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Sphere cover - East Coast bombardments, Hartlepool chapel
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Sphere cover - East Coast bombardments, Hartlepool chapel
The bombardment of the East Coast - the scene outside a Hartlepool Baptist Chapel. Scene painted by Fortunino Matania based on a sketch by fellow Sphere artist, G. H. Davis, showing the shelling of Hartlepool by German battle cruisers on the morning of 16 December 1914. The caption gives the following description: A shell coming from the sea hit the Baptist Chapel, smashing in a large portion of the upper part of the building; it then went clean through the building, hurtling into the roadway, from which it rebounded and crashed through the first-floor bedroom of the house, seen on the extreme right, killing a woman. As the shell hit the chapel, causing a haze of dust, men and women came rushing from all the houses around. One woman was struck down and fell forwards on to the road; a Territorial who rushed to her assistance had his rifle blown out of his hand. The scene outside the bombarded chapel was piteous in the extreme; all the windows were broken; the walls were bespattered with plaster, and masses of concrete were piled up within the railings of the chapel. Date: 1914
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Media ID 14236116
© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans
Baptist Bombardment Bombardments Bombing Chaos Chapel Civilian Civilians Davis Fortunino Hartlepool Matania Panic Shelled Shelling Smashing Sphere Victims December
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This evocative image captures the chaos and destruction caused by the German bombardment of Hartlepool's East Coast on the morning of December 16, 1914. Painted by Fortunino Matania based on a sketch by fellow Sphere artist, G.H. Davis, the scene outside a Hartlepool Baptist Chapel is a poignant depiction of the devastating impact of war. The chapel, located on the left side of the image, bears the brunt of the attack as a shell from the sea slams into its upper portion, causing a large explosion. The shell then travels through the building, exiting through the first-floor bedroom of a house on the extreme right, taking the life of a woman inside. As the shell hits the chapel, a haze of dust fills the air, sending men and women from the surrounding houses rushing to safety. One woman is struck down in the chaos and falls forwards onto the road, while a Territorial, seen in the foreground, rushes to her aid only to have his rifle blown out of his hand. The scene outside the bombarded chapel is one of pitiful destruction. The windows are shattered, the walls are bespattered with plaster, and masses of concrete are piled up within the chapel's railings. The devastation wrought by the bombardment serves as a stark reminder of the horrors of war and the innocent lives lost in its wake.
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