A SERIES of lunchtime talks at Scarborough Art Gallery continues with a look at the fascinating story of Queen Margaret’s School, the Bombardment, and its connection with one of Yorkshire’s favourite writers, Winifred Holtby.

The talk, from 12.30pm on Friday, October 31, will be given by Sam Taylor, author of the official history of Queen Margaret’s School, which is now based at Escrick, near York.

Holtby, the author of South Riding, was at the school in 1914 when, on 16 December, German battlecruisers opened fire on the town just as the girls were sitting down to breakfast.

She recounted her experiences in her very first published piece of writing, in the Bridlington Chronicle.

Holtby describes sitting down to a breakfast of porridge which she ‘never tasted’, because, as the first spoon was on its way to her mouth, she heard crashes and bangs which she at first thought was someone falling over.

“Then someone whispered ‘guns’. The word, like magic, passed from mouth to mouth as we sat whitefaced but undismayed, with the uneaten food before us,” she wrote.

Shortly after the events of December 16, Queen Margaret’s School relocated to Pitlochry, returning to Scarborough after the War. In World War II, the school was evacuated to Castle Howard, and finally found its current home at Escrick in 1949.

Entry to the talk is £3, which then includes entry fee to both Scarborough Art Gallery and the Rotunda Museum for a year. Places are limited, so booking is recommended. To book, or for further information, please call the Art Gallery on 01723 374753.

A major new exhibition at Scarborough Art Gallery commemorating the Bombardment and those who died, Remember Scarborough, can be seen until January, 4 2015.