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16 OCTOBER 1916 - SOUTH-EAST WALES

South-East Wales was on tip-toe on Monday evening between 7 and 8 o'clock gazing excitedly at a luminous shape in the sky, away towards the south-east. Locally, in common with other districts opinion was divided as to the nature of the apparition, some inclining to the belief that it was the northern lights, others that it was a peculiar light from Dowlais or other works. Very few believed that the mysterious light was an airship. Major Baird, M.P., of the Air Board, in reply to an enquiry from Mr. C. B. Stanton, M.P., who watched the "light" in his own constituency has informed that gentleman that "There is no doubt that the airship seen over Aberdare and Merthyr was one of ours. You will not ask me where it lives. The main thing is that it is ours." Mr. Stanton was given authority to make the fact known. Source: Labour Voice (Llais Llafur) 21 October 1916. In the House of Commons on Tuesday Mr. J. H. Cory (U., Cardiff), asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he was aware that a British airship's sudden appearance over parts of South Wales on Monday night week, created a good deal of excitement that would have been avoided had any warning been the practice in London; and whether he directed the officials responsible for these flights by British airships to give warning whenever possible of such proposed visits? Dr. Macnamara: Airships were over South Wales, during Monday, the 16th October but returned to their base in day light. No reports have been received indicating that any alarm was caused.

Source: Labour Voice (Llais Llafur) 28 October 1916