The first of the money rewards received from grateful admirers of his valour was £500 from Mr. L. A. Oldfield. Mr. William Bow also sent the £500 which he offered to the first pilot to bring down an enemy airship on British soil. A further £2,000 came from Col. Joseph Cowen, and public recognition was made by Sir Charles Cheers Wakefield, Lord Mayor of London. All united in paying a tribute to the young aviator’s heroic deed. We have seen that he bore his honours with fine spirit. He claimed for himself no peculiar gifts of gallantry or skill. It was, he said, merely his good fortune. There were many, he said, waiting for the opportunity to do what he had done. Later the opportunity came, and we know to our just pride that amongst our airmen there are _many_ heroes. CHAPTER X LIEUTENANT FREDERICK SOWREY, D.S.O., AND LIEUTENANT ALFRED BRANDON, M.C., D.S.O. The next raid over England by German airships took place on the night of September 25, 1916. Twelve airships took part, but only ten returned. One was brought down in flames not far from London, the crew being killed; the second came down near the coast, and the crew were made prisoners. Both of the airships were of the latest and largest type. An official report issued by Lord French stated that probably not more than twelve airships participated in the raid. Police reports from the provinces indicated that the damage done by the raiding airships was slight. At one town in the East Midlands, however, a number of bombs were dropped, and two persons were killed and eleven injured. Some damage was caused at a railway station, and about a dozen houses and shops were wrecked or damaged, and a chapel and a storehouse were set on fire. With this exception no other casualties were reported outside the Metropolitan area, and although a large number of bombs were dropped promiscuously over the districts visited by the airships the material damage was insignificant. A great number of bombs fell in the sea or in open places. In the Metropolitan area seventeen men, eight women, and three children were killed, forty-five men, thirty-seven women and seventeen children being injured. A considerable number of small dwelling-houses and shops were demolished or damaged, and a number of fires were caused. Two factories sustained injury. Some empty railway trucks were destroyed, and the permanent way was slightly damaged in two places. No reports were received of any _military_ damage. The first definite information that German airships were approaching London was received shortly before eleven o’clock. No sooner was a Zeppelin located than the guns opened fire with apparent accuracy, considering the difficulty of estimating the range. Some of the shells burst very close to the raider, and once it appeared to have been hit. Anyway, after that it lost no time in seeking a higher altitude, where it was lost to sight. Some minutes elapsed before the weird humming of Zeppelin engines was heard again.