624 Lt -Col. Lancelot Robson DSO.Army Durham. Royal Garrison Artillery from:Hartlepool Lt Col Robson was the fire commander of Heugh Battery and also the Battery Medical Officer, being a Doctor in civilian life. He was at home in Hartlepool when the Bombardment began and rushed to the Battery on his bicycl, leaving his breakfast half eaten, when gunfire first sounded. The journey was not an wasy one as the townsfolk were filling the streets, some fleeing away from the coast, others running towards the sea to look at the spectacle.
"The guns were going by that time and the first thing that cheered me was the sight of the old battery dog barking away beside the guns! So then I knew that everything was alright" (Northern Daily Mail, 29th March 1935)
On reaching the lookout Robson found that the telephone lines had been brought down by the shelling, he had long argued that they should be routed underground, but he was relieved to see that the battery was acting under standing orders, as he could not contact his gunners to issue orders.
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