WITH the thoughts of the nation still occupied by the recent German atrocities at Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby, readers of the Daily Echo were rallied by reports that provided an uplifting offset to the east coast raid.

It was officially announced that the German first-class cruiser Friedrich Karl had been sunk by Russian forces about 35 miles off the city of Memel.

Specific details of the attack were still unconfirmed but it was believed the Friedrich Karl had either struck a mine or been hit by a successful strike from a Russian coastal battery, with the ship then slipping beneath the waves with the loss of many of her crew, although a further 200 were rescued.

As the nation waited with bated breath for the latest developments following the German attack on the north east, the Daily Echo announced to its readers with “regret” that the German raiders had successfully run the gauntlet and reached their lair.

Despite there being an outside chance that the German ships could have fallen victims of their own mines, the absence of further intelligence prompted the Admiralty to release a statement that the enemy had most likely “succeeded in making good their escape”.

The Admiralty also revealed that shipping movements on the North Sea between Flamborough Head and Newcastle had been ceased until further notice after circumstantial evidence suggested that the cruisers had sown mines in their wake as they fled.

The pages of the Daily Echo also revealed more shocking information from the east coast as the number of casualties from the bombardment of Hartlepool, Scarborough, and Whitby was not only much heavier than previously estimated, but also exceeded the larger unofficial figures previously released.

Deaths reportedly numbered well over 100 with several hundred more left seriously wounded by the attacks.

More painfully, a large number of the victims were women and children with all but a few dozen listed being unarmed civilians.

Perhaps the most compelling feature from the day’s edition was the eyewitness account of the shelling supplied to Echo by Private A Rogers, of the 14th Hussars, a native of Southampton who was currently stationed at Scarborough and witnessed the attack first-hand.

On the morning of the attack Pte Rogers, and 100 of his comrades, were walking to Scarborough railway station prior to them departing on Christmas leave.

Within minutes the shelling started, with the first shell seeming to explode directly above their heads as it tore the roof off a nearby house, with the following shell ripping through the roof of the nearby Balmoral Hotel.

When entering the station the men discovered that the station had been hit minutes earlier, which was followed by another fierce explosion close by that shook the whole town and knocked Pte Rogers off his feet.

Terrified women and children dressed in only their night clothes started to flood the station platform as they desperately looked for refuge from the bombardment. One woman caught hold of Pte Rogers by the arm, and in her absolute terror would not let go.

The soldiers and the station officials did their best to calm tpeople, giving them hot coffee and cakes, as well as clothes, and eventually they were persuaded to return to their homes. The shelling lasted for about half an hour, with Pte Rogers estimating that around 50 shells were fired on the town by the Germans, whose aim was perfectly accurate, with as many prominent places being hit.

Pte Rogers’ account was punctuated by a tragically painful footnote that reported that local woman Miss Caws, the daughter of Mr Wallace Caws, formerly of the Customs and Excise staff at Cowes, had been killed in the bombardment at Hartlepool.