Talk:Bombardment of Scarborough, Whitby and Hartlepool

Title

I called this 'bombing' of S/H/W because that was the name I was most familiar with from growing up in the area. Alternatives are 'bombardment' (unnecessary, I think) and 'raid [on]'. The latter is how at least one historical source - and Wikipedia - refer to it. John Stephenson 02:46, 6 March 2008 (CST)

How about "shelling" instead of "bombing"? The latter I find misleading because it implies (to me, at least) an air attack, whereas this was gunfire from ships. J. Noel Chiappa 13:25, 18 March 2008 (CDT)

I'd never thought of that. I see what you mean, though to me 'bombing' can be anything. For instance, I commonly heard 'IRA bombing' in the UK during the darker years of the Troubles. John Stephenson 00:11, 19 March 2008 (CDT)

Bombing can imply something carried and thrown (as in a homemade bomb); dropped from the air (probably bombarding would be more appropriate for that one?); or improvised as in a car bombing. Shelling I think usually implies an indirect attack by either mortars or from a ship cannon. --Robert W King 09:10, 19 March 2008 (CDT)

Yes. 'bombing' has two meanings; the 'drop an explosive device from an airplane', and 'leave an explosive device somewhere'. However, it's not usually used (in English) for 'explosive device fired from a gun'. 'Bombarding' can be used for either guns or bombs; it implies a large volume of fire, is all. (And of course it's also used metaphorically a lot. :-) J. Noel Chiappa 09:29, 19 March 2008 (CDT)

OK, we seem to have a view here that 'bombardment' is the better word; I've changed the title I originally came up with. I also took the opportunity to reorder the names of the targets to reflect the sequence of events a little better. John Stephenson 00:21, 20 March 2008 (CDT)

Works for me! J. Noel Chiappa 00:23, 20 March 2008 (CDT)

The book about the event is titled Bombardment, if that means anything. It seems like a good choice to me. --Joe Quick 10:06, 20 March 2008 (CDT)

posters

By the way, I tracked down some of the recruiting posters that referenced the event: [1], [2]. I haven't been able to track down copies that noone claims rights to yet, except for one hard copy at the National Museum of American History, which you have to arrange in advance to see. I don't suppose anyone wants to go make a scan? :-) --Joe Quick 10:12, 20 March 2008 (CDT)