麻豆社

On 11 July 1916, a German U-boat began an attack on the colliery village of New Seaham; 1.5 miles inland from Seaham Harbour. About 39 shells were fired on the village and surrounding area.

Although many of the shells landed in nearby fields, one woman, Mrs. Mary Slaughter of Hebburn, was hit by an exploding shell and severely injured as she was walking through the colliery yard with her cousin.
She died in hospital the next morning.

At No. 14 Doctor Street the family of miner Carl Mortinson had a lucky escape. The nose of a shell demolished part of their back yard wall, drilled a hole clean through the kitchen wall, flew across the room and landed near the front door.

None of the occupants were harmed. Mrs. Mortinson was in the kitchen at the time, and the shell missed her. The rest of the family was in bed upstairs.

Location: Seaham, County Durham SR7 0HX
Image: A shell from the bombardment, courtesy of DLI Museum and Art Gallery (acc. 599)