworthy.

In all there were 5,611 casualties from German air and naval raids on the British mainland during the Great War. A staggering amount, and largely unreported except by local or region newspapers.

Instead of the expected witch hunt the government had expected following the attacks, the cry for revenge sounded throughout the land and hundreds of thousands flocked to join the colours. Recruiting stations were packed to overflowing in the north-east and the ranks of the Army were swelled by hundreds of thousands of young men wanting to get to France and do their bit for Scarborough, Whitby and Hartlepool. Men from all backgrounds and occupations rushed to enlist, seeking to ‘avenge the deaths of the innocents’.

The British authorities turned this outrage to their own advantage and quickly plastered the streets with recruiting posters showing Scarborough in ruins, the town ablaze, whilst the caption exhorted the men of the country to take up arms and ‘Remember Scarborough’. And even though Hartlepool suffered far greater than Scarborough, it was largely overlooked in the subsequent propaganda campaign as it was considered by many to be a ‘legitimate target’ - whereas Scarborough ‘The Queen of the Yorkshire Coast’ was an undefended, seaside resort.