Editing Hartlepool (section)

===World Wars===
'''Hartlepool during the First World War'''
{{further|Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby}}
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[[File:Memorial to the first British soldier killed on British soil during the Great War - geograph.org.uk - 429905.jpg|thumb|In Hartlepool near [[Heugh Battery]], a plaque in [[Redheugh Gardens War Memorial]] "marks the place where the first ...(German shell) struck... (and) the first soldier was killed on British soil by enemy action in the Great War 1914–1918."]]
The area became heavily industrialised with an [[ironworks]] (established in 1838) and [[shipyard]]s in the docks (established in the 1870s). By 1913, no fewer than 43 ship-owning companies were located in the town, with the responsibility for 236 ships. This made it a key target for Germany in the [[First World War]]. One of the first German offensives against Britain was a raid and bombardment by the [[Imperial German Navy]] on the morning of 16 December 1914,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.bt.com/news/bt-life/history-of-bt/how-the-german-bombardment-of-scarborough-and-hartlepool-affected-communications-on-december-16-1914-11364029161077|title=How the German bombardment of Scarborough and Hartlepool affected communications on December 16, 1914|date=16 December 2015|access-date=2 February 2019}}</ref>

Hartlepool was hit with a total of 1150 shells, killing 117 people. Two coastal defence batteries at Hartlepool returned fire, launching 143 shells, and damaging three German ships: [[SMS Seydlitz|SMS ''Seydlitz'']], [[SMS Moltke|SMS ''Moltke'']] and [[SMS Blücher|SMS ''Blücher'']]. The Hartlepool engagement lasted roughly 50 minutes, and the coastal artillery defence was supported by the Royal Navy in the form of four destroyers, two light cruisers and a submarine, none of which had any significant impact on the German attackers.

Private Theophilus Jones of the 18th Battalion [[Durham Light Infantry]], who fell as a result of this bombardment, is sometimes described as the first military casualty on British soil by enemy fire.<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.wartimememoriesproject.com/greatwar/allied/durhamlightinf18btn-gw.php|title=18th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry|publisher=The Wartime Memories Project|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015102245/http://www.wartimememoriesproject.com/greatwar/allied/durhamlightinf18btn-gw.php|archive-date=15 October 2012|access-date=28 June 2012}}</ref> This event (the death of the first soldiers on British soil) is commemorated by the 1921 [[Redheugh Gardens War Memorial]] together with a plaque unveiled on the same day (seven years and one day after the East Coast Raid) at the spot on the Headland (the memorial by Philip Bennison<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-432718-war-memorial-in-redheugh-gardens-hartlep/photos|title=War Memorial in Redheugh Gardens, Headland, Hartlepool|last=Stuff|first=Good|website=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124013302/http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-432718-war-memorial-in-redheugh-gardens-hartlep/photos|archive-date=24 November 2011}}</ref> illustrates four soldiers on one of four [[cartouche]]s and the plaque, donated by a member of the public, refers to the 'first soldier' but gives no name). A living history group, the Hartlepool Military Heritage Memorial Society, portray men of that unit for educational and memorial purposes.

Hartlepudlians voluntarily subscribed more money per head to the war effort than any other town in Britain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hartlepoolsmaritimeexperience.com/?p=The+Museum+of+Hartlepool&s=A+brief+history+of+Hartlepool|title=Hartlepool's Maritime Experience|last=Council|first=Hartlepool|website=hartlepoolsmaritimeexperience.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930151930/http://www.hartlepoolsmaritimeexperience.com/?p=The+Museum+of+Hartlepool&s=A+brief+history+of+Hartlepool|archive-date=30 September 2011}}</ref>

'''Hartlepool between the wars'''

On 4 January 1922, a fire starting in a timber yard left 80 people homeless and caused over £1,000,000 of damage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Timber Yard Fire 1922 |url=http://www.thisishartlepool.co.uk/history/timber-yard-fire-1922.asp |website=thisishartlepool.co.uk |access-date=23 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Timber Yard Fire of 1922 |url=https://www.hhtandn.org/notes/1333/the-timber-yard-fire-of-1922 |website=hhtandn.org |access-date=23 February 2022}}</ref> Hartlepool suffered badly in the [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s and endured high unemployment.

'''Hartlepool during the Second World War'''

Unemployment decreased during the [[Second World War]], with shipbuilding and steel-making industries enjoying a renaissance. Most of its output for the war effort were "[[Empire Ships]]". German bombers raided the town 43 times, though, compared to the previous war, civilian losses were lighter with 26 deaths recorded by Hartlepool Municipal Borough<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/4004006/HARTLEPOOL,%20MUNICIPAL%20BOROUGH|title=Cemetery Details {{!}} CWGC|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101041006/http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/4004006/HARTLEPOOL,%20MUNICIPAL%20BOROUGH|archive-date=1 November 2016|access-date=2016-10-31}} CWGC Civilian Casualty record, Hartlepool Municipal Borough.</ref> and 49 by West Hartlepool Borough.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/4003996/WEST%20HARTLEPOOL,%20COUNTY%20BOROUGH|title=Cemetery Details {{!}} CWGC|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101101746/http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/4003996/WEST%20HARTLEPOOL,%20COUNTY%20BOROUGH|archive-date=1 November 2016|access-date=2016-10-31}} CWGC Civilian Casualty record, West Hartlepool County Borough.</ref> During the Second World War, [[RAF Greatham]] (also known as RAF West Hartlepool) was located on the South [[British Steel Corporation]] Works.