Nostalgia by Neil Rees

The Northern Lights are also known by the Latin term aurora borealis. The aurora happens when electrically charged particles from the sun, enter the atmosphere and collide with gas atoms.

It appears as colourful dancing lights which illuminate the sky. The most common colour is green, created by oxygen molecules, but other colours are seen too. When it is red it has been mistaken for a large fire. The light-show typically lasts for about two hours in the late evening.

The northern lights are mainly seen in the Arctic region, but occasionally elsewhere. To see the northern lights you need a dark but clear night, and an unobstructed view of the northern horizon.

They are seldom seen in Bucks, but a great aurora was seen here in 1732 and then one in 1803. The next occasion was in 1827 and then in 1830 it was seen on Christmas Day. Through the 1830s it was seen almost annually.

The 1835 Auroras

The aurora was seen many times in 1835. On October 8 it was pale yellow for two hours, and then was seen again on October 13 when it was red. A slight aurora was seen on November 17 and then a magnificent one the next evening which was observed across Bucks, in Bedford, and down to London.

In London “60 men and 12 fire engines were kept in incessant motion from 11 o’clock in the night till 6 o’clock Wednesday morning, pursuing a number of false alarms of fire, which were caused by a succession of… the northern lights, and which… presented the appearance of wide-spreading conflagrations.”

On December 18, 1835 in Aylesbury it was “the most extraordinary Aurora Borealis that has been seen in this vicinity since 1732 … at nine p.m. the whole of the sky… was brilliantly illuminated by a bright yellow light; a little above the horizon were two elliptic arches from which came red beams.” This visual show this lasted strongly for about 2 hours, then faded, but a bright light continued until 5 a.m the next morning.

Late 1830s

In October 1836, it was again seen across Bucks and down to London. On February 18, 1837 it was seen around Wycombe, when it consisted of two streams of a bright pink colour, shooting rays of light which were flame- coloured, and the stars were seen through the aurora.

On October 18, 1837 it was seen around Aylesbury, which many took to be a large fire. On November 12 and 16, 1837 it was seen at Aylesbury and Wycombe, where red rays shot up from the north west, and on this occasion it was also seen as far as London and Paris.

After this the Northern Lights became less common being seen every few years in 1843, 1845, 1847, 1849, 1852, 1859, 1865 and 1869.

Windsor Castle 1870

The northern lights were seen twice in 1870. On February 7 they were recorded in north Bucks. Then on October 24, they were seen in Wycombe, across the Chilterns and into Berkshire. At 8 p.m. it lit up Windsor and “crowds of people rushed up to the Castle under the impression that a large fire was raging… The display lasted about an hour. The dark outline of the Castle Chapel stood out wonderfully against the strange bright light.”

After the Great Blizzard of 1881

There were aurora sightings in southern England not long after the Great Blizzard of 1881 (see BFP Nostalgia January 17, 2021). On January 31, 1881 at Aylesbury “a magnificent display of the aurora borealis was witnessed… The light seemed to radiate from a low background of clouds, and spread far up into the sky”.

1880s and 1890s

In 1882 it was seen on October 2 and November 17, around Aylesbury and Princes Risborough. On April 25, 1892 the Northern Lights were seen in many places in south Bucks. On September 9, 1898 there was “a beautiful and brilliant display” which could be seen in the Chilterns.

Helping a court case

The Northern Lights were seen around Aylesbury on July 1, 1908. In Haddenham, Henry Redhead was caught riding his bicycle in the evening without lights. P.C. Wright approached him and in court “the defendant informed the Bench that it was extremely light and he did not realise it was so late”. Once the chairman of the court realised that it was the same evening as the Northern Lights were seen, the case was dismissed.

Chesham and Amersham Sightings

In Chesham, the Northern Lights were seen in 1914 at the beginning of the Great War when “a great band of light stretched across the sky, a golden arc painted with a huge brush by a master hand”.

An Amersham resident wrote that on March 9, 1926 “the display was brilliant” and then on March 30 it was “faint, owing to the light of the nearly-full moon”. On June 29, 1927 the Northern Lights could be seen from Chesham Bois. On June 13, 1931 the aurora was seen in Chesham just before midnight, which some people mistook for a massive fire at Hyde Heath.

On January 25, 1938 between 7 and 8 o’clock “Chesham folk… were watchers of the sky….” One account described it as “great bands of shimmering red, yellow, purple and green light.” This display was described as “the most amazing seen in this country for fifty years…” Gwendoline Glenister saw it at Milk Hall Farm, Waterside in Chesham when she was 13, and recounted it to people throughout her life. On September 29, 1957 the Chiltern skies “took on a strange red glow. It was reported on the wireless the next day that this was the aurora borealis.”

Recent Sightings

In recent years the northern lights have been seen again. On February 27, 2014 the northern lights were seen around Milton Keynes. On March 6, 2016 and on Sunday February 7, 2020 the northern lights were seen in Oxfordshire.

If you know of any more recent local sightings of the northern lights please let Neil know on nwrees@gmail.com.

Picture credit: Image courtsey of Brian Tomlinson (www.bt-photography.co.uk)