Film shows effects of Germany’s first Blitz on Britain, which killed 130 and swung public opinion

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Britain’s first Blitz: Film shows effects of Germany’s 1914 warship attack on Hartlepool that killed 130 and swung public opinion behind World War One campaign

  • Previously unseen footage found by chance among box of broken cameras and lenses bought at market sale
  • The bombardment left hundreds wounded as commentators declared: ‘This is not warfare, this is murder’
  • Winston Churchill branded the Germans ‘baby killers’ as attitudes towards the conflict began to change  
  • Experts have arranged for the fragile Edwardian nitrate film to be digitised, properly preserved and stored 

By Tom Pyman For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

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Never-before-seen footage of the first German attack on British civilians during World War One has emerged and been saved for future generations – after a chance find at a market sale. 

Some 130 people died and 500 more were injured in a 40-minute dawn raid on Hartlepool on December 16, 1914, that saw heavy cruisers Blucher, Seydlitz and Moltke fire 1,150 shells upon the north-east.

Mark Simmons, museums curator at the local borough council, has been actively researching the bombardment since 2011 and looking for new information for use in historic displays.

He was then shocked to find the unseen footage himself in a box full of broken cameras and lenses which he bought for £20 at a flea market in Tynemouth – having only purchased the haul in the first place thinking they might be useful for his personal art and sculpture projects.  

The five-minute newsreel film also includes footage of the German attacks on Scarborough and Whitby, which occurred on the same day. 

Mr Simmons said: ‘On getting home, I just took out a few useful pieces and put the rest in storage. It was only later that I got around to sorting through the entire contents. 

Some 130 people were killed, and 500 more injured, in an attack on Hartlepool in 1914, pictured, which was the first on British civilians during the Great War

The extent of the damage, pictured, has only just emerged for the first time after the footage was found in a chance purchase at a market sale

The extent of the damage, pictured, has only just emerged for the first time after the footage was found in a chance purchase at a market sale

The five-minute reel has been donated to the North East Film Archive, which through working with the British Film Institute and National Lottery Heritage Fund, has arranged for the fragile Edwardian nitrate film to be digitised before being properly preserved and stored

The five-minute reel has been donated to the North East Film Archive, which through working with the British Film Institute and National Lottery Heritage Fund, has arranged for the fragile Edwardian nitrate film to be digitised before being properly preserved and stored

The bombardment saw heavy cruisers Blucher, Seydlitz and Moltke fire 1,150 shells upon the north-east, with many children, pictured, believed to be among those who died in the attack

The bombardment saw heavy cruisers Blucher, Seydlitz and Moltke fire 1,150 shells upon the north-east, with many children, pictured, believed to be among those who died in the attack

The footage was found by museums curator Mark Simmons in a box full of broken cameras and lenses which he bought for £20 at a flea market

The footage was found by museums curator Mark Simmons in a box full of broken cameras and lenses which he bought for £20 at a flea market

‘This is not warfare, this is murder’: How attack became British rallying cry against Germany

The deaths of 130 civilians and wounding of hundreds more had a huge effect on public opinion and can be seen as a turning point in the war.

It quickly changed the mood among people as anger grew towards the Germans, while there was also criticism of the Royal Navy for not preventing the attack.

Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, responded with a rousing speech, branding the Germans ‘the baby killers of Scarborough’. 

‘Remember Scarborough’ started to be used in army recruitment posters, while the previously-neutral press in the United States also felt compelled to take a new stance, claiming:  ‘This is not warfare, this is murder’.

Four years later, the war eventually came to an end, when the Germans signed an armistice, causing the fighting to stop, at 11am on November 11.    

‘In the bottom of the box, wrapped in sheets of old grease-proof paper, was an old film reel and the title card on the first frames – The Attack on the Hartlepools – was just visible. 

‘The film is mostly a previously unseen version of the newsreel footage of the bombardment originally made by the Gaumont Company. 

‘It is the best quality of any of the bombardment damage films but, crucially, contains a number of sections that have never been seen before, namely footage of Cleveland Street and the damage to houses at Carlton Terrace including a close up of local women and children.’

Excited by his discovery, he donated the reel of film to the North East Film Archive (NEFA) which, along with its sister archive in Yorkshire, is a registered charity that works to connect people and communities to their local and regional film heritage. 

Working with the British Film Institute (BFI) – and thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund – the archive arranged for the fragile Edwardian nitrate film to be digitised before being properly preserved and stored.  

Archive Manager Graham Relton said: ‘The World War One Hartlepool film is special, from its chance survival and discovery to its unique historical significance. 

‘We are delighted to have been able to ensure that the film is preserved for future generations and, importantly, make it accessible to audiences now.’