A view of the North Sea from the Heugh Battery Museum in Hartlepool, England.  This area was involved in a brief raid by the Germans during World War I.  The following tablet reads the following:

This tablet marks the place where the first shell from the leading German battle cruiser struck at 8:10A.M. on the 16th of December 1914 and also records the place where (during the bombardment) the first soldier was killed on British soil by enemy action in the Great War 1914-1918.

The first soldier is widely accepted to be Private Theophilus Jones, age 29, as he left his home on Ashgrove Avenue headed to the Heugh Gun Battery.  The conflict lasted less than one hour leaving 119 citizens dead & many more injured.

More info here: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tees-46089959