The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1916-11-29 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

EDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29. 1916  All but two months have elins Try elapsed since the ZepAgain. pelin raid which ended Ea disastrously for the lri invaders' two of whose murder I,,eiflefi were shot down and one other ,".- known to have been damaged ' gun ' fire Within a fortnight, it will bY . . • remembered, our anti-aircraft deaccounted for three .Zepps, two the machines of the very latest ' and one airship of another and Tr•oPer,.e' lc less formidable pattern. These roasters created positive conternation in bermany, and there can be no doubt ot the effect was to very emphatically ic enthusiasm for the Zeppelin brand' i iultur propagation. At all events, 0, raids came to a sudden stop, and for months no Zeppelins, so far as is fn, essayed to cross the line of the ogiish coast. But on Monday night other air attack upon hated England remade, with the ides probably of wing the German populace something ; cheer them after three months of oressing news regarding the operations • the Somme region. Also, it may lire been thought by the German war 1 esters that the destruction of Zepse in September and early October ;0. in the nature of a fluke, and that Ike risk to the raiders was not greater on it was, say, in the autumn of last ' or, when the enemy airships really lid seem to tome and go as they listed. fell, the Zeppe have been here and they we gone, but not all of them. Two of hem at least will contribute to German gide no more, for they met with utter iestruotion, and their crews with a heedful death. Thus it has been condelve's, shown that net mere luck but powerful defensive machinery allied with ;be highest courage and skill accounted for events which, some few weeks ago, led influential German newspapers to question the wisdom of continuing the policy of the Zeppelin war against this country. Not leas important is the fact the whereas the other anti aircraft suecf,ses were achieved in the neighbour' bond of London, the machines brought ion aflame on Monday night met their km in an entirely different part of the coontry. This should remove any impres.ion there may be in Germany that whilst the defences are strong so far as the metropolis is concerned they are 1 ,01 DO account elsewhere. We may 1 ss.tme that, slow thadgh the enemy have peed themselves to be to acknowledge isfenority in any department of esmaking, they will now recognise at al events that the invasion of this country by air is now an adventure fraught with eery serious danger to the invaders. It would be too much to expect that recent experiences will serve to convince the German "heads" that the game of strafing England by means of Zeppelins i too costly and dangerous a game to persist in. but it is reasonable to anti:pate a marked lessening in zeal for this particular form of frightfulness. It is proving rather too frightful in a sense DOI appreciated- in • the Fatherland. Whatever the effect uPon the enemy of our defence successes, however, our busies is to continue quietly and methodically in the work of perfecting our defensive machinery to the utmost possible degree. Since Lord ..French took over Home Defence the organisation hes, andoubtedly improved enormously, and pablie confidence, Once sotnewhat'shaken, has been fully restored.. In out ' writ' Inky the arrangements for dealing nth a raid should such occur are of the ex complete character, and the public air rest assured that nothing is being kit undone for their protection and ell being. Just a word on the subject li lighting, and that because the feeling Wears to be growing that the policy ef keening lights subdued irom lusk to dawn is unnecessarily drastic. Without giving reasons, we may INsUrP the public that the existing regulations are absolutely essential as a measure of defence, and that to relax them in any degree would be to expose the inhabitants to urgent peril.