'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' — the Tower of London poppies — each of the 888,246 ceramic poppies representing one serviceman of the British Empire killed in World War I. The installation was a collaboration of artist Paul Cummins and stage designer Tom Piper. Since November, 2014 the poppies have been installed in other sites in the United Kingdom. Photographed October 3, 2014. © 2014 by John M. Shea
"The airship was clearly seen crossing the Thames as she was pick up almost immediately by two searchlights. The big guns added to the Wagnerian scene as the silver dirigible nosed its way from over New Palace Yard to Green Park. Breithaupt and his crew had a different view. Although he later said it was indescribably beautiful, it must have been fantastic and disconcerting as shrapnel burst all around, pasting sequins against the velvet sky. Then, from the gondolas they could see their bombs bursting in the streets while British guns snapped slim tongues of flame. When they raised their eyes from below and looked around they saw balanced on searchlights the other airships of the formation, 'all clearly recognizable against the starlit sky.'Breithaupt headed straight for the heart of London. He made Charing Cross his first impact point, and headed for the Bank of England with intent to plaster Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill. His first bombs struck the theatre district north of the Strand. The historic Lyceum Theatre, where Henry Irving and Ellen Terry had acted, was hit. A bomb dropped in Wellington Street, fractured a gas main and set fire to the escaping gas. Seventeen people were killed in that blast. York Street was also hit, as was the front of the Waldorf Hotel. One bomb fell in the Kingsway, a few hit the Inns of Court, and one incendiary torched the robing room at Gray's Inn."
The Zeppelins LZ.11, 13, 14, 15, and 16 raided England the night of October 13, 1915 under the command of Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant Commander) Heinrich Mathy of the German Naval Air Service. Four of the five, other than LZ.11, reached London. Joachim Breithaupt commanded LZ.15. London's defenses included a new French antiaircraft weapon just arrived from Paris that fired a shell capable of exploding at a predetermined height, and a B.E.2c plane piloted by Lieutenant John Slessor, that set out to intercept the German airships. Neither the gun nor the plane damaged the Zeppelins, but did alarm their pilots enough to cause them to begin setting a course for home. Arch Whitehouse's account of the raid notes that it 'was one of the deadliest of the war,' killing 71 people and injuring 128.
The Zeppelin Fighters by Arch Whitehouse, page 104, copyright © 1966 by Arch Whitehouse, publisher: New English Library, publication date: 1978
1915-10-13, 1915, October, London, Zeppelin, Zeppelin raid
