From The Yorkshire Evening Post, Monday, 10 February 1919.

Explosion of German Mine at Ramsgate.

Damage estimated at £4,000.

The explosion of a huge German mine near the Marine Pier at Ramsgate, briefly reported in our latest additions on Saturday, did great damage over an acre of at least 1 square mile. The receding tide had left foreshore between Ramsgate and Broadstairs strewn with sacks and flour, packets of lard, and timber, presumably from the wreck of the American vessel Piave; but the object which excited most interest was a mine standing 4 feet high.

It proved to be German, containing about 300 lb of explosive. When it was inspected by the naval authorities, it was found that one of the 6 horns containing the detonators was deeply embedded in the sands. Warned by the police of the possibility of an explosion, the inhabitants of houses and shops on the Marine Parade, about 200 yards away, evacuated their dwellings, and it was fortunate they did so, for no sooner had the waves, still backed by a bitterly cold Easterly wind, reached the mine than it turned over and exploded with a report heard all over the town.

The concussion was so tremendous that it was felt throughout an area of at least a square mile. Nearly every window in the houses on the Marine Parade was blown into the roadway, and much of the fabric damaged. Had they still been occupied at the time, the casualties would undoubtedly have been great.

Despite the height of the cliff, the premises on the upper promenade of the East Cliff suffered severely. The extent of the damage in this quarter spread from Wellington Crescent to Thanet Road embracing many boarding houses, the "Granville Hotel" (now unoccupied), and the "Hotel St. Cloud."

A rough estimate of the cost of replacing windows alone shows that the figure will be in the vicinity of £2,000. In addition probably almost as much will be required to cover the damage to the woodwork of frames and doors, and plaster ceilings, walls and furniture, to say nothing of the effect of the concussion on foundations and brickwork. The Corporation carts were required to remove the shattered glass. It is said that the mine was of a new type.