Hartlepool, sea and ships
While we were staying in Stockton we spent an afternoon at the Hartlepool Maritime Experience, no less! The highlight is the country's oldest battle ship the HMS Trincomalee, a naval frigate built in Bombay in 1817. She stands in a quay changed from it's original use as a ship building and timber yard to a pseudo historic wharf with period shops and houses. Hartlepool has an interesting history as the only mainland part of the UK to be raided by the German navy. In 1914, Hartlepool, Scarborough and Whitby were shelled by a squadron of the German navy causing 137 fatalities and 592 casualties, many civilian. The British fleet was in Scapa Flow and took a while to respond. When a few ships arrived in the area the Germans thought that they would be doing battle with the whole fleet and so ran back home. The attack on civilians was to become a powerful piece of propaganda for the British. When we got there the rain was sheeting down but it brightened up during our visit. Here are...