Caerphilly, Wales unidentified-object report — May 18, 1909

At approximately 11 p.m. on May 18, 1909, Charles Lethbridge reported an unusual machine on the grass beside a mountain road near Caerphilly, Wales. A dockworker and travelling Punch-and-Judy showman, he was returning toward Cardiff with a spring cart. He described a long tubular body with a small wheeled carriage beneath it. Two men in fur coats and fur caps were said to be working or talking beside the machine. Lethbridge could not understand their language. He reported that it rose, moved in a zigzag fashion and displayed lights before departing toward Cardiff. Later summaries added flattened grass and discussion of material found near the site. The account belongs to the 1909 British scareship wave and has long been regarded skeptically; some catalogues call it a probable hoax. Historical treatments distinguish the French-labelled motor-vehicle component found nearby from evidence of a foreign airship. They also distinguish another man's subsequently exposed inventor claim from Lethbridge's own story. The plate preserves that uncertainty: the occupants are ordinary fur-clad men as described, not invented alien anatomy, and the airship, witness and cart share a visibly reconstructed historical scene.