Standard

At 8pm, the crew, including Captain J. H. Parker and the chief engineer, of the trawler Othello out of Hull saw an airship with a powerful searchlight. Initially it was distant, but within five minutes it was close enough to circle their trawler twice; in fact Captain Parker was afraid that it would crash into the mast. As it left to the west he saluted it with his siren and was answered by a flash from the searchlight. It had two lights aft. The Moon and stars were not visible.

The Times, 5 March 1913, p. 7; Manchester Guardian, 5 March 1913, p. 7; Standard, 5 March 1913, p, 8; Globe, 5 March 1913, p. 10.

The lights and outline of an airship were seen.

Standard, 27 February 1913, p. 9; Manchester Guardian, 1 March 1913, p. 9.

‘[C]rowds of excited people’ in the centre of the city watched an airship, which came from the east, for over an hour from about 8.30pm before it disappeared to the west; it had bright lights with an occasional ‘patch of red’.

The Times, 26 February 1913, p. 8; Manchester Guardian, 26 February 1913, p. 6, 27 February 1913, p. 7, 1 March 1913, p. 9; Norfolk News, 1 March 1913, p. 12; Standard, 26 February 1913, p. 7; Globe, 26 February 1913, p. 2.

An airship with a bright light was seen to the west for about an hour after 8pm by coastguards, who observed it with binoculars. A resident claimed it came in from over the North Sea, changing course frequently, and departed westwards at speed; another resident Falconer Jameson was able to discern a discern a cone-shaped airship through binoculars; a patch of red was visible.

The Times, 26 February 1913, p. 8; Manchester Guardian, 26 February 1913, p. 6, 1 March 1913, p. 9; Norfolk News, 1 March 1913, p. 12; Standard, 26 February 1913, p. 7; Globe, 26 February 1913, p. 2.

Lights were seen, no further details.

Standard, 27 February 1913, p. 9.

An airship with a bright searchlight was seen at 9.30pm moving in ‘a methodical manner’ to the west by several people, including Edgar Moore; it flew off to the south-west at a high speed. It was too high for its shape to be seen (this is contradicted by one report, which also says that the engine was heard).

The Times, 26 February 1913, p. 8; Manchester Guardian, 26 February 1913, p. 6, 27 February 1913, p. 7, 1 March 1913, p. 9; Norfolk News, 1 March 1913, p. 12; Standard, 26 February 1913, p. 7.

At 8pm (or possibly 9.30pm) an airship carrying a bright light was seen by two police constables, Jenkins and Boyers, and a Royal Marine sergeant, among others. It was observed to hover above the Marine barracks, and arrived from and returned to the north or north-east. The airship’s shape was dimly perceived by the Marine to be a ‘dirigible of considerable size’.

The Times, 26 February 1913, p. 8; Manchester Guardian, 26 February 1913, p. 6, 27 February 1913, p. 7, 1 March 1913, p. 9; Daily Herald, 26 February 1913, p. 3; Norfolk News, 1 March 1913, p. 12; Standard, 26 February 1913, p. 7, 27 February 1913, p. 9.

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

Standard, 25 February 1913, p. 9.

An airship without lights was seen overhead ‘with perfect distinctness, including wing attachments’ heading west-south-west towards Grimsby, by Captain Lundie and Second Officer Williams of the steamer City of Leeds out of Grimsby, bound for Hamburg. The Moon was shining brightly and the airship was seen for a full two minutes. It was observed with binoculars.

The Times, 3 March 1913, p. 7, 5 March 1913, p. 7; Manchester Guardian, 3 March 1913, p. 9, 5 March 1913, p. 7; Standard, 3 March 1913, p. 9; Globe, 3 March 1913, p. 7.

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.

The airship or aeroplane, at a considerable height, was seen for about five minutes on a clear moonlit night at about 9.45pm by a number of witnesses ‘of irreproachable character’ including policemen and colliers, in Exhall and Longford. It appeared to be carrying two headlights and a rear light, came from the direction of Leicester and headed west towards Birmingham very quickly.

The Times, 24 February 1913, p. 6; Norfolk News, 1 March 1913, p. 12; Standard, 24 February 1913, p. 9.

Airship seen at night, no further details.

Standard, 25 February 1913, p. 9.

Airship seen at night, no further details.

Standard, 25 February 1913, p. 9.

At 10pm, insurance superintendent John Collinwood with a group of businessmen watched an airship with red and green lights playing its searchlight over the railway lines from the Church Fenton station, seven miles to the north of Selby. At point it was low over the houses and then it rose to a considerable height. After twenty minutes it flew north at great speed.

Standard, 24 February 1913, p. 9; Daily Herald, 26 February 1913, p. 3.

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.

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.

Airship seen at night, no further details.

Standard, 25 February 1913, p. 9.

Airship seen at night, no further details.

Standard, 25 February 1913, p. 9.

Solicitor C. H. March and his wife watched a bright starlike object flying to the west of Selby from about 9.25pm, moving up and down and occasionally disappearing. Just after 10pm it disappeared to the west. Mr Sanderson Daw saw it flying overhead; it had a strong front light and two rear lights. Two women saw it using its searchlight over a common. At 10pm Sergeant Skyrme, an Army veteran of twenty years’ service, saw an object he took to be an aeroplane with powerful lights in front and rear.

Manchester Guardian, 27 February 1913, p. 7, 1 March 1913, p. 9; Standard, 24 February 1913, p. 9; Daily Herald, 26 February 1913, p. 3; Globe, 25 February 1913, p. 10.

Dentist’s wife Mrs. McClure and her friend saw an airship while driving from Riccall to Selby. It had bright lights at the front and rear, and disappeared to the northwest of Selby.

Standard, 25 February 1913, p. 9.

At 8pm, a fruit and potato merchant named Creasor saw and heard the airship, with a powerful searchlight, at Riccall, three miles north of Selby. A grocer named George Daniels and others in his house heard an aircraft between 9pm and 10pm; upon going outside they saw a bright light fast approaching, and they could see the long cigar shape of the envelope. It carried a searchlight and a rear light, and headed towards Market Weighton. Several other people on the outskirts of Riccall also saw it.

Standard, 24 February 1913, p. 9, 26 February 1913, p. 7.

See 1913-33.

The Times, 24 February 1913, p. 6; Norfolk News, 1 March 1913, p. 12; Standard, 24 February 1913, p. 9, 25 February 1913, p. 9.

On a bright night with little wind, an airship was seen shortly after 8pm for ‘a considerable time’. The thousands of witnesses included a police sergeant; some claimed to clearly see the outlines of the airship, which carried a bright light, over the Bristol Channel. It passed out of sight to the northwest.

The Times, 6 February 1913, p. 12; Manchester Guardian, 6 February 1913, p. 9; Standard, 6 February 1913, p. 8.

See 1913-21.

The Times, 6 February 1913, p. 12; Manchester Guardian, 6 February 1913, p. 9; Standard, 6 February 1913, p. 8.

See 1913-20.

The Times, 6 February 1913, p. 12; Manchester Guardian, 6 February 1913, p. 9; Standard, 6 February 1913, p. 8.

Colonel Henry Lewis’s servants, including a stud groom, saw an airship with a light at the rear coming from Cardiff and heading west at 10.45pm. Although Neath was telephoned nobody saw it there and so it was assumed to have crossed the Bristol Channel to Exmoor. The night was clear.

The Times, 4 February 1913, p. 4; Globe, 3 February 1913, p. 12; Standard, 3 February 1913, p. 9; Manchester Guardian, 4 February 1913, p. 5. The precise location is from Nigel Watson, Granville Oldroyd, and David Clarke, The 1912-1913 British Phantom Airship Scare (South Humberside: Self published, 1987), 198.

Between 7pm and 8.30pm, an unidentified aircraft (described by some as an aeroplane) was watched by five people over this Liverpool suburb for some time. It carried a brilliant light and travelled at an estimated speed of 25 mph.

The Times, 28 January 1913, p. 13; Manchester Guardian, 28 January 1913, p. 6; Standard, 28 January 1913, p. 9.

An aircraft was seen by inhabitants of this village, south of Aberystwyth, at 8.25pm. It was heading for Cardigan Bay but ‘its searchlight, which swept the hills, evidently revealed the nearness of the sea, and it turned south’.

The Times, 30 January 1913, p. 12; Standard, 31 January 1913, p. 7.

Captain Lionel Lindsay, Chief Constable of Glamorganshire, and a bystander saw an object overhead through the fog at about 4.45pm, heading towards Swansea and leaving behind a dense trail of smoke. It was judged to be both larger and faster than the Willows airship, although its shape was indistinct. At 6pm, Stephen Morgan also saw ’something resembling an airship’ with a light heading west, and trailing smoke. Further witnesses emerged to verify the story, adding that after leaving Cardiff it altered course from west to north-west, and that it travelled quickly and carried a light - in fact it was so fast that by the time ‘one observer ran to a telephone the airship had almost disappeared’. Another report noted that the sounds of its propellers had been heard in several districts of South Wales at night. One man, E. Morgan, thought it was oval-shaped.

The Times, 21 January 1913, p. 10, 22 January 1913, p. 19; Standard, 21 January 1913, p. 9, 22 January 1913, p. 9; Globe, 21 January 1913, p. 6, 22 January 1913, p. 5; Norfolk News, 25 January 1913, p. 10; Daily Herald, 22 January 1913, p. 7; Manchester Guardian, 23 January 1913, p. 12.

Lights were seen in the sky over the Bristol Channel at night, believed to be an airship.

Standard, 21 January 1913, p. 9, 22 January 1913, p. 9.

Lights were seen in the sky over the Bristol Channel at night, believed to be an airship. Another source says that an airship was dimly perceived over the Barry docks at night.

Standard, 21 January 1913, p. 9, 22 January 1913, p. 9; Globe, 22 January 1913, p. 5.

At about 5am, town employee John Hobbs saw an aircraft carrying a light (which, it was thought, made it more likely to be an airship than an aeroplane), coming in from over the sea. It was moving very fast in a north-easterly direction, with strong winds coming from the west. He first heard the throb of its engines, which was also heard by police constable Pierce and a tradesman named Langley.

The Times, 6 January 1913, p. 6; Standard, 21 January 1913, p. 9, 22 January 1913, p. 9.

A light was seen, no further details.

Standard, 31 January 1913, p. 7.

At 1.15am, an airship was seen by a couple of dozen ‘highly respectable and intelligent dock officials and coal trimmers’ working at the Queen Alexandria Dock. In the words of signalman Charles (or Robert) Westlake, the object appeared to be have a ‘cigar shape, making a whizzing noise. It was lit by two lights, which could be plainly seen. It was travelling at a great rate, and was elevated at a distance of half a mile, making from the eastward’ where it disappeared over the Bristol Channel. It was only visible for two or three minutes; the night was clear, with no moon. Other witnesses included pointsman W. Morrison, traffic foreman C. Harwood, boxman W. John, coal tippers C. Hayman, J. Rogers and C. Bray, and F. Smith, acting mate of the Arndale.

Globe, 19 May 1909, p. 4; Manchester Guardian, 20 May 1909, p. 7; Standard, 20 May 1909, p. 10.

At about 11pm, a travelling Punch and Judy showman named C. Lethbridge encountered an airship on the ground, about 45 feet in length, on the summit of Caerphilly Mountain, just to the north of Cardiff. He also claimed to have met its crew, two young men in heavy fur coats who ‘jabbered furiously to each other in a strange language — Welsh, or something else. Certainly not English’. The airship rose into the air, the men jumped into a carriage suspended underneath, ‘two lights like electric lamps’ switched on, and it flew towards Cardiff. There was a whirring sound which came from a fan at the back of the carriage. The next day, Lethbridge accompanied a journalist to the landing site where the ground appeared disturbed; a collection of strange objects was found, including a kind of plug with a label in French (including the ominous word obus, “shrapnel”), paper scraps on the letterhead of a firm of London stockbrokers, and a number of newspaper clippings concerning ‘airships or the German army’. Also found were fragments of notes ‘bearing a mass of figures and letters of the alphabet formed in a style distinctly different to that of the average English hand’.

Manchester Guardian, 20 May 1909, p. 7; Standard, 20 May 1909, p. 10; Globe, 20 May 1909, p. 7.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. No details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. No details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. No details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. Residents saw an airship. No further details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. No details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. No details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. No details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. No details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. No details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. No details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. Tramway men reported an airship. No further details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. Residents reported an airship. No further details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain: before 17 May 1909. No details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Mrs. Fricker, a nurse, saw something at around 1.20am, flashing white, green and red lights, which was visible for an hour.

Standard, 14 May 1909, p. 9.

No details.

Standard, 21 May 1909, p. 21. The date is from David Clarke, “Scareships over Britain: The airship wave of 1909,” Fortean Studies 6 (1999): 50. This also places West Green in Greater London.

At 11.20pm a woman, H. M. Boville, saw an ‘almost motionless’ ‘large, black object, oblong in shape’ about a quarter of a mile above the houses. It suddenly rose in the air after a minute or two, and then moved very fast towards London, briefly showing two brilliant lights.

Norfolk News, 15 May 1909, p. 15; Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

A man named Cole reported an airship. No further details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain. Two labourers encountered an airship.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Egerton Free saw a long sausage-shaped airship manoeuvring over the cliffs for a few minutes at dusk (one report says 10.30pm); it remained stationary at a an estimated height of 600 feet for a few minutes and then headed north-east. At the same location the next day he found ‘a curious object made of steel and India-rubber’ weighing 35lb, stamped with the words ‘Müller Bremen Fabrik’.

Manchester Guardian, 20 May 1909, p. 7; Norfolk News, 15 May 1909, p. 15; Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9; Globe, 17 May 1909, p. 7.

Date uncertain: between 6 and 20 May. No details.

Standard, 21 May 1909. p. 21.

C. W. Allen and Mr. Brown saw a fast-moving ‘oblong’ airship with lights before and aft at about 11pm.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

Date uncertain. The brother-in-law (possibly named Strange) of ‘prominent Peterborough tradesman’ Herbert Neaverson was so impressed by the airship he saw that he travelled to London to inform the War Office. He saw a light coming from towards the sea in the early hours of the morning. He could not see the shape of the airship but he could hear the engine and a ’swishing’ noise.

Norfolk News, 15 May 1909, p. 15; Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

The witness was Mrs. Rush. No further details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9.

A sighting was made by police constable Hudson and J. A. Smith.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9; Manchester Guardian, 20 May 1909, p. 7

The witness was Mr. Deacon. No further details.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9; Manchester Guardian, 20 May 1909, p. 7.

Police constable Kettle saw an ‘oblong-shaped airship with a powerful light pass over the town’ at 5am.

Standard, 17 May 1909, p. 9; Manchester Guardian, 20 May 1909, p. 7.