Britain came under attack from the air for the first time on January 19th 1915, when German Zeppelins raided the Norfolk coast, killing four people.
The centenary is being marked with commemorations today in Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn, targets for two of the Zeppelin strikes.
The giant airships had already been used to bomb Liège and Antwerp during the invasion of Belgium at the start of the First World War in August 1914.
100 years ago, Zeppelins L3 and L4 loomed over the coast of East Anglia, frustrated by strong winds in their attempts to reach the port of Hull further north.
The first raid on Great Yarmouth killed Samuel Smith, 53, and Martha Taylor, 72.
One of the airships continued along the coast, dropping bombs on a string of small towns and villages: Sheringham, Thornham, Brancaster, Hunstanton, Heacham and Snettisham.
It reached King’s Lynn at around 10.30 pm, where two more civilians, Percy Goate and Alice Gazley, died.
The public are invited to join remembrance services in Great Yarmouth today, while a sound & light show in King’s Lynn heralds the start of Zeppelin Week, a programme of commemorative activities running until January 25th.
Centenary News will be reporting from Yarmouth.
Sources: Great Yarmouth Borough Council & the Borough Council of West Norfolk & King’s Lynn
Images courtesy of the Imperial War Museum © IWM (Q 53591)
Posted by: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News