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Case ID:

536

21 JANUARY 1913 - CLYNE VALLEY, SWANSEA

SWANSEA

Sighting,UFO,Lights

7 PM.


A postman named J. Bowen, of Sketty was going towards the Clyne Colliery when he saw a large bright light hanging over Clyne Woods. He had been reading about the airship only an hour before, and noticing the brilliancy and unsteadiness of the light, he was convinced that he at last seen it.


Arriving home at No. 2, Harry-street, Sketty, about an hour later, he could still see the light, which had moved very little at all. He called out his brother and his next-door neighbours, but they were at first sceptical, saying it was only a star.


Then, as they were gazing at the light, it began to bob about, and finally went out. It re-appeared shortly in a slightly altered position, and was seen to be considerably larger than the brightest star.


Spoken to by a "Leader" representative this morning, J. Bowen said it looked twice as large as Venus.

"Do you think it was a searchlight?" asked the "Leader" man.


"No", said J. Bowen, "it looked like a head-light. A very bright one and when it went out it died out slowly. It looked as if they put the light out, flew a bit, then lighted it again."


The latter remark was in answer to a suggestion that perhaps the disappearance of the light was caused by the tacking of the airship, which would have put the stern towards the observer.


On these details all the witnesses agreed. Mr. James, of No. 1 Harry-street, describing the light as having a bluish centre throwing off sparks.


The only thing lacking in the airship theory of the light is, that, in spite of the exceptional clearness of the atmosphere and the bright moon, no one saw the body of the ship; neither did they hear the propellers, which latter fact could be explained by the fact that they locate the position of the "mystery" as being over Clyne Common - a distance of a couple of miles from their point of observation.


Mr. Bowen went to the top of the hill and once more saw the light, which appeared to have moved considerably in the direction of Tenby, then it slowly died down and disappeared, as on the previous occasion. After he had mentioned the light, he said, several other people said they had seen lights during the last few nights, but had thought them to be only stars.


Source: 'The Cambria Daily Leader' Wednesday 22 January 1913.

[Note: compare this sighting with that of the boys in Kidwelly on the same evening. No time given but it could have been after the Clyne sighting, and it being to the west of Swansea, could have been the same object - bluish centre, sending off sparks. - E.W.]



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