Kolberg lays a minefield off Scarborough
Many people in Scarborough know a great deal of the German bombardment upon the town in 1914. A lot less is known about the problem of mines which beset the town for weeks afterwards. There were three ships which left Hayburn Wyke on 16th December,1914. Two were the battlecruisers the "Von Derrtann" and the "Derrflinger".The third ship, was the Kolberg. This was a lot smaller and this separated from the other two and headed towards Flamborough Head where she laid a minefield.
The first victims were minesweepers. On Sunday night a minesweeper was hit and liped into Scarborough Harbour. The Garmoyle was sent to aid another minesweeper that had been hit on Sunday. This too was hit by a mine. It was an armoured trawler. One man was killed on board - 62 years old Thomas Gilbert, of Cleethorpes. The sea was flat and Mr Sheader, caretaker of the St Sepulchre St Primitive Methodist Church, put out with a small coble. The Lifeboat was called out as well. John Owston was at sea so Johnson Crawford was coxswain. They watched the boat sink and they picked up survivors. The survivors were taken by a motorised car to the Sea Bathing Infirmary and the Hospital.
It was the skipper who died. He was buried in Scarborough. The funeral was an "impressive affair". The coffin was draped with a Union Jack and taken by horse drawn carriage. There were 50 naval reservists amongst the mourners. Several well known Scarborough fishermen also attended.
Then the "Boston", a Norwegian cargo vessel(1,168 tons), was hit by a mine just three miles off Scarborough. All 18 crew were saved and were taken on board a minesweeper. This abandoned vessel was not sunk but drifted onto Filey Brig. Nine of the men were landed at Scarborough and 7 men plus the Captain were landed at Filey. All the men were looked after by the Shipwrecked Mariners Society. In Scarborough they were placed at Mrs S Christians at 21 Sandside. In Filey they were accommodated at Foords Hotel.
Sources
- The Mercurey,1914.
- The Pictorial,1914.
OTHER ARTICLES
• The early years of the Scarborough Lifeboat
• The German bombardment of scarborough in the First World War in 1914
• Watching for ships by the harbour walls in Scarborough
• The loss of the Scarborough trawler Heritage in 1993
• A great storm off Filey Bridge and a famous rescue in 1799
• Naval battle off Flamborough Head - Captain Paul Jones
• The national RNLI and the Scarborough lifeboat of 1861.
• Harwood Brierleys description of Scarborough harbour at the opening of the 20th century
• Shipbuilding at Scarborough - the wooden barques and schooners
• Filey and the gales of 1860,1867,1869 AND 1880
• Charles Dickens account of Filey and Scarborough graveyards
• Tommy Rowley - stories about loss of life at sea
• William Cammish - log book of the Aurora - a Scarborough merchant ship
• Primitive Methodism amongst the Scarborough Filey and Flamborough fishing communities
• Suzanne Pollard and her Filey Fishing relatives
• The Allen and Truman Scarborough fishing families
• Stories from Flamborough Head and Filey
• Tunny fishing in Scarborough in the 1930's
• Three Scarborough trawlers sunk by mines in 1920
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