An East Coast Raid – The Aftermath

In the group’s last blog an account of the Zeppelin raid was told. In this, over final blog of the series, the aftermath of the raid will be told over the following days and months.  The newspapers of the time gave little detail of the raid and therefore accounts of the raid are limited to the few private accounts of the period available.

By 11.30pm the Zeppelin had finished dropping its bombs over the town but would later head inland to drop bombs on Hotham before heading out to sea at 12.12am. The immediate aftermath turn towards freeing the wounded from wrecked buildings and extinguishing fires caused by the scattering of incendiary bombs. A letter dated the 12^th August details the immediate aftermath of the raid over the following days. By the 11^th the repairs of the bomb damage had begun:

“Mr Walker, Hook Road, was repairing his roof yesterday”

In Aire Street and the surrounding areas all the windows were shattered…

“All are now white boards, nailed up”

The loss of life as a result of the raid would continue to grow in the days after the raid. Two young girls and the visitor to the Ramsay house died in the days after the raid. When considering the extent of the damage to the town and the loss of life some consideration should be given to the fact that not all of the bombs dropped on the town exploded. On the 12^th August 36 unexploded bombs were displayed at the police station.

On the 12^th an inquest was held into the raid and then consideration was given to burying the dead. Mrs Acaster (Mrs Ramsay’s visitor), from London, was buried in her own grave. The remaining victims were buried in a mass grave on the 13th; at the expense of Comptom Rickett.

The next account we have of the raid is taken a year later when the Goole Times reported the poor condition of the grave. Councillor Cluff drew attention to the dilapidated condition of the graves of the victims and asked which authority, the Council or the Joint Burial Board, was responsible for the upkeep of the graves. The cemetery authorities said it was the matter for the Council. In 1915 the Council undertook to defray the expenses of the funeral and the plot of ground was given by the Burial Board. No other obligations were known but it was thought that Burial Board would undertake the work. It was resolved that the Burial Board would take on responsibility for the upkeep of the grave.

As the end of the war came into sight the thoughts of the town people were given to remembering those who had been killed. In December 1918 a War Memorial Committee was established to discuss and decide upon the methods of memorial which would be suitable for the town. From the outset one of the matters raised was that any memorial should make reference to those killed during the Zeppelin Air raid. By January 1919 after a period of public consultation and several committee meetings a list of 13 schemes were considered. One of those which was chosen, as a subsidiary to a larger memorial, if funds were available, was a monument for air victims over the grave in Goole Cemetery.  The funding of the memorial scheme would be by public subscription.It would take two years of funding raising and disputes but in February of 1922 a ceremony to the Civilian casualties of Goole was unveiled. The memorial was supplied from the design of the committee by Mr H.O Tasker, of Goole, who also erected the cenotaph. The memorial was placed in Goole Cemetery over the graves of the 16 persons who lost their lives in the German Zeppelin raid.

            

On the 12^th February an unveiling ceremony took place in the town. The service took place on a Sunday afternoon with a large crowd forming at Goole Cemetery. The ceremony was designed to be of the simplest possible character but impressed and was said to appeal strongly to the many relatives and friends of the deceased, and sympathisers.

A procession to the memorial was formed at the cemetery gates headed by the Vicar of Goole and representatives of the Goole Churches. Then followed a choir selected from the Goole Churches led by Mr Ernest Johnson. Then came the relatives of the deceased, who had positions allocated near the memorial. Following these were the Chairman and members of the Urban District Council. As the procession moved along the cemetery path the choir sang “Rock of Ages”.

On arrival at the memorial Rev F. A. Young (Goole Primitive Methodist) read the lesson from Isaiah IX and XI and a hymn. A prayer by Rev. Father Dekkers and a hymn by the Roman Catholic Choir followed. Praise was given to the memorial committee by Mr R G Bickerton when asking Mrs Needham to unveil the memorial. Mrs Needham unveiled the memorial by releasing the Union Jack and gave a speech which stated that the memorial was a sign of the sincere sympathy of the fellow townspeople of those who were victims of terrible atrocity. Councillor S G Bevan placed a wreath at the foot of the memorial from the members of the Goole Urban Council and Mr R G Bickerton one from the Memorial Committee. These offerings were followed by others from the relatives of the victims. The choir sang the closing hymn – “Peace Perfect Peace”, after which the Bishop Illif pronounced the Benediction.

The impact upon those witness to the horrors of war would last for years to come after peace was declared. The physical legacy of the raid would also leave an impact in the years after the war. Although some account of the number of bombs could be given for those that were dropped on land there was no accounting for the numbers of bombs dropped in the docks. In May 1925 a dredger brought to the surface a German bomb, but thankfully did not detonate.

In Memoriam.

In memory of the citizens of Goole who lost their lives by a German Zeppelin raid on this undefended town on the August 9th, 1915.

“Eternal Rest Give Unto Them O Lord”

“Sarah Acaster, aged 65 years.

Sarah Ann Acaster, aged 34 years.

Kezia Acaster, aged 32 years.

Violet Stainton, aged 18 years.

Hannah Goodall, aged 74 years.

Alice Harrison, aged 6 years.

Florence Harrison, aged 4 years.

Margaret Selina Pratt, aged 9 months.

Agnes Pratt, aged 36 years.

Alice Elizabeth Woodhall, aged 3 years.

Grace Woodhall, aged 31 years.

Mary Carroll, aged 32 years.

James Carroll, aged 26 years.

Alice Carroll, aged 4 years.

Gladys Mary Carroll, aged 3 years.

Alice Smith, aged 17 years.

The British Army and Private William Cawson

It is too simple to just state the fact that the men of Goole served in the Royal Navy, Army, Air Force and Mercantile services.

 

Prior to the outbreak of hostilities there were a number of men from Goole who had or were currently in the Royal Navy or the Army, with those who had seen service being on the ‘Reserve List’. Some of those on the ‘Army Reserve’ had seen action as far away as South Africa and India, with others having been posted to Hong Kong and Singapore.

 

Once their service was over they were placed on the ‘reserve’ for seven years, during which time they were liable to be recalled to the Colours should the nation be placed in a ‘national emergency’. To keep their skills, marksmanship, field-craft, etc. current they were required to attend the camp to which their former Regiment was based – Strensall (York and Lancaster Regiment); Pontefract (King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry), being two examples.

 

The men of Goole who were already in the Army were part of what came to be called ‘the contemptible little Army’, a phrase which seems to stem from a quote taken from Kaiser Wilhelm II. The organisation of the British Army at that time, based purely on a voluntary basis, meant that its numbers were small compared to other European armies which used conscription; this was however miss-leading as these armies were based on a service of two or three years, whereas the British soldier could stay for a time as short as three, or as many as twenty-plus years, this being determined in some cases by the rank attained.

 

The British Army may have been small, but it certainly had ‘teeth’. This was in the form of the Short Magazine Lee Enfield rifle, the SMLE Mk. II being introduced in 1907, later replaced by the Mk. III in 1915 – as it was cheaper to manufacture in larger numbers. When the German Army advanced through Belgium and first came in to contact with this rifle and the men behind it, they thought that they were encountering machine-gun fire such was the amount of ‘fire’ being brought to bear and the number of casualties inflicted.

 

While the Army suffered heavily in the retreat from Mons to the Marne it slowed the opposing forces to such an extent that it allowed further ‘regular’ Regiments still serving at ‘home’ to be made ready. The Depots of all Regiments were awash with those men undergoing various stages of training and reservists going through the process of getting all their equipment; alongside all of this the Territorial battalions associated to their Regiments were to be fully assembled and equipped; and all had to ultimately be transported across the Channel with the stores, horses, wagons and other equipment that made a 'modern' Army..

 

Those men who were undergoing training in the few weeks before the War commenced, and the reservists, were to face the challenges of action sooner than most as replacements to the large number of casualties that had been inflicted in the first weeks of the War.

 

Included within those who were on the reserve list and who were called-up is Private 5257 William Cawson. William enlisted in the Army in October 1898 at the age of 19. He requested to join the Army Medical Corps but was posted to the York & Lancs. He was to see service in South Africa between 1899 and 1902, and was awarded the Queen’s South African Medal, with eight clasps; and the King’s South African Medal, with three clasps.

 

William married Ethel Beatrice Brooks in November 1903, in Dover, eventually having five children – William, Ethel Beatrice Eliza, Harold Sydney, Leslie Thomas and Robert Leonard.

 

Upon his discharge in October 1910, William was placed on the Army Reserve; thereafter he attended Strensall Range, in July 1911 and June 1913.

 

William was issued with a travel warrant on the 4th August, 1914, that allowed him to get to Pontefract. He was to serve at 'home' initially and it wasn't until 30th April, 1915, that William was posted to France. Less than two weeks later on 11th May William was wounded in the right arm and shoulder, seriously enough for him to be brought back to England. He died due to his wounds in hospital at Newcastle four days after being wounded. He was buried on Friday 20th May in Goole Cemetery.

At the time of his ‘call-up’ in August 1914 the family were living at 7, Capstan Street. Sometime between the date of his death and the following November, Ethel had moved with the children back to Dover.