The clock that was damaged at Hartlepool was made in Germany. Relations between Britain and Germany had flourished for many years before the war. Britain’s traditional enemy on the continent had been France. All this changed by 1914 as the war ruined traditional alliances and even family ties as the objects below show.
Queen Victoria’s family
A photograph of Queen Victoria and members of her wider German family taken in Coburg, Germany in 1894; Kaiser Wilhelm II is seated to the Queen’s right.
See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3555749&partId=1&searchText=Coburg&images=true&page=1Cartoon of George V
A Punch cartoon illustrating King George V sweeping away his German titles in 1917.
See more See more: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Good_Riddance_-_George_V_of_the_United_Kingdom_cartoon_in_Punch,_1917.pngThe House of Windsor
An engraving of Windsor Castle entitled ‘The House of Windsor’; dated 1917, this is an early record of the Royal Family’s change of name that year following anti German riots in Britain.
See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?searchText=House%20of%20Windsor&images=true&from=ad&fromDate=1917&ILINK|34484,|assetId=1245884&objectId=3440630&partId=1Engaving
An engraving dated 1917 showing France and Britain as two medieval maidens defending themselves from cruel attack by the aggressive German eagle.
See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1544200&partId=1&searchText=German+eagle&images=true&from=ad&fromDate=1900&to=ad&toDate=1920&page=1Satirical medal
© IWM (EPH 2171)
A medal produced in Britain satirising what were seen as German war atrocities, including the bombardment of Hartlepool.
See more See more: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30082075
