scareships » Single witness

Grimsby, Lincolnshire

Brett Holman — Fri, 28 Feb 1913 11:59:27 +0000

Date uncertain: late February or early March 1913. A ’scareship’ with two lights on either side of its dark body flew over the head of a Grimsby police constable at night, but he subsequently found that it was a box-kite flown by two young men.

Globe, 6 March 1913, p. 7.

St. Alban’s Head, Dorset

Brett Holman — Wed, 26 Feb 1913 11:21:14 +0000

A coastguard saw lights in the sky.

The Times, 28 February 1913, p. 5

Selby, North Yorkshire

Brett Holman — Sat, 22 Feb 1913 08:31:59 +0000

An airship was seen at night for five minutes by a manufacturer.

Standard, 25 February 1913, p. 9.

Near Cawood, North Yorkshire

Brett Holman — Fri, 21 Feb 1913 16:16:30 +0000

At 7.40pm, Mrs. Schofield, the wife of the manager of Singer’s Machine Company in Selby, saw two very powerful lights, one in front ‘like the headlight of a motor car’ and one 30 to 40 feet to the rear approaching while being driven to the village of Cawood. Having seen a flight of army airmen on their way to Montrose in Scotland the day before, she was able to estimate the airship’s height at some 1500 to 2000 feet. It disappeared from view within three or four minutes.

Standard, 26 February 1913, p. 7. On the flight to Montrose, see Globe, 21 February 1913, p. 12, 22 February 1913, p. 7.

Between Burton Salmon, North Yorkshire, and Castleford, West Yorkshire

Brett Holman — Fri, 21 Feb 1913 09:19:21 +0000

The train driver on the express from Wistow Gates to Selby, Fred Head, reported that an airship with a bright headlight kept pace with his train, to the front and side, until it was lost in the fog.

Standard, 25 February 1913, p. 9; Globe, 25 February 1913, p. 10.

Bubwith Highfield, East Riding of Yorkshire

Brett Holman — Fri, 21 Feb 1913 08:57:35 +0000

Nine miles east of Selby, a man and his horse were startled by the bright light of an airship between 10pm and 11pm heading very quickly towards Bridlington.

Standard, 24 February 1913, p. 9.

Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

Brett Holman — Mon, 13 Jan 1913 06:45:21 +0000

Between 2am and 3am, Walter Hack heard engine sounds overhead.

Norfolk News, 25 January 1913, p. 10.

Cromer, Norfolk

Brett Holman — Sat, 12 Oct 1912 15:24:41 +0000

Date uncertain: 13 or 21 October 1912. A man saw ‘what in shape had every appearance of a Zeppelin airship’ over the sea which was visible for fifteen minutes and flew off to the east. The sky was overcast.

Norfolk News, 1 March 1913, p. 12.

Wroxham, Norfolk

Brett Holman — Tue, 18 May 1909 14:59:36 +0000

Just before 11.30pm, a ‘well-known gentleman’ had stopped to repair the headlight on his motorcycle, when he was dazzled by a light shining on him from above for about thirty seconds. It was apparently travelling towards Norwich. He did not see or hear anything else.

Globe, 20 May 1909, p. 7; Norfolk News, 22 May 1909, p. 13.

Tharston, Norfolk

Brett Holman — Tue, 18 May 1909 14:58:58 +0000

A cyclist named Chatten — an assistant in a local grocery and drapery store, ‘a brisk, intelligent person, who does not in the least impress one as a dreamer of dreams and a viewer of visions’ — riding home at around midnight was dazzled by a bright, bluish light shining from above. He saw a ‘long cigar-shaped object’ three or four hundred feet above him. There appeared to be some sort of framework beneath it with a yellow light at either end. No sounds could be heard. The sky was dark but the airship could be seen outlined against it.

Norfolk News, 22 May 1909, p. 13.