[1] SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser built by the German Empire. She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be the specifications of the British Invincible-class battlecruisers. At the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915, Blücher was slowed significantly after being hit by gunfire from a British battlecruiser. Under heavy fire from the British ships, she was sunk, and British destroyers began recovering the survivors. However, the destroyers withdrew when a German zeppelin began bombing them, mistaking the sinking Blücher for a British battlecruiser. The number of casualties is unknown, with figures ranging from 747 to around 1,000. Blücher was the only warship lost during the battle.
[2] At the beginning of WW1 the disused roller skating rink at Aldwych was taken over by the War Refugees’ Committee for use as a facility to provide humanitarian and medical aid to Belgian refugees, many of whom spoke only Flemish.
The Diaries of my Great-Great-Aunt Kate 