"STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR" in the Scarborough Mercury 24th December following the German bombardment on Scarborough
The Mayor, presiding at the police court this morning said that the facts of the war had been brought home to him in a very vivid and actual way. Unfortunately there had been a considerable amount of damage, as one could see in taking a walk through the streets. The gravest thing of all was the loss of life. Referring to these people, he desired to express sympathy with the relatives. One of their colleagues, Mr John Hall, who was struck by a shell, was taken to the Hospital, where he succumbed very shortly after. He was assured that members of the bench and officials would express their deepest sympathy with the members of his family.
One could find one satisfactory feature in this experience in the fact that there appeared to have been nothing in the way of a panic. (Hear, hear) Without pretending to have any specialist knowledge of the matter, that the danger, as far as Scarborough was concerned, was now passed.
