13 Sept. 1915                                     

Bombed: Kent

In the early evening of 13^th September, a single unidentified German floatplane of See Flieger Abteilung 1, approached Margate at 5.40pm without warning. One account described it as ‘a bright speck hovering high in the air on a bright, sunny, cloudless day.’ Many out enjoying the sea air presumed the lone aircraft was British and looked on admiringly, until it began to drop the first of its ten bombs.

The raider came in over the Cliftonville area of Margate and dropped the first two bombs on the sands before a third detonated close to the bridge over Newgate Gapway. The next dropped on the lawn of Queen’s HIghcliffe Hotel, followed immediately by a fifth, which fell in bushes by the entrance to the Oval arena where the bandstand stood.

Moving inland, the raider dropped a bomb that fell in the rear garden of 4 Eastern Esplanade, shattering the windows of nos. 2, 3 and 4. Up to this point none of the bombs had caused any significant damage, but that was all about to change. Over Godwin Road, three bombs dropped in quick succession. The first exploded in the road outside No.2, where a four-year-old child, Alice Wilson, was standing on the garden path with her mother. Splinters from the bomb caused cuts to the child's thighs, foot and finger. The bomb also smashed windows in all houses, from nos. 1 to 8. The next bomb landed on No. 14 Godwin Road. Two women, Gladys Hazlitt and Florence Meager, were taking tea in the first floor front room when the bomb exploded; both sustained thigh injuries. Then a third bomb detonated in the garden of Malabar House, near to 26 Godwin Road. Agnes Robins, aged 40, and owner of the lodging house at no.26 was standing at her front door as bomb splinters inflicted serious injury. She died two days later and so became the first person in Britain killed by a bomb dropped from an aeroplane.

The raider dropped one more bomb, which landed in Albion Road. Walter May, a 38-year-old cab driver was about to set down his fare when the bomb exploded under his horse, which was ‘blown up before his eyes’. May had a lucky escape, the blast only ‘smashing’ the big toe on his left foot. It is unclear whether his passenger sustained minor injuries. Another cab horse in the street ‘died from fright’. A splinter from the same bomb injured Dora Andrews, a 51-year-old nurse, as she stood in the front garden of “The Nook”, holding a child in her arms. There was one final victim. Splinters from the bomb struck Kate Bonny as she stood at the garden gate of “Brooklyn Lodge”; she died of her wounds four days later.

Two BE2cs from RNAS Westgate took off at 5.45pm and saw the raider over the Channel but were not able to close with him.

13/14 Sept. 1915                         

Bombed: Suffolk 

On the night of 13th/14th September, three navy Zeppelins set out for London but only one came inland and none reached the capital. There was some confusion at the time but it later became clear that the raider was L 13 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy. Thunderstorms and strong headwinds forced both L 11 and L 14 to turn back early.

Mathy appeared off the coast near Orfordness at about 11.10pm. Keeping out over the sea as he approached Felixstowe, a 6-pdr anti-aircraft gun there opened fire at 11.37pm with 12 rounds. Mathy turned back northwards before coming inland near Bawdsey at about 11.48pm, then turned south over Trimley, heading towards Harwich. Low cloud over the town hindered observation, but a couple of minutes before midnight the drone of her engines sounded over the harbour. The official War Office report then states that the cloud prevented the Harwich searchlights and guns from opening on the raider, who, according to the same report, did not know ‘where he was, so he made no attempt to attack Harwich, and went away northwards.’ However, in other reports made at the time, there is evidence of the Harwich defences engaging, a fact confirmed by Mathy.

Over Harwich, Mathy noted that six searchlights were probing the sky and a heavy bombardment followed. About five minutes later he reported L 13 hit when ‘a shell struck in the gangway almost vertically from below, pierced Cells 11 and 12, the fuel line and the radio power cable.’ In no position to attack Harwich now, Mathy steered away north-east along the Orwell before turning east. Seeing L 13 overhead, an RNAS mobile maxim gun on the Ipswich-Felixstowe road at Levington Heath then opened fire. Mathy, aware he was losing hydrogen, started releasing his bombs to lighten his ship - he dropped 17 high explosive (HE) and 29 incendiaries.

The first five HE bombs and two incendiaries landed in fields at Bucklesham. A fragment from one broke some crockery and dislodged a few bricks from a chimney at one house. Next, at Newbourne, an HE bomb and three incendiaries fell in a meadow and another HE bomb landed in a marsh, all without causing damage. Two HE and two incendiary bombs destroyed some of the crop in a mangel-wurzel field on a farm at Hemley, while six HE and two incendiary bombs fell in fields or marsh by the River Deben at Hemley Hall, where the blast smashed some windows. L 13 then crossed the river before releasing her last bombs, two HE and 20 incendiaries, on marshes near Sutton, without damage. Mathy then took L 13 back out to sea near Orfordness at about 12.25am.

With two emptying gas cells and a failed engine, L 13 had a testing return journey. Despite dumping much excess weight, she made a very heavy landing and underwent four days of repairs.

No aircraft were ordered up to intercept L 13 while she was over Britain.

Heinrich Mathy - commander of

Zeppelin L 13