Zeppelin Raid , Edinburgh

[shelley]

I nursed my Grandfather during his last illness, we spent a lot of time talking... he told me that when he was a young boy, living in Edinburgh, that there was a Zeppelin Raid on Edinburgh......... he remembered that they were firing at it from Calton Hill.

Can anyone provide me with any dates? (when I say dates, I mean the calendar ones )

cheers Shelley

[Dolphin]

Shelley

On the night of 2/3 April 1916, the Imperial German Navy Zeppelin L14 commanded by Kapitänleutnant der Reserve Aloys Böcker, bombed Leith - where bombs destroyed Messrs Innes and Grieves whisky warehouse - and Edinburgh between 23.30 and 00.15. 24 bombs were dropped on Edinburgh, killing 11 people and injuring 24, as well as damaging three hotels and Princes Street Station. The airship departed at 00.55, with the only opposition encountered being 'desultory machine gun fire from the southern slopes of Arthur's Seat'.

During the same raid, another airship, L22, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Martin Dietrich, bombed Edinburgh at about 23.50 but only shattered some windows.

I hope this helps you.

Gareth

[robbie]

I found this piece on Google http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWzeppelinraids.htm

Count Ferdinand Zeppelin, a German army officer, began developing his ideas on airships in 1897. The first Zeppelin flew on 2nd July 1900. The LZ-3 Zeppelin was accepted into army service in March 1909. By the start of the First World War the German Army had seven military Zeppelins.

The Zeppelin developed in 1914 could reach a maximum speed of 136 kph and reach a height of 4,250 metres. The Zeppelin had five machine-guns and could carry 2,000 kg (4,400 lbs) of bombs.

In January 1915, two Zeppelin navel airships 190 metres long, flew over the east coast of England and bombed great Yarmouth and King's Lynn. The first Zeppelin raid on London took place on 31st May 1915. The raid killed 28 people and injured 60 more. Many places suffered from Zeppelin raids included Gravesend, Sunderland, Edinburgh, the Midlands and the Home Counties. By the end of May 1916 at least 550 British civilians had been killed by German Zeppelin.

Zeppelins could deliver successful long-range bombing attacks, but were extremely vulnerable to attack and bad weather. British fighter pilots and anti-aircraft gunners became very good at bringing down Zeppelins. A total of 115 Zeppelins were used by the German military, of which, 77 were either destroyed or so damaged they could not be used again. In June 1917 the German military stopped used Zeppelins for bombing raids over Britain.

Robbie

[shelley]

Gareth and Robbie,

I really appreciate your responses, Thank You!

Bombing a whisky warehouse ........... The cheeky blighters!

cheers Shelley

[KF Kelly]

Hello all,

I seem to remember that there was a plaque set on the Edinburgh Castle rock marking the place where a bomb landed during the Zeppelin raid. Does anyone know if it is till there? It could be seen from the little path running from Johnstone Terrace down to Princes Street Gardens.

KF Kelly

[KF Kelly]

I'm answering my own question here. I was in Edinburgh a couple of weks ago and walked by the castle. The plaque marking the German bomb was very clear, no grass grown up yet to obscure it. The wording on the plaque is " On this spot a bomb fell during the German air raid -2nd April 1916". I took a couple of pictures after scrambling up the rock at considerable risk to life and limb. I'm not sure how to post them here but if anyone is interested in this topic, contact me and I'll send them on.

Kevin

[Guest Galatea]

Victor Hayward in his memoir 'HMS Tiger at Bay' mentions the incident:

It was about this time that Jerry tried to bomb the battle cruisers whilst lying at anchor below the Forth Bridge. Their night navigation was poor and they mistook Leith for Rosyth, and away in the distance we heard the beat of their engines. But the noise was receding , so wisely we did not switch on our searchlights, and they missed us, but scored a bulls eye on a whisky storehouse in Leith. Soon the streets were awash with the precious liquid. Jerrys bomb created almost a scene from Dante's Inferno. Men, women and kids were out lapping it up, and filling up bottles and jugs. What a carve up! Our canteen manager was fourteen hours adrift from the ship, and on his return to the officer of the watch's classic question' 'I know! But why?' His reply was, 'You see sir, it was a pity to see all that stagger juice going to waste. So I joined in with the Jocks and before long I was as drunk as a fiddler's bitch, and my back teeth were awash.'

[Malcolm]

That's a brilliant bit of writing.

Aye

Malcolm

[KF Kelly]

I found this on the spartacus schoolnet website (www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk):

David Kirkwood, a trade union leader, was in Edinburgh in 1916 during a Zeppelin air raid. He wrote about it in his autobiography, My Life of Revolt (1935)

Suddenly a terrifying explosion occurred. Windows rattled, the ground quivered, pictures swung. We all gasped. I ran to the window and saw Vesuvius in eruption.

As I watched, I felt myself alone. Turning round, I found that my companions had run out of the house, even without putting on their boots. The door opened and the old lady appeared in a dressing-gown. At that moment another terrific explosion shook us. She said : " Oh, dear, I do hope the noise won't waken Sonnie ! "

I could not help smiling at her courage and care.

" It's probably all over now," I said.

She replied, " I hope so," and went off to bed again.

I opened the window. A great flash greeted me from the Castle and then, above the roaring, I heard the most dreadful screeching and shouting. The inmates in the Morningside Asylum had started pandemonium.

Maybe David Kirkwood was describing the event marked at the Castle. Anyone know for sure?

Kevin