TERROR ON THE TYNE.
England was thrilled, dismayed, petrified. The wholesale massacre at
Eastbourne and the terrible details of the bombardment of Hull had
spread increased horror everywhere throughout the land.
Terror reigned on the Tyneside. Hospitals, asylums, and public
institutions, crowded with affrighted inmates, had no food to
distribute. In Newcastle, in Shields, in Jarrow, and in Gateshead the
poor were idle and hungry, while the wealthy were feverishly
apprehensive. A Sabbath quiet had fallen on the great silent highway of
the Tyne. In those blazing days and breathless nights there was an
unbroken stillness that portended dire disaster.
In the enormous crowded districts on each side of the river the gaunt
spectre Starvation stalked through the cheerless homes of once
industrious toilers, and the inmates pined and died. So terrible was the
distress already, that domestic pets were being killed and eaten, dogs
and cats being no uncommon dish, the very offal thrown aside being
greedily devoured by those slowly succumbing to a horrible death. Awful
scenes of suffering and blank despair were being witnessed on every
side.
Three days after the enemy had ascended the Humber and dealt such a
decisive blow at Hull, the port of South Shields was suddenly alarmed by
information telegraphed from the Coastguard on Harton Down Hill, about
a mile south of the town, to the effect that they had sighted a number
of French and Russian ships.
Panic at once ensued. The broad market-place was filled by a
terror-stricken crowd of townspeople, while the seafaring population
surged down King Street and Ocean Road, across the park to the long
South Pier at the entrance to the Tyne, eager to reassure themselves
that the enemy had no designs upon their town.
In the dull red afterglow that lit up the broad bay of golden sand
between Trow Point and the pier, a huge vessel suddenly loomed dark upon
the sky line, and, as she approached, those watching anxiously through
glasses made her out as the great steel turret-ship _Lazare Carnot_,
flying the French Tricolor. Immediately following her came a number of
cruisers, gunboats, and torpedo boats. They included the _Dimitri
Donskoi_, the _Kniaz Pojarski_, the _Pamyat Merkuriya_, the _Mezen_, the
_Syzran_, the _Griden_, and the _Gaidamak_, all of which had taken part
in the attack on Hull, while they had now been joined by the French
battleships _Massena_ and _Neptune_, the small cruisers _Cosamo_,
_Desaix_, _D'Estaing_, _Coetlogon_, and _Lalande_, the torpedo gunboats
_Iberville_, _Lance_, _Leger_, and _Fleche_, and the gun-vessels
_Etoile_, _Fulton_, _Gabes_, _Sagittaire_, and _Vipere_, with a large
number of torpedo boats and "catchers," in addition to those which were
at Hull.
As the vessels steamed onward at full speed, the people rushed from the
pier back again into the town in wild disorder, while the Coastguard at
Spanish Battery on the north shore of the estuary, having now discovered
the presence of the menacing ships, at once telegraphed the intelligence
up to Newcastle, where the most profound sensation was immediately
caused. The news spread everywhere, and the people on the Tyneside knew
that the hand of the oppressor was upon them.
Suddenly, without warning, smoke tumbled over the bows of the _Lazare
Carnot_. There was a low boom, and one of the ponderous guns in her
turret sent forth an enormous shell, which struck the battery at Trow
Point, blowing away a portion of a wall.
A moment later the battery replied with their 9-tonners, sending forth
shot after shot, most of which, however, ricochetted away over the
glassy sea. It was the signal for a fight which quickly became
desperate.
In a few moments half a dozen of the ships lay broadside on, and the
great guns of the _Massena_ and _Neptune_, with those of four other
vessels, opened a terrible fire upon the fort, casting their shells upon
the British gunners with frightful effect.
In the battery the Armstrong disappearing guns were worked to their
utmost capacity, and the shots of the defenders played havoc with the
smaller craft, three torpedo boats and a "catcher" being sunk in as many
minutes.
Meanwhile the _Active_, _Bonaventure_, _Cambrian_, _Canada_, and
_Archer_ of the Reserve Squadron, now on its way from the north of
Scotland in consequence of orders from the Admiralty having reached it,
rounded Sharpness Point, and steamed full upon the enemy's ships.
The conflict was fierce, but quickly ended.
Heavy fire was kept up from the fort at Tynemouth, from Spanish Battery,
from Trow Battery, and from several new batteries with disappearing guns
between the Groyne and the quarry at Trow, that had been constructed and
manned since the mobilisation by Volunteers, consisting of the 1st
Newcastle Volunteer Engineers, the 3rd Durham Volunteer Artillery, and
the 4th Durham Light Infantry from Newcastle. Nevertheless the
assistance received by the British ships from the land was of but little
avail, for a Russian torpedo boat sent forth its messenger of death at
the third-class cruiser _Canada_, blowing her up, while the engines of
both the _Active_ and _Bonaventure_ were so seriously damaged as to be
practically useless. Rapid signalling by the semaphore at Spanish
Battery had placed the defenders on the alert, and although the British
were suffering so heavily on account of their minority, still the enemy
were everywhere feeling the effect of the hot and unexpected reception.
Before half an hour had passed two Russian gunboats had been torpedoed,
and the French cruiser _D'Estaing_, having caught fire, was burning
furiously, many of her crew perishing at their guns.
[Illustration: MAP OF THE TYNE DISTRICT.]
The _Lazare Carnot_ and the _Massena_, heedless of the fire from the
shore, steamed at half speed across the estuary until they were opposite
the Tynemouth Battery, when they suddenly opened fire, being quickly
joined by six French and Russian cruisers. In the meantime the contact
mines were being blown up by piquet boats, who, although suffering
heavily from the fire from the shore, nevertheless continued their task.
It was then seen how utterly inadequate were the defences of the Tyne,
and what negligence had been displayed on the part of the War Office in
not providing at Tynemouth adequate means of warding off or successfully
coping with an attack.
From behind the tall grey lighthouse a few guns were thundering, but in
face of the overwhelming force at sea it was but a sorry attempt. One
shot from the battery severely damaged the superstructure of the _Lazare
Carnot_, another cut through the funnel of the _Neptune_, carrying it
away, and a third entering the magazine of one of the small cruisers
caused it to explode with serious loss of life. Yet the devastating
effect of the enemy's shells on the obsolete defences of Tynemouth was
appalling.
Enclosed in the fortifications were the crumbling ruins of the ancient
Priory, with its restored chapel, a graveyard, and an old Castle that
had been converted into artillery barracks. As flame and smoke rushed
continuously from the barbettes, turrets, and broadsides of the hostile
ships, the shots brought down the bare, dark old walls of the Priory,
and, crashing into the Castle, played havoc with the building. The
lantern of the lighthouse, too, was carried away, probably by a shot
flying accidentally wide, and every moment death and desolation was
being spread throughout the fort. Such a magnificent natural position,
commanding as it did the whole estuary of the Tyne, should have been
rendered impregnable, yet, as it remained in 1894, so it stood on this
fatal day, a typical example of War Office apathy and shortsightedness.
Its guns were a mere make-believe, that gave the place an appearance of
strength that it did not possess. In the North Battery, on the left
side, commanding a broad sweep of sea beyond Sharpness, only one gun, a
64-pounder, was mounted, the remaining five rotting platforms being
unoccupied! At the extreme point, to command the mouth of the river, a
single 5-tonner was placed well forward with great ostentation, its
weight, calibre, and other details having been painted up in conspicuous
white letters, for the delectation of an admiring public admitted to
view the Priory. The South Battery, a trifle stronger, was,
nevertheless, a sheer burlesque, its weakness being a disgrace to the
British nation. In fact, in the whole of the battery the upper defences
had long been known to experts to be obsolete, and the lower ones
totally inadequate for the resistance they should have been able to
offer.
Was it any wonder, then, that the shells of the enemy should cause such
frightful destruction? Among the British artillerymen there was no lack
of courage, for they exerted every muscle in their gallant efforts to
repulse the foe. Yet, handicapped as they were by lack of efficient arms
and properly constructed fortifications, their heroic struggles were
futile, and they sacrificed their lives to no purpose. The deadly hail
from the floating monsters swept away the whole of the ancient Priory
walls, demolishing the old red brick barracks, blowing up the Castle
gateway, wrecking the guardroom, and igniting the Priory Chapel. The
loss of life was terrible, the whole of the men manning the 5-ton gun
pointing seaward having been killed by a single shell that burst among
them, while everywhere else men of the Royal Artillery, and those of the
Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery, who were assisting, were killed or maimed
by the incessant rain of projectiles.
Night clouds gathered black and threatening, and it appeared as if the
enemy were carrying all before them. The French battleship _Neptune_,
seeing the guns of all three batteries had been considerably weakened,
was steaming slowly into the mouth of the Tyne, followed by the Russian
cruiser _Syzran_, when suddenly two terrific explosions occurred,
shaking both North and South Shields to their very foundations. High
into the air the water rose, and it was then seen that two submarine
mines had been exploded simultaneously by electric current from the
Tynemouth Battery, and that both vessels had been completely blown up.
Such was the force of the explosion, that the hull of the _Neptune_, a
great armour-clad of over ten thousand tons, had been ripped up like
paper, and of her crew scarcely a man escaped, while the cruiser had
been completely broken in half, and many of her crew blown to atoms.
Scarcely had this success of the defenders been realised when it was
followed by another, for a second later a British torpedo boat succeeded
in blowing up with all hands the French torpedo gunboat _Lance_.
These reverses, however, caused but little dismay among the invaders,
for ere long the British cruisers had been driven off, the guns at Trow
had been silenced, while those at Spanish Battery and Tynemouth could
only keep up a desultory fire. Then, in the falling gloom, ship after
ship, guided by foreign pilots, and carefully evading a number of hulks
that had been placed near the estuary, entered the Tyne, pouring forth
their heavy monotonous fire into North Shields and South Shields.
Skilfully as the despairing defenders managed their submarine mines,
they only succeeded in destroying three more of the enemy's ships, the
French torpedo gunboats _Iberville_ and _Cassini_ and the cruiser
_Desaix_, the crews perishing.
Not for a moment was there a cessation of the cannonade as the smaller
ships of the enemy advanced up the river, and the damage wrought by
their shells was enormous. Tynemouth had already suffered heavily, many
of the streets being in flames. The tower of St. Saviour's Church had
fallen, the conspicuous spire of the Congregational Chapel had been shot
away, the Piers Office had been reduced to ruins, and the long building
of the Royal Hotel completely wrecked. The houses facing Percy Park had
in many cases been shattered, a shell exploding under the archway of the
Bath Hotel had demolished it, and the handsome clock tower at the end of
the road had been hurled down and scattered.
Slackening opposite the Scarp, the gunboats and cruisers belched forth
shot and shell upon North Shields, aiming first at the more conspicuous
objects, such as the Sailors' Home, the Custom House, the tall tower of
Christ Church, and the Harbour Master's office, either totally
destroying them or injuring them irreparably, while the houses on Union
Quay and those in Dockway Square and in adjoining streets, from the
gasometers down to the Town Hall, were also swept by shells. Resistance
was made from Fort Clifford on the one side of the town, from a position
occupied by a battery of the Durham Volunteer Artillery, who had mounted
guns on the hill behind Smith's Yard, and also by the submarine mines of
the Tyne Division Volunteer Miners; but it was most ineffectual, and,
when night fell, hundreds of terror-stricken persons had been killed,
and the town was on fire in dozens of places, the flames illuminating
the sky with their lurid brilliancy.
In South Shields tragic scenes were being enacted. Shells flying about
the town from the river on the one side and the sea on the other
exploded in the streets, blowing unfortunate men, women, and children
into atoms, wrecking public buildings, and setting fire to the cherished
homes of the toilers. The congested blocks of buildings around Panash
Point were one huge furnace; the Custom House, the River Police Station,
and the Plate Glass Works were wrecked, while a shell exploding in one
of the petroleum tanks on the Commissioners' Wharf caused it to burst
with fearful effect. The queer old turret of St. Hilda's fell with a
crash, the Church of St. Stephen was practically demolished, and the
school in the vicinity unroofed. The dome of the Marine School was
carried bodily away; nothing remained standing of the Wouldhave Memorial
Clock but a few feet of the square lower structure, and the Ingham
Infirmary being set on fire, several of the patients lost their lives.
Amid this frightful panic, Lieut.-Col. Gowans and Major Carr of the 3rd
Durham Artillery, the Mayor, Mr. Readhead, Alderman Rennoldson,
Councillors Lisle, Marshall, and Stainton, the Town Clerk, Mr. Hayton,
and the Rev. H. E. Savage, were all conspicuous for the coolness they
displayed. Courage, however, was unavailing, for South Shields was at
the mercy of the invaders, and all defence was feeble and futile.
Hundreds of the townspeople were killed by flying fragments of shells,
hundreds more were buried in the debris of tottering buildings, while
those who survived fled horror-stricken with their valuables away into
the country, beyond the range of the enemy's fire.
The horrors of Hull were being repeated. The streets ran with the
life-blood of unoffending British citizens.
As evening wore on, the invaders came slowly up the Tyne, heedless of
the strenuous opposition with which they were met by Volunteer
Artillery, who, having established batteries on various positions
between Shields and Newcastle, poured a hot fire upon them. Advancing,
their terrible guns spread death and destruction on either bank.
The crowds of idle shipping in the great Tyne Dock at South Shields, and
those in the Albert Edward and Northumberland Docks on the north bank,
together with the staiths, warehouses, and offices, were blazing
furiously, while the Tyne Commissioners' great workshops, Edwards'
Shipbuilding Yard, and many other factories and shipbuilding yards, were
either set on fire or seriously damaged.
Many of the affrighted inhabitants of North Shields sought refuge in the
railway tunnel, and so escaped, but hundreds lost their lives in the
neighbourhood of Wallsend and Percy Main.
Shells fell in Swinburne's brass foundry at Carville, destroying the
buildings, together with the Carville Hotel and the railway viaduct
between that place and Howdon.
The Wallsend Railway Station and the Theatre of Varieties were blown to
atoms, and the houses both at High and Low Walker suffered severely,
while opposite at Jarrow enormous damage was everywhere caused. At the
latter place the 1st Durham Volunteer Engineers rendered excellent
defensive service under Lieut.-Col. Price and Major Forneaux, and the
Mayor was most energetic in his efforts to insure the safety of the
people. A submarine mine had been laid opposite Hebburn, and, being
successfully exploded, blew to atoms the French gunboat _Gabes_, and at
the same time seriously injured the propeller of the cruiser _Cosamo_.
This vessel subsequently broke down, and a second mine fired from the
shore destroyed her also. Nevertheless the invaders steadily advanced up
the broad river, blowing up obstacles, dealing decisive blows, and
destroying human life and valuable property with every shot from their
merciless weapons.
The panic that night in Newcastle was terrible. The streets were in a
turmoil of excitement, for the reports from Tynemouth had produced the
most intense alarm and dismay. On receipt of the first intelligence the
Free Library Committee of the City Council happened to be sitting, and
the chairman, Alderman H. W. Newton, the popular representative of All
Saints' North, formally announced it to his colleagues, among whom was
the Mayor. The committee broke up in confusion, and an excited
consultation followed, in which Councillors Durnford, Fitzgerald, and
Flowers, with Alderman Sutton, took part. Capt. Nicholls, the Chief
Constable, Major A. M. Potter of the 1st Northumberland Artillery,
Lieut.-Col. Angus of the 1st Newcastle Volunteer Artillery, Lieut.-Col.
Palmer and Major Emley of the Volunteer Engineers, Mr. Hill Motum, and
Mr. Joseph Cowen also entered the room and engaged in the discussion.
At such a hasty informal meeting, nothing, however, could be done. The
Mayor and Councillors were assured by the Volunteer officers that
everything possible under the circumstances had been arranged for the
defence of the Tyne. Property worth millions was at stake, and now that
the news had spread from mouth to mouth the streets around the Town Hall
were filled with crowds of excited, breathless citizens, anxious to know
what steps were being taken to insure their protection.
So loudly did they demand information, that the Mayor was compelled to
appear for a moment and address a few words to them, assuring them that
arrangements had been made which he hoped would be found adequate to
repel the foe. This appeased them in a measure, and the crowd dispersed;
but in the other thoroughfares the excitement was intensified, and
famished thousands rushed aimlessly about, many going out upon the High
Level and Low Level Bridges and straining their eyes down the river in
endeavour to catch a glimpse of the enemy.
Heavy and continuous firing could be heard as the dark evening dragged
on, and presently, just before nine o'clock, the anxious ones upon the
bridges saw the flash of guns as the invading vessels rounded the sharp
bend of the river at the ferry beyond Rotterdam Wharf.
The sight caused the people to rush panic-stricken up into the higher
parts of Newcastle or across the bridges into Gateshead, and from both
towns a rapid exodus was taking place, thousands fleeing into the
country. From gun-vessels, torpedo gunboats, and cruisers, shot and
shell poured in continuous streams into the wharves, shipping, and
congested masses of houses on either bank.
The houses along City Road, St. Lawrence Road, Quality Row, and Byker
Bank, on the outskirts of Newcastle, suffered severely, while shots
damaged the great Ouseburn Viaduct, wrecked St. Dominic's Roman Catholic
Chapel, and blew away the roof of the new Board School, a prominent
feature of the landscape.
Several shells fell and exploded in Jesmond Vale. One burst and set fire
to the Sandyford Brewery, and one or two falling in Portland Road caused
widespread destruction and terrible loss of life. The London and Hamburg
Wharves, with the shipping lying near, were soon blazing furiously, and
all along Quay Side, right up to the Guildhall, shops and offices were
every moment being destroyed and swept away. New Greenwich and South
Shore on the Gateshead side were vigorously attacked, and many shots
fired over the Salt Marshes fell in the narrow thoroughfares that lie
between Sunderland Road and Brunswick Street.
Upon the enemy's ships the Volunteer batteries on the commanding
positions on either side of the high banks poured a galling fire, one
battery at the foot of the Swing Bridge on the Gateshead side effecting
terrible execution. Their guns had been well laid, and the salvoes of
shell played about the French gun-vessels and torpedo boats, causing
frightful destruction among the crews. Both Newcastle and Gateshead,
lying so much higher than the river, were in a certain measure
protected, and the high banks afforded a wide command over the waterway.
At various points, including the entrances to the High Level Bridge, at
the Side, the Close, New Chatham, and the Rabbit Banks, the Volunteers
had opened fire, and were keeping up a terrible cannonade. The dark
river reflected the red light which flashed forth every moment from gun
muzzles, while search-lights from both ships and shore were constantly
streaming forth, and the thunder of war shook the tall factory chimneys
to their very foundations.
Heedless of the strenuous opposition, the invading ships kept up a
vigorous fire, which, aimed high, fell in the centre of Newcastle with
most appalling effect. In the midst of the crowds in Newgate and
Pilgrim Streets shells exploded, blowing dozens of British citizens to
atoms and tearing out the fronts of shops. One projectile, aimed at the
strangely shaped tower of St. Nicholas' Cathedral, struck it, and swept
away the thin upper portion, and another, crashing into the sloping roof
of the grim, time-mellowed relic Black Gate, shattered it, and tore away
part of the walls.
The old castle and the railway bridge were also blown up in the earlier
stages of the bombardment, and the square tower of St. John's fell with
a sudden crash right across the street, completely blocking it. From end
to end Grainger Street was swept by French melinite shells, which,
bursting in rapid succession, filled the air with tiny flying fragments,
each as fatal as a bullet fired from a rifle. The French shell is much
more formidable than ours, for, while the latter breaks into large
pieces, the former is broken up into tiny and exceedingly destructive
fragments.
In the midst of this terrible panic a shot cut its way through the Earl
Grey Monument, causing it to fall, many persons being crushed to death
beneath the stones, while both the Central Exchange and the Theatre
Royal were now alight, shedding a brilliant glare skyward.
At this time, too, the whole of Quay Side was a mass of roaring,
crackling flames, the thin spire of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral
had been shot away, Bainbridge's great emporium was blazing furiously,
and the Art Club premises had taken fire. One shot had fallen at the
back of the Town Hall, and torn an enormous hole in the wall, while
another, entering the first floor of the County Hotel, had burst with
awful force, and carried away the greater part of its gloomy facade.
In the Central Station opposite, dozens of shells had exploded, and it
was now on fire, hopelessly involved together with the adjoining Station
Hotel. The grey front of the imposing _Chronicle_ building had been
wrecked by a shell that had descended upon the roof, and a row of dark
old-fashioned houses in Eldon Square had been demolished.
The same fate had been shared by the Co-operative Wholesale Society's
warehouse, the Fish Market, the _Journal_ office, and both the Crown and
Metropole Hotels at the bottom of Clayton Street.
Yet the firing continued; the terrified citizens were granted no
quarter. The Royal Arcade was blown to atoms, the new red brick
buildings of the Prudential Assurance Company were set on fire, and were
blazing with increasing fury. The building of the North British and
Mercantile Assurance Company, the Savings Bank at the corner of Newgate
Street, and the Empire Theatre were wrecked. Along New Bridge Street
dozens of houses were blown to pieces, several fine residences in
Ellison Place were utterly demolished and blocked the roadway with their
debris, and the whole city, from the river up to Brandling Village, was
swept time after time by salvoes of devastating shots. Rows of houses
fell, and in hundreds the terrified people were massacred. Away over the
Nun's Moor shells were hurled and burst, and others were precipitated
into the great Armstrong works at Elswick.
Suddenly, in the midst of the incessant thunder, a series of terrific
explosions occurred, and the great High Level Bridge collapsed, and fell
with an awful crash into the Tyne. The enemy had placed dynamite under
the huge brick supports, and blown them up simultaneously. A few moments
later the Swing Bridge was treated in similar manner; but the enemy,
under the galling fire from the Volunteer batteries, were now losing
frightfully. Many of the new guns at the Elswick works were brought into
action, and several ironclads in the course of construction afforded
cover to those desperately defending their homes.
But this blow of the invaders had been struck at a most inopportune
moment, and was evidently the result of an order that had been
imperfectly understood. It caused them to suffer a greater disaster than
they had anticipated. Six torpedo boats and two gun-vessels had passed
under the bridge, and, lying off the Haughs, were firing into the
Elswick works at the moment when the bridges were demolished, and the
debris, falling across the stream, cut off all means of escape.
[Illustration: NEWCASTLE BOMBARDED: BLOWING UP OF THE HIGH LEVEL
BRIDGE.]
The defenders, noticing this, worked on, pounding away at the hostile
craft with merciless monotony, until one after another the French and
Russians were blown to atoms, and their vessels sank beneath them into
the dark, swirling waters.
While this was proceeding, two mines, one opposite Hill Gate, at
Gateshead, and the other near the Rotterdam Wharf, on the Newcastle
side, were fired by the Volunteer Engineers, who thus succeeded in
blowing up two more French gunboats, while the battery at the foot of
the Swing Bridge sank two more torpedo boats, and that in front of the
Chemical Works at Gateshead sent a shell into the "vitals" of one of the
most powerful torpedo gunboats, with the result that she blew up.
Everywhere the enemy were being cut to pieces.
Seeing the trap into which their vessels had fallen above the ruined
bridges, and feeling that they had caused sufficient damage, they
turned, and with their guns still belching forth flame, steamed at half
speed back again towards the sea.
But they were not allowed to escape so easily, for the mines recently
laid by the Volunteers were now brought into vigorous play, and in the
long reach of the river between High Walker and Wallsend no fewer than
six more of the enemy's gun and torpedo boats had their bottoms blown
out, and their crews torn limb from limb.
Flashed throughout the land, the news of the enemy's repulse, though
gained at such enormous loss, excited a feeling of profound
satisfaction.
The injury inflicted on the invaders had been terrible, and from that
attack upon the Tyne they had been hurled reeling back the poorer by the
loss of a whole fleet of torpedo and gun boats, one of the most
effective arms of their squadrons, while the sea had closed over one of
France's proudest battleships, the _Neptune_, and no fewer than four of
her cruisers.
The surviving vessels, which retreated round the Black Middens and
gained the open sea, all more or less had their engines crippled, and
not half the men that had manned them escaped alive.
They had wrought incalculable damage, it is true, for part of Newcastle
was burning, and the loss of life had been terrible; yet they were
driven back by the Volunteers' desperately vigorous fire, and the lives
of many thousands in Newcastle and Gateshead had thus been saved at the
eleventh hour by British patriots.
Alas, it was a black day in England's history!
Was this to be a turning-point in the wave of disaster which had swept
so suddenly upon our land?