chrisharley9 Posted 8 December , 2005 Share Posted 8 December , 2005 does any one have details of this raid please - 31 of its victims were members of the Manchester Regt & are buried in Cleethorpes Cemetery All The Best Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Lund Posted 8 December , 2005 Share Posted 8 December , 2005 I think this man might well be writing about this particular raid, in which case I would quite like more details myself. In early April an unnamed Holmfirth soldier wrote to the Holmfirth Express describing a Zeppelin raid on the north east coast. He was walking back to his camp with an artilleryman when they heard engine noises above them, they at first believed the sound to be one of their own aircraft on patrol, heading towards Blythe. He reported that: “We continued chatting, when there was a sudden flash and I said, ‘What the dickens are they using searchlights for?’ My mate said it was no searchlight, and a boom, as if from some battery in the distance, came up to us from the direction of the coast. Another flash and a boom; then the R. A. man said: ‘That’s not the battery, it’s that ____ airship. She’s a Zeppelin.’ Bugles could now be heard sounding in all directions. The gas was turned off at the works (a strict order) and everything everywhere seemed to be suddenly blotted off the map. Orders were given to stand to, and all who were out made all haste back to camp. “I heard a story which I have no doubt is quite true for I have had similar experiences myself. There were between two and three hundred in the canteen, and when all the lights went out you can guess what happened. Men with empty pots got mixed up with men with full pots, and I guess there was more spilt than drank, and the orderly Sergeants shouting ‘Fall in’ etc. etc., it must have been amusing. “Just to tell you how the news travelled here, we did not know what had really happened until we saw the morning papers, and we are only about five to six miles from where all the bombs dropped.” It sounds like the local papers would be worth a look at if possiable to do so. Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisharley9 Posted 8 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 8 December , 2005 Thanks Tony for that - I hope to have trip up there next year All The Best Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph Posted 8 December , 2005 Share Posted 8 December , 2005 Chris, This is the memorial in Cleethorpes, http://www.poulton.info/familyhistory/War%20Memorials.htm A description by Vernon Cook, Zeppelin Raid over Cleethorpes Lincs Zeppelin airship drops bombs on the resort Just after midnight and lights had been put out in the Baptist Chapel on Alexandra Road, where men from the Manchester Regt; had been billeted that same day. The Zeppelin approached the town and turned,, as if to head away over the river, then turned again and suddently there was a flash, closely followed by others. The first was a direct hit on the chapel, 31 N.C.O.'s and menof the 3rd Battalion were killed. Volunteers manned the stretchers that carried the victims out of the devasted building into the waiting ambulances and, as each one was removed the stretchers were tipped over, leaving a stream of blood running down the butters a Gruesome sight for those in attendence. The commander of the German Zeppelin L21, Martin Dietrich, could not have realised he was bombing a contingency of soldiers who were sleeping on the floor of the chapel. Hope this helps Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisharley9 Posted 8 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 8 December , 2005 Charles Many thanks - I visited the memorial as a child as my great uncle who was killed in a trawler accident in the 1930s is buried nearby All The Best Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bramley Posted 8 December , 2005 Share Posted 8 December , 2005 Hi Chris, I cannot add a lot more to the description from Joseph. Local legend has it that the Zeppelin followed a car which was not observing the blackout. I find it uncanny that the Zeppelin managed to bomb a military establishment, albeit a church. I can actually see Cleethorpes cemetery gates from my front window here at home. The memorial is about 250 yards away! There is a ceremony performed every year at the memorial by the local council. There are also a few individual graves to the Manchesters in the immediate area. If you would like any photographs, or indeed a photo of your Great Uncles grave, or if you would like me to check the newspaper archives at Grimsby please drop me a line off forum. This is not a problem, Regards, Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 8 December , 2005 Share Posted 8 December , 2005 Chris On 31 March/1 April 1916, the Germans launched a raid on London using Navy Zeppelins L9, L11, L13, L14, L15, L16, L22 and Army Zeppelins LZ90 and LZ93. Engine trouble forced the commander of L22, Kapitänleutnant Martin Dietrich, to abandon London and to turn towards the Humber. He reached Mablethorpe at 0100 and then turned north, dropping 26 bombs on Humberstone at about 0130; he only damaged a farmhouse. L22 then dropped six high explosive bombs on Cleethorpes, killing 29 soldiers from the 3rd Manchesters who were billeted in a chapel, and wounding 53. After that, L22 crossed the coast at Spurn Head, where it was fired on by a paddle minesweeper moored in the Humber. I hope that this helps you. Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisharley9 Posted 9 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 9 December , 2005 Hi Chris, I cannot add a lot more to the description from Joseph. Local legend has it that the Zeppelin followed a car which was not observing the blackout. I find it uncanny that the Zeppelin managed to bomb a military establishment, albeit a church. I can actually see Cleethorpes cemetery gates from my front window here at home. The memorial is about 250 yards away! There is a ceremony performed every year at the memorial by the local council. There are also a few individual graves to the Manchesters in the immediate area. If you would like any photographs, or indeed a photo of your Great Uncles grave, or if you would like me to check the newspaper archives at Grimsby please drop me a line off forum. This is not a problem, Regards, Steve. Steve My great aunt used to live in Davenport Drive - I was brought up there most summer holidays - a break away from the Fens All The Best Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisharley9 Posted 9 December , 2005 Author Share Posted 9 December , 2005 Chris On 31 March/1 April 1916, the Germans launched a raid on London using Navy Zeppelins L9, L11, L13, L14, L15, L16, L22 and Army Zeppelins LZ90 and LZ93. Engine trouble forced the commander of L22, Kapitänleutnant Martin Dietrich, to abandon London and to turn towards the Humber. He reached Mablethorpe at 0100 and then turned north, dropping 26 bombs on Humberstone at about 0130; he only damaged a farmhouse. L22 then dropped six high explosive bombs on Cleethorpes, killing 29 soldiers from the 3rd Manchesters who were billeted in a chapel, and wounding 53. After that, L22 crossed the coast at Spurn Head, where it was fired on by a paddle minesweeper moored in the Humber. I hope that this helps you. Gareth As always many thanks Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bramley Posted 9 December , 2005 Share Posted 9 December , 2005 Steve My great aunt used to live in Davenport Drive - I was brought up there most summer holidays - a break away from the Fens All The Best Chris Know it well, you're almost a neighbour! Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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