A SERVICE to commemorate the 98th anniversary of the bombardment of Hartlepool was held at the weekend.
A total of 123 Hartlepool people were killed by bombardment from German ships on December 16, 1914, just four months into the First World War.
About 150 people attended a service on Sunday and schoolchildren from St John Vianney RC Primary School released balloons in memory of the 27 children who died that day.
The service began in the Memorial Gardens on the Headland, or old Hartlepool at 8.10am, the exact time the first of 1,150 shells were fired on the town. Another service was then held at the Heugh Gun Battery.
Plans are already underway for special commemoration events to be held for the 100th anniversary in two years.
It is expected the German Navy will be involved in the event and it is possible a ship will be sent to Hartlepool from Germany.
Mayor of Hartlepool, Stuart Drummond and the town’s MP Iain Wright, attended Sunday’s event.
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