Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-12-17
WOMEN AND CHILDREN
KILLED BY SHELLS
[Continued From First Pagc]

lOOntlnueu FTOm ElrSJ rage
were unable to train their guns on the
wireless station on the heights.
However, the big resort hotels on
the esplanade and the old town Of
fered tempting targets and a rain of
shrapnel and lyddite shells began to
fall in this section, doing great dam
age to the hotels and destroying
houses and shops in the poorer dis
tricts. A woman in one OF these shops
was literally blown to pieces.
Hospital Bombarded
One of the light cruisers seemed to
! be doing most of the firing. First
she let go with her stern guns and
| then, maneuvering further out, de-
voted her broadsides to the most
conspicuous buildings on the higher
ground. AS the result of this bonn
! bardment three shells found target
in the Scarborough Hospital, one tear
ing chimney from the roof another
| striking the nurses quarters and the
third demolishing the ornamental ia
cade above the entrance. The wall of
the old castle, which looks formidable
! but which has been unoccupied for
hundreds of years, was preached by
an eight-inch shell.
The gunners got the correct eleva-
ton of the wireless station but failed
to injure it, most of the shells falling
in an adjacent field, the turf of which
was completely ploughed up by them.
Some of the better class of resi-
dences began to suffer. one of the
first being the home OF Russell Rea,
member of Parliament for the dis
/ trict. His life and that of his wife
were saved by the fact that they had
gone down for an early breakfast and
were in the kitchen, the only part of
the house untouched, the rest being a
total wreck. At the same time a small
| !, tod lNxyo nnl6 wi fn
and their child and nephew was
| struck by an explosive shell, reducing
the place to kindling wood and killing
the whole family.
Second More Violent
The bombardment had now been on
for fifteen minutes and the town was
! given a five-minute breathing spell.
! The streets were cleared of people
! when the light cruiser, after turning,
| brought a new broadslde into play.
The German squadron then faced what
looked like a deserted CITY, The gun
! ners directed their attention to the
railroad station with the result that
whole row Of houses, including
church in a nearby street, were wreck.
ed, but without loss of life, and the
occupants had sought refuge, this sec
ond bombardment was more violent
than the first but did less damage.
At the expiration of this second
fifteen minute period of firing the
warships drew off in northerly direc.
tion and when the people of Scarbor-
ough again heard the, booming of the
dreaded guns at o'clock, the town
of Whitby, up the coast, was the
victim.
During the early stage OF the bonn
bardment the screeching shells caused
an indescribable pandemonium, later
the people became still as death under
IN Of iNh
to a tumultous crescendo when the full
broadsides were used. l.s
Infant Wounded
When the ships drew off the sad
search for killed and wounded began.
At the hospital, when the wounded be-
gan to arrive. the large entry hall
witnessed many pitiable scenes as
anxious relatives awaited the result
of the surgeons examination. Among
the wounded we're many women and
children, an infont of four months hav-
ing its skull fractured by a shrapnel
while in its mothers arms, who es-
capped unscathed. A surgeon at the
hospital aisot had a marvellous escape
when the casing of an eight-inch shell
burrowed into the ground at his feet.
The military authorities, assisted by
the police, directed the exodus of the
townspeople from the, city. Women
were favored with seats on the trains
withthe result that but few men de-
parted from the town. -r
The pathetic helplessness of the
refugees brought home the reality of
war to this part of England. Many
poor pople whose homes were de-
stroyed sought refuge in nearby towns |
Crowds of these waited about the sta
ton, thinking that the scenes of the
morning were about to be re-enacted
Policeman Carries Shell
Of
structed citizens to bring to the police
station all uneXploded shells. Among
such finds was a live eight-inch ex-
plosive protective, which was hastily
put into a bucket of water when a
policeman strolled in with 1t careless
ly tucked under his arm.
By nightfall the town bore an out
ward appearance of calm, but anxious
groups fingered about the streets.
Many of the persons in these
groups were unspairing in their ex-
pressions of resentment because the
town was helpless to retaliate on the