A RUINED house on a cliff-top has been erected in memory of the devastation to two North Yorkshire towns bombarded by the German navy.

The shock felt in Scarborough and Whitby when the German navy launched a bombardment on civilians as they got ready for work and school was remembered on the centenary of the bombardment today (Tuesday, December 16).

The German warships appeared out of the mist at Scarborough just after 8am on December 16, 1914 and began shelling the unprepared town, killing 18 people.

Two schools were hit, which luckily were not yet full of children.

Just after 9am the German Navy’s High Seas fleet arrived at Whitby, which was equally taken by surprise.

Only two people were killed directly at Whitby, but the damage to the town was immense.

Amanda Smith, from the town, said the coastguard station that was on top of West Cliff was demolished and there was considerable damage to Whitby Abbey and homes.

“All in all there was quite a lot of damage done. As far as loss of life went it was astonishingly little. But nothing like that had ever happened before," she said.

“It was a complete and utter shock for people here. The fact the German navy came out of the mist like that must have compounded the sheer horror; it must have been dreadful.”

Amanda is chair of Whitby in Bloom, who have created a “bombardment garden” on the top of West Cliff in Whitby for the centenary, which contains a half-ruined house. It also houses a commemorative First World War shell, which had been presented by the government of the time to the people of Whitby for as a thank you for the exceptional amount of money they raised for the war effort.

“I think it really affected the people of Whitby greatly. Although it didn’t have the death toll that Hartlepool and Scarborough as a result of the bombardment it affected them greatly," said Amanda.

“They’d just had the sinking of the Rohilla hospital ship weeks earlier at Whitby. It must have felt very close to home to have two together like that on a very tight knit community – and both coming from the sea where Whitby’s heart is. They must have felt so vulnerable.”

In Scarborough a maroon was fired from the town’s castle this morning (Tuesday, December 16), after the names of each victim who died was read out at a special dawn ceremony. A flotilla of boats was also stationed outside the harbour.

The raid had severely damaged the castle and the Grand Hotel was hit 30 times. Other hotels, guesthouses, shops and family homes were also hit, causing terrified locals to crowd to the railway station and onto roads leading out of the town.

The attacks led to a huge rise in recruitment for the British Army.

To round off the commemorations in Scarborough, a beacon was lit at the castle which will burn for the rest of the night.