 There had been some talk of an evacuation in 1875 but despite occasional food shortages and a 'flu epidemic in 1913 the population was stable at 75 to 80 people, and there was no obvious sign that within a few years the millennia-old occupation of the island was to end.Early in World War I the Royal Navy erected a signal station on Hirta and daily communications with the mainland were established for the first time in St Kilda's history.In a belated response, a German submarine arrived in Village Bay on the morning of 15 May 1918 and after issuing a warning, started shelling the island.