ffiU-British UFO Research Association

Incident at Rosedale, Canada 9.6.71

L;rC*ilnrtrtl rtlIrrrrrlrtrlrll-

Published Feb l98l

Michael Buhler(See p.I0)

Council 1980/81PresidewLord Kings Norton

Vice-presidentsThe Rt Hon Earl of ClancartyLeonard G Cramp, ARAES, MsIAProf Bryan Winder, Bsc, cENG, FIMEcHE.Geofirey G Doel, MRcs, LRcp, DMRE(Past president)Graham F N Knewstub, cENG, MTERE, FBrs(Founder president)

Council chairmanLeslie Bayer, MBE, FrNsr MsM

Vice-chairmanArnold West

Council members

L E Beer, rnasS Gamble, FIMLS, FRAsJ AFBISMrs M HallMrs A HarcourtP A Hill, AMR, FMs, FssR LindseyN T Oliver, EnasA R Pace, r'nasJ Spencer, acaMiss B \food

Edinburgh BranchPeter A Hill, 47a Easter Bankton, Murieston,Livingston, \fest Lothian EH54 9BD

with Member Societies includingBFSB: 29 Rowlandson Gardens, Lockleaze,Bristol BS7 9UH. Tel: O270 698424.Britain's oldest UFO investigation group.

Coaer design: Richard Beet.

rssN 0306 798X

AdministrationG ener al corre sp ondence :Miss Betty Vood, 6 Cairn Avenue,London W5 5HX.Membership secretary:Miss P Kennedy, lanr, 30 Vermont Road,Upper Norwood, London SElg 3SR.Treasurer:John Spencer, 2 Malbury Court,Clarence Road, London, N22.

PublicationsJownal editor:Norman Oliver, 95 Taunton Road,London SE12 8PA. Tel:01 8527653.Publications co-ordinator :Arnold tf7est, 16 Southway, Burgess Hill,Sussex RH15 9ST. Tel: 044 46 6738.Book and Tape libraries:Robin Lindsey, 87 Station Road,tX/hittlesey, Peterborough, PE7 lUE.Tel:0733 203414.

Research andllnvestigationsResearch director:Tony Pace, Newchapel Observatory,Newchapel, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs.Research projects officer :Charles Lockwood, 5 The Ridgeway,Farnsfield, Newark, Notts.Ina e s tig ations adminis t ation :Maureen Hall. Tel: Dartford 75973.Int er national liai s on :Peter A Hill, 47a Easter Bankton, Murieston,Livingston, \Uest Lothian EH54 9BD.Tel: 0506 33720.

AdvertisementsPersonal column: 3p a word (members),6p a word (non-members and trade).Display rates: whole page d18, half paged10. Outside back cover d20, half page f,12Adz;ertisement copy to editorial address.

THE BRITISH UFO RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONBufora Limited (by guarantee). Founded 1964. Registered Office: 2 Malbury Court,Clarence Road, London, N22. Registered in London: 1234924. Incorporating the LondonUFO Research Organisation, founded 1959, and the British UFO Association, founded 1962.

Aims: 1-To encourage, promote and conduct unbiased scientific research of unidentified flyingobjects (UFO) phenomena throughout the United Kingdom. 2-To collect and disseminateevidence and data relating to unidentified flying objects (UFOs). 3-To co-ordinate UFOresearch throughout the United Kingdom and to co-operate with others engaged in such re-search throughout the world.Membership: The annual subscription is {7'50, $18 in the USA and Canada. Membershipis open to all who support the aims of the Association and whose appl'cation is approved bythe Executive Council. Application/information forms can be obtained from any ofrcer.

BUFORA

'OURNALVolume 10 Number 1

Edited by Norman OliverCorrespondence and contributions to:-

Contents

Obituaries2nd London InternationalUFO Congress

The Motunau UFOPhotographLights in the Sky-an ExhibitionAerial Phenomena over Britainon 31 December 1978

From here-and thereBook ReviewsSighting SummariesUforum2nd Psychics and MysticsFayre Back cover

6

10

11

22

25

28

3t

Editoriult'Impartiality tt

In my last editorial I suggested that theETH (Extra-terrestriql hypothesis) hadbeen given less than fair treatment inrecent years and made points in itsfavour: one or two Journal articles werealso on an ET theme, and I find it in-teresting that this evoked immediatecries of " Wlry does our 'impartial'editor take sides ?' (see Uforum), whennumerous items in earlier Journalsfavouring psychic or other themes havenot.

To be ' impartial' does not mean thatone cannot have views of ones own.Neither does it mean an editor is for-

Published February 1981

95 Taunton Road, London SEl2 8PA

bidden from presenting them. How-ever, I must point out that the 'pro-ET' points presented by no meansnecessarily indicated that I considerthe ETH the ultimate answer to theUFO enigma. They did indicate thatI believe many members do so regardit, and their views are in danger notonly of being swamped, but of beingpatronisingly swamped.

Fair coverage should be given to allaspects of our subject and membersshould be entitled to express their ownviewpoints without censorship of anydescription. Indeed, do not ManfredCassirer, Hilary Evans, Randall JonesPugh and Stuart Campbell have strongviews of their own ? And why not ?

\7hen the late John Cleary-Bakeredited this Journal, he used to followthe guideline of being a 'balancingforce.' If he considered that Bufora(or indeed Ufology generally) washeaded too strongly in one direction,he would do his best to counter thetendency. This at times, I also tryto do.

All too often views held are so en-trenched in the mind of the personconcerned that they are proclaimed tothe exclusion of all others-and Ufologyhas a pretty high proportion of such' entrenchments.'

Let us be quite clear, too, on themake-up of Bufora's membership.\Thilst probably a quarter are eitherscientists or possess some degree ofscientific training, the remainder, themajority, are not. To produce a

continued ooerleaf

1

Journal containing only scientific papers(were sufficient forthcoming) wouldtherefore mean financial suicide for theAssociation. This is why yow Journalmaintains a 'popular' approach. How-ever, the minority, on many of whomwe rely for Research and Investigationassistance, cannot just be ignoredeither, and it was for this reason thatJournal TAP was brought into being,due, in some degree I may add, to myown prompting. Together, the BuforaJournal and Journal TAP cover theufological spectrum in a practical, and,we trust) interesting manner. Longmay they both continue !

Norman Oliaer.

BUFORA JOURNALBACK ISSUES

Many issues of BUFORA Journal arestill in print, and available at 70p(50p members).Photo-copies of other issues can besupplied at a very reasonable charge.VERY RARE-a few LUFORO andBUFOA publications are available toserious collectors.

Members and Researchers wishing tocomplete their files, should write fordetails of availability and photo-copying charges to:

AnNoro \?rsr (Bufora Journal)16 Southway,Burgess Hill, Sussex RH15 9ST.

ObituariesFor eight years, from 1965 to 1973, JohnCleary-Baker edited the Bufora Journal; in-deed, it was I who succeeded him in theeditorial chair, and, having been a fellowCommittee member and friend of his since1964, it was with much sorrow that I learnt ofhis recent death. In 1965, as he wrote in theJournal at the time, he had been 'pitchforkedinto the job at a moment's notice.' However,not only did he successfully produce thatSpring issue at a moment's notice, but con-tinued to do so punctiliously for a furthereight years as regularly as clockwork. Forthose eight years of unstinted effort we owea deep debt to John-Ed.Dr Geoffrey Doel, past president of Bufora,and a close friend of his for many years,writes:-

" It is with great regret and deep sad-ness that we learn of the death ofJohn Cleary-Baker in St Paul's Hos-pital, \finchester, on the 5thNovember.He passed away peacefully after manymonths of increasing ill health verybravely borne. Those of us who wereassociated with John during the manyyears he devoted to the study of'ufology' in all its aspects will re-member the leading part he played inthe evolution of Bufora from its humblebeginnings in Luforo and Bufoa. The

2

first Constitution of Bufora was drawnup under his hand. For many years hewas a leading member of the Executiveof Bufora, including editorship of theBufora Journal.In earlier years he obtained a Doctorateof Philosophy from an anciently est-ablished London College, and with hiswide knowledge of matters literary andphilosophical he helped to balance thetendency towards the purely scientificapproach to the problem prevalent inBufora.

His analytical mind and lively intell-igence proved invaluable in the invest-igation and assessment of 'UFO'incidents and his quick wit and puckishsense of humour often enlivened meet-ings which otherwise were in danger ofbecoming dull, but he did not sufferfools gladly.

John never really recovered from thedeath of his beloved wife Vera a fewyears ago and this played no small partin the loss of his will to live whichbecame so evident towards the end ofhis illness.

Personally I have lost a dear friend whomade light of his sufferings, but whosebody could not stand up to the ravagesof a cruel and sustained illness.Requiescat in Pace, John, we shall missyou sadly."

11 NS"'."j[.J, ?&'J:

)rIt is also with the deepest regret that Irecord the death of former BuforaChairman Captain E A I (Ivar) Mackay :

indeed, barely a week had elapsedbefore word came of this further sadloss.

Ivar was prominent in Association aff-airs from the mid-sixties, being electedChairman in 1967 and continuing inthat office until 1971. I recall, too,that for many years he most meticu-lously and methodically housed and

updated our book and tape librarieS,also recording the lectures at Kensing-ton as well as throwing open his homefor numerous Council meetings anddoing his utmost to promote the wel-fare of the Association.

Also a prominent member of ContactInternational (UK), Ivar was extremelyknowledgeable in both UFO andPsychic spheres and, indeed, I hadbeen looking forward to hearing hisown Kensington talk on " ParanormalNuts and Bolts," which regretfully hehad to cancel because of his ill-health.I feel I have lost a personal friend andcolleague and extend my sympathiesto his family in their bereavement inthe knowledge that many other Buforamembers too will feel a deep sense ofloss for a man greatly respected.

Norman Oliver,1 December 1980.

AWARENESS-The Journal of Contact International (Ur<). Details from:Contact International (UK), 48 Crown Road, Wheatley, Nr Oxford, Oxon.

Kensington Lectures 1981

Saturday, 7 March 1981 7 pm.Research Evening Chaired by Anthony R Pace, FRIS.Saturday, 4 April 1981: 7 pm.UFOs without Prejudice Speaker: Ian til'atson, MA, BLit(Oxon).Saturday, I May 1981: 7 pm.The Janos People: A Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind

Speaker : Fr ank Johnson.Saturday, 6 June 1981: 7 pm.rVhat does it all mean ? Speaker: Sir John Whitmore.

All meetings are held in the Lecture Theatre of Kensington Central Library,Campden Hill Road, London r$fS-opposite High Street KensinglonUnderground Station.

2nd London International UFO CongressDates: Sunday/Monday, 24125 May, 1981 (Spring Bank Holiday)Venue: Mount Royal Hotel, Marble Arch, London \{1.

Full' finalised congress-details will be given in our next issue (MarchlApril).currently, th_e line-up of speakers and events, however, is almost complete, andwhilst the following programme is as yet provisional, we do not anticipate anymajor amendments before finally dotting tht i's and crossing the t's. H^ere it is:

Sunday 24.5.81

09.30 r Congress reception opgns. Registration.Bookstall and Exhibition Area open.

10.00 Are you sure you have your facts right ?' BOB DIGBY-BUFORA.10.45 Coffee Break11.15 Formal Opening of Congress:

LORD KINGS NORTON-BUFORA PRESIDENT.11.35 The Link between the Investigator and the Scientist

BERTIL KUHLEMANN-S\YEDEN.

14.15 Reflections of an Editor Lunch

CHARLES BOWEN-FSR.15.00 The Livingston Close Encounter

STUART CAMPBELL-BUFORA (Edinburgh).16.00 Tea Break16.30 Psychic Phenomena and UFOs. Is there a connection ?

Group Discussion: Introduced by HILARY EVANS-SOCIETYFOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH.

18.0019.3021.30 Documentary Film.

End of Session

Congress Dinner

Monday 25.5.8109.00 *A Presentation of Close Encounter Experiences-incorporating

experiences from DelegatesNORMAN OLIVER, rnes-BUFORA Journal Editor.

09.00 *Discussion Groups1 Viability of the Extra-Terrestrial Hypothesis.2 Radar/Visual Cases.3 Investigation Techniques.4 Formulation of Code of Ethics for UFO Investigators.5 Vehicle Interference.

!)n"r"ru"a for Delegates' topics not covered by 1 to 5.t)*Held concurrently in separate suites.

4

10.3011.00

12.0012.30

14,15

15.30

16.00

16.30

17.30

18.00

Coffee BreakThe Possible fnfluence of Black Holes on Space TravelNIGEL HENBEST, nnas.Report from Provisional International Committee on UFO Reseaich;

Lunchpha$l1g Eeryq oq the_E1ga-Terrestrial Hypothesis (title provisional)DN BRUCE MACCABEE, NHN-UNITED STATES.Reports from Discussion Groups

Tea BreakThe Need for Collaboration-The Canadian Experience ,

DAVID HAISELL-DiTectoT UP INVESTIGATIONSRESEARCH INC_CANADA.Congress Summary.CLOSE OF 2No INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS.

As in 1979, a special combined_Rail/Hotel/congress ' package' has been arrangedthrough.Grand Metropolitan Hotels. A complete price lisiis available fromiheSecretariat (address below), but typical examples aie as follows:

$J9", d56.]9, Cumbria: {,68.59. Merseyside & Manchester: f,63.32.\0Tiltshire: d54'61. Dyfed: f,64.94. Centra[ Scotland: {72.93.(price inc.ludes return rail fare, Congress admission and oaernight hotel accom-modation).

We anticiP^ate this second Congress will be of great interest, both to ufologists andthe scientific establishment, so please make your reservations as early as fossible.leld to: uFo congress SecretariatrT siratford place, tonaoirwth lyu.Tel.01-629-6618-(Jeffre_y Mansfield) in office hours. Evining phone nos forfurther information : Lionel Beer

' 01 . 723 . 0305 . Lestie Bafer' 04422 6140.

Peter Hill, Edinburgh 0589 33720.

KEEP 24 and 25 MAY 1981 FREE ! rvrite Now and avoid later disa-pointment.

Whieheaer walt Aoa lnk at it tKeep Free !

.ilfa7 24-25 IhBI : /

freep Free !

5

The Motunau Photographln past lournals and u Kensington, by cowtesy of Rocky Wood, Bufora membershave followed the Kaikoura, New Zealand reports and photographs of 1979 withheen interest. It is therefore with pleasure that I here reprint an item which ap-peared in Xenolog UFO Magazine in its issue No 122 for JanlMarch 1980 andthank F €g P Dickeson,33 Dee St Timaru, .- -Neut Zealana foi permission to pibi;tlr'. 'i oXenolog ts pubiished quarterly aia * Tutt i(At(o\ifiAlof extremely.interesdng_reports_ gnd ay Iticles: write to the abooe address for 1

current details. ,

Story and photographs by Xenolog \The latest photographic sensation in i

the NZ UFO field occurred on 27 I

October 1979, but came to light only tin late January 1980. UFg IThe sketch lnap_ depica the_1979 Sl1'HTlNt. i t

slide in the same general area-all un- \ ,,/ r' U l:Obeknown to the photographer. It is \ r,

interesting to note that the Argosy Xaircraft turned at about this point to A /'f^tt^--- ^L^ TTnn :- f ^,--^--- rnrn /n:- r\

Argosy aircraft -flighi

when David -'h;'.'"'" /Crockett filmed the famous series of W / , .'UFO activity in that area, larer shown \mo-f-ilNqU,'world-wide'on television channels; Yt ,'world-wide'on television channels; Yt ,

the map shows the position of Motunau ,/ Ain relation to previous activity. / /The world knows about_ u_Fo lishts AIgdfttEY /being photographed il"-'ris".tr"iit; o I IKaikiura co=ast. Now, ten months \ / ! i.

-later, a brilliant, spariding diamond \ / -

---e'-U_.!O. ha,s been captured -on colour \ / :,

cuf(r,91 LuuR(H :<,^.\.-1*-The Story :"'.Utl -/.^' \) \tPrior to 27 October 1979, June and ',"";, '.-; t- 8AN(S \.frt\rr Lu z/ v{-LUUcI r7l7, Juut attuNorman Neilson of Mo6;;1p-- PEUifS\Ul.R/nounced MO\f-T\7O-.N9WI b^oyght \. -l

follow theUFO in January 1979(Fig 1). .:

\ia new fishing boat for their crayfishing ,,^__business and were anxious to obtain agood photograph of the proud newacquisition.

Already two unsatisfactory colour filmshad been taken-one was underex-fosed, and the oth"iu"aty torn in ttre FIG I

6

camera. Having bought another col-our slide film and a loan of a 35mmOlympus f40mm camera) a friend, LouBlackburn was asked to take photos ofthe boat going out of the tidal rivermouth at sunrise on 27 October.(Boats can navigate the entrance threehours either side of full tide.)

lJnfortunately, Lou (not professing tobe a photographer) used the camera asit had been given to him-all set to aimand fire (in sunlight).

It was dawn, 6.15 am: the Sun hadjust risen over the sea-but the sceneto be photographed was in deep shadowof the north-eastern hills. The newboat came past the jetty on its way downthe incoming rising tide. Lou wasready, and in quick succession snappedthree photographs as the boat passedhis position. Later that warm, sunnyday, he took more photographs asNorman Neilson returned with hisboat from the open sea.

The film was duly processed in Dec-ember and the slides returned. Hold-ing them up to the light the first threewere disappointing-the first shot didn'tcome out: the second was too dark and

there was no sign of the boat:. the thirdwas taken slap-bang into the rising sun.The boat was no good in any of theseshots. However, the others takenlater on the same film were much betterThe slides were then put away.

fn January, another friend broughtover a hand-held stde viewer andanother look was taken at the slides.Suddenly the friend asked, " Whaf sthat cluster of lights in the sky in thissecond slide ? " No one had noticedthem before as all had been concen-trating on the hoped-for photo of theboat. They then scrambled to borrowa slide projector and were amazed andpuzzled to see the unusual formation ofdazzling blue-white lights here shown.

On 15 January 1979, the Neilsons tooktheir slide to the P/ess office in Christ-church to ask them what they thoughtit could be. A black and white slidecopy was taken and a poor enlarged re-production was printed in the Press on16 January. All it showed was an in-distinct white blue on a grey backgroundof sky-and we also found out later itwas printed back-to-front.

continued ouerleaf

(a) Area in daylight, taken 20 February, 1980. Shows the general view of hills and shore-Iine, now changed by recent high seas.

I

Having been sent several Press cuttingsfrom Christchurch UFO enthusiasts,we contacted an area representative tonegotiate for us with the paper forfurther details.

The Press kindly gave him, for Xeno-log, a black and white negative of thecolour slide and the names of the peopleto contact.

The actual size of the lights on thisnegative is about 1-1fmm, but throughan enlarger, and printing the photo sothat the clouds come out darker, ex-citing possibilities were revealed, somuch so that the authors decided tocontact the slide owners and duly went260km from Timaru to Motunau.Motunau is 98km north of Christ-church on the east coast, 20km east ofScargill and 100km south of Kaikoura.All around the Motunau area there arevery impressive deposits and outcropsof limestone hills and valleys.

The day the Neilsons were in Christ-

8

church they endeavoured to interest thetelevision people in the slide, but, beingvery busy with a big changeover andhaving

. no slide viewing -equipment

lan_dy, it was passed off as being-a flawin the slide.$fhen we viewed the slide for the firsttime, we immediately noticed it hadbeen rgproduced the wrong way roundin the Press and were intrigued i'ith thesparkling, diamond-like clearness ofthe blue-white light radiating from theobject. Closer scrutiny of ihe photo-graph revealed what appeared

-to be

eight lights on the top, with six under-neath and perhapsfive more in between.

(c) UFO enlarged 70 times showing com-plexity of light pattern.

(&) Complete area of 35mm colour slide, showing UFO.

(d) Enlarged portion shows UFO 20 timeslarger than original on slide.

A very interesting discovery was madewhilst enlarging from the B & N7 nega-tive. The darker we printed the photos,the greater the tendency was for eachlight seemingly to split into two sourcesof light and not iust one as at firstthought.

The top row and all the others, exceptthe two lower left lights, were blue-white in colour. The two lower leftlights appeared to have a cream tingeabout them. Between the two rows oflights on the extreme right, thereappeared to be a large, purplish,hazy spot.

The rising sun would be lighting upthe extreme right hand side, whereason the extreme left that part would havebeen in shadow from the sun, but thelights in this area appeared to bebrighter and more intense. Possiblythe craft may have been shaped as inFis.2.

FIG 2

By holding up photograph (d) at arm'slength, the reader will gain an approx-imate idea of the size of the craft.This enlargement has been made towhat the size of the bush would be atarm's length when viewing the areaduring investigation. From the cam-era position, the bush on the hill was60' E of Magnetic North.

When Lou Blackburn was photo-graphing the boat, he did not see thelights in the sky, as he was concen-trating on the fishing boat through theview-finder. The photo of the UFOappeared only on the second slide andwas not on the others. The third slide

continued on page 2I

9

Li$hts in the Sky-An ExhibiitonAn Exhibition of paintings and draw-ings of UFOs opens on 25 February1981,_ at the Maclean Gallery, BbiSt George St, Hanover Square,London M. Titled Lights in theSAy, it is the work of Michael Buhler,a1 artigt keenly interested in ufologysince 1967, who has recently made if asubject for his art.

To a! artist the subject is a fascinatingone, for several reasons. There is theproblem of conveying the feelings feltby countless witnesses to close en-counters, confronted with somethingreal yet quite outside their normalframe of reference. This is partic-ularly difficult because science fictionillustrations have made us feel quite athome with a galaxy of monstels andpeculiarspaceships. One way in whichthe artist has attempted to overcomethis, is by putting the UFO against veryordinary and everyday surioundings.As a pictorial subject, the UFO is mostexciting as a source of luminosity andboth in the drawings and paintings,light is the keynote. The effects ofionised air, beams of light and the vari-coloured light displays on UFOs arefascinating as pictorial problems-toconvey something of the luminosityand dazzle of their effects with nothingbetter than pigment ground up in oil-.The artist has painted these pictures inan impressionist manner, purposefullyavoiding the high technical details ofcontemporary science fiction illus-trations and trying to retain the elusiveand enigmatic character of UFOs.

As we know all too well, photographs ofUFO events are often unsatisfactorvand inconclusive. There are virtuallvno photographs that stand up to in"-vestigation and none ofclose encounters

of the third kind. It is therefore anarea where the 'ardst's impression,'based on witness evidence is the onlymeans of visually recreating the eveni.The drawings in this show are based onactual incidents taken from FSR andother specialist books and magazines.They are drawn with black coutecrayon and are like blurry black andwhite photographs. The drawings areeach composed of two or three fiamesas in a comic in order to describe theevent in a narrative way from themoment the UFO was first observedto the climax of the encounter. Theartist has not drawn many humanoids,as he has found that outside the worldof UFO specialists, people are unableto take them seriously and the effect istherefore counter-productive. Our tra-dition oflittle green men from Mars, ourmythologies of fairies, elves and mon-sters dating from the dawn of historyto contemporary science fiction, makean almost insuperable obstacle to pre-senting humanoids as a serious prop-osition in art. Presumably we witlhave to wait until we have photographicimages with first-rate credentials ofhumanoids, and only then will peoplebegin to take them seriously.

This exhibition, running from 25 Feb-ruary to 20 March, is the first devotedentirely to UFOs, and the artist ishoping it will attract some interest fromthe general public. Michael Buhler isbest known for his abstracted land-scapes of the modern world, andexamples of his work are in many publicand private collections. He showsregularly atthe Royal Academy and hashad numerous one-man exhibitions inthis country since studying at theRoyal College of Art in the Sixties.

Cozter Photo: This work of Michael Buhler depicts an experience-Roadside Visitors

-recounted in Bufora Journal Vol 3, No 12 and Canadion UFO Report Vot 2, No 4.

10

Aerial Phenomena over Britain on Dec 51, 1978A Preliminary Surtsey

IntroductionIt appears an omission that Bufora-one of Britain's most pror,ninent UFOorganisations-has yel to publish areview of the .remarkable observationsmade inBritish skies during theeveningof 31 December 1978. The presentpaper attempts to rectify that situation.

The PhenomenaBetween approximately 6.30 and 7.30pm on the above date, literally thou-sands of sightings were made all overthe United Kingdom of one or moreobjects tailed by flames, fiery matter,luminous vapour or some similarmatter. Some reports described theobject/s as spherical, others as elongatedor cigar shaped, and certain others astriangular. Various exotic descrip-tions compared these bodies to' leglessnewtsr' 'flyinq tadpoles' or to a' double-decker bus.' In only one locality,however, was more than one objectseen simultaneously. This and all themost reliable repofts appear in thesightings-list given hereafter.

Most accounts stated that the objectwas silent, that it travelled on a levelor flat trajectory and that it was ex-tremely bright. Several descriptionsmention lighted windows or doors inthe object, and, collectively, a greatvariety of colours were ascribed to it.Indications of these are provided inFigs I and 2, which also illustrate someof the shapes drawn by eye-witnesses.

Early Identifications and Time LagAs several national and a large numberof provincial newspapers published avariety of accounts of this phenomenaon January 1st 1979 and the daysimmediately following, explanations

J B Delair

from various sources as to the realnature of the aerial visitor/s were notlong in appearing. Thus, when localradio stations-Birmingham (BRMB)for example-also began receiving num-erous first-hand reports, it was obviousthat officialdom had to allay publicconsternation and so duly announcedthat the sightings were actually ofCOSMO.S 1068's launcher unit re-entering and burning up in the Earth'satmosphere (1). Somewhat surpris-ingly, the only Bufora announcementapparently made about this eventagreed with this Ministry of Defenceidentification (2). As matters turnedout, this identification and the eadyBufora agreement with it proved to bepremature.

Also of interest is the apparent lack ofassociation with this event accorded thevarious scaftered sightings of otherwiseessentially similar objects, recorded atsporadic intervals in later Buforapublications (see list of sightings fol-lowing), for the same times and date.

This latter factor is uniloubtedly dueto the well known 'time lag' thatoccurs between the observation ofsome widespread phenomenon and thegathering in and analysis of all thoseobservations and their subsequent pub-lication. The present subject hasproved to be a very good instance ofthis factor at work.

So far as this writer is aware, the onlystatement approximating to realityabout this event appeared in NorthsnUFO News (3). In the February 1979issue of that magazine, we read thatsome 43 separate reports had beenreceived from the northern counties of

continued ozterleaf

11

Britain covered by that journal, andthat several still photographs and onemovie film had been taken of thephenomenon. The same source alsotells us that most of the reports centredon 7.15 pm (which is demonstrablyerroneous): that the object left a pinko_r or.ange trail (only partially correct):that it was silent and flew on a courseparallel to the Earth's surface (whichwas correct) and that the object waslarge, cylindrical, silver in colour andhad a row of blue windows along itsside (again only partially corrict).The account concluded with a notethat 'deuelopmeus would be watched,'although to date no further commentson the events ofthe evening in questionhave appeared in that journal.

The aforementioned photographic evi-dence, which this writer has not seen,is reported to have been shown on theNews at One television programme onlst January 1979.

Report TimesNo (qll pm)1 6.15

. 2 c.6.303 6.454 6.485 6.536 6.557 6.558 c.6.559 6-7

10 7.0011 7.0012 7.0013 7.0014 7.0015 7.OO16 7.00'17 7.0018 7.O0l9 7.OO20 7.OO2l 7.0022 7.0023 7.0024 7.0025 7.0026 7,OO27 7.0028 7.0029 7.0030 7.0031 7.00 :32 7.0033 7.0034 7.0035 7.0035 7.0037 7.0038 7.00

t2

LocalltyWelling, Greater kndonGrangemouth. Central'tl7addington, LincsCrewe, CheshireSunderland, Tyne & Wear

Whitburn, Tyne & WearLisburn, Antrimlfigan, LmcsEaton, Noruich, NorfolkCromer, NorfolkCromer, NorfolkSkegness, LincsWarrington, CheshireBlackburn, LancsBlackpool. LancsLiverpool, MerseysideCarlisle, Cumbria

Read'ing, nerk'JBirminghm, W. Midlands

Sheffieii, S Yorks t'Stockbridge, S YorksPfeston, LancsM6 near Preston, LancsLitcham, NorfolkGorleston, NorfolkLondonBristol, AvonMmchester, Gtr Mmchester

Vadeblidge, CornwaiiPerranporth, CornwallPenzance, CornwallLooe, Cornwall

The ReportsThere follows a list of neadv 200reports from various parts of tn.United Kingdom, culled from a num-ber of published sources and thearchives of Contact International (Ur<).Some of the sightings have beenheavily investigated, some less so andothers not at all. However, this erratictreatment apparently diminishes insignificance so far as the events of 3lDecember 1978 are concerned, sinceeyewitness accounts of investigated,partially investigated and non-invest-igated sightings collectively offer aremarkable consistency of detail, andit seems fairly clear that all the reportsreally do refer to the same phenomenon.All the reports) irrespective of how fareach has been investigated, are there-fore complementary and supplemen-tary to one another. sources used arecited where appropriate.

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PrincipalWitness/sMiss MontagueMr McI-achlan

Mr Stoker (*)Mr White (*)Mr StokerMrs LittleMr McFadden

.tvlr Olct (+)Mr Dib-ble

fvfrs anti-bMr VestMrs JohnsMr Blackburn

Miss oltleMr TealMr PledgeMrs MaxwellMr StanmoreMr RutterMr AcottMr Key

Mr Attl-Je(anon)(anon)Mrs AdellMr KentMr JonesMr SpencerMrs Lewis(anon)

PhenomenonRed SpherePulsating white light2 round yellow lights (19)lfhite, tadpole-like (21)Cigar trailing smoke (l l)Cylindrical, with tailCigar-shapedSilvery obiect with tailYellow light with tailBlack object with tail (22)CigarJike (7)'Airship'Jike (6,12,17 & 17a)Elongated objectCigarJike (6, 12, 17, and l7a)Round white lishtElongated obiectRound whitish obiectElongated obiectTailed cigar (19)Triangular objectElongated obiect (l)Elongated objectRound whire objectElongated obiectLollipop-shapedWindowed obiect with tailCigarJike (then oval)Red and green ciear (20)Elongated obiect (6, l7a)Elongated obiect

i: iiRound ob;ect 'ivith tailElongated obiectYellow elongated objectRound white object

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Report TimesNo (all pm)39 7.0040 7.004t 7.0042 7.0043 7.0044 7.0045 7.0046 7.0047 7.0048 7.0049 7.0050 7.0051 7.0052 7.0053 7.0054 7.0055 7.0056 7.0057 7.0058 7.0059 7.0060 7.0061 7.0062 7.0063 7.0064 7.0065 7.0066 7.0067 7.0068 7.0069 7.0070 7.007t 7.0072 c. 7.0073 7.0074 c.7.0075 c. 7.0076 c. 7.0077 7.O078 7.0179 7.Ol80 7.0181 7.Ot

82 1.Ot83 7.0184 1.Ot85 7.0286 7.O287 7.O288 7.O289 7.O290 7.O29t 7.O292 7.O293 7.O294 7.O295 7.O296 7.O297 7.O298 7.O299 '1.02

100 7.02tol 7.02to2 7.o2103 7.O2104 7.O2t 05 7.o2t 06 7.o2lo7 7.o2t 08 7.o2109 7.O2I l0 1.o2lll 7.02ll2 7 -o3I 13 7.O31 14 7.O3I 15 7.03I 16 7.O3

Locality Dlrection phenomenon "tfh""t3"?lLiskeard, Cornwall \7-E Elongated obiect Mr TantonNewquay, Cornwall I7-E Round yellow object Mr Stsntonllvmouth, Devon y-E Rowd white object Mr JenkinsPlympton, Devon \I(/-E ,, .n4r

-Seccombe

Torpoint, Devon \Jv-E Elongated object Mrs Cale,wersiipoor, dSwys i;Y $i"x?X,l$t3ti.'"P',*' ffi FS"",Antwhistle, Lancs \J(/-E Round yellow object (anon)Rochester, Kent W-E Round white obiect ianon)Burnley, Lancs Cf' double-decker bus ' (5)Sunderland, Tyne & Wear Enormous rocket-like Mrs Evms (+)

Harwell, Oxon \|7-E Elongated white object Miss HawkinsCarterton, Oxon E-N'{f Elongated yellow obiectCandleviak, Lincs 'i/-E Elon[ated ivhite obfectOxford, Oxon W-E Round yellow obieit Mr MastersGlasgow, Strathclyde \V-E Elongared white obfect (anon)

Bisitpbriees,'sftathclyde V:E Elongited obiiit " Mitrl"?tili$_edgley,_V Mf{lg{s Lons lighted obiect Mr Cole (-F)Nr_ Sedgley-_ u(_l4idlands Tailed sphere Mr Edwaids ( +)Coleshill, I( Midlands Red oblong obiect Mr Bennett ' -

woriirhampton, v rnrar".a, N!

Ytl*:#1n"..:3i.:?"*' ffi NilT,'J"Sheldon, Devon E-N Elongated object Mr LainiStreat-ley, Berks W-E Flying orang6 'flame' Mr Femlhough'Washington, Tyne & rJyear Orange sphere Mr Alcoik'Wearside,'Tlne & Wear Cylindrical obiecr (13, 18)Distington, Cumbria Black cigar-like Mr F GrahamNr Barmstgn, Tlme_& Wear Tailed cbmetJike Mr J Alcock (*)Dundonnell, Ross-shire N!7-SE CigarJike obiect Mr A Mackeizi'eNr Shortlees, Kilmarnock NE-NNE Sphere with vapour Mr u7 Howiery16

"eat Stafford, S1affs W-E Tailed glowing obiecr (8)

Tockholes, nr Darwen, Lancs Elongated obiect wilh a uil Mr J ShannonWindermere, Cumbria Cigarlike with windows Mr M Graham ( * )'Warmsworlh, S Yorkshire N-S Green globe, tailed Mr Vain (+)Connah's Quay, Clwyd Tailed red cigar Mrs M OrhiCrewe, Cheshire Red, cigar-shapedChester, Ch^eshire . !q-E Round white obiect Mr Ross (f )Doncaster, S Yorkshire \f-E Round white obiect Mr Jones'Newquay, Cornwall 'ir-E Elongated object Mr PrescottNewlyn, Cornwall W-E rIThiG elongated oblect with

windows Mr locevTruro, Cornwall W-E Elongated obiect (16) (anon) -

Plymouth, Devon S-W Round yellow object Mr PirkerPontypool, Gwent W-E Elongated object Mr BlewdonLiverpool, Merseyside Tailed white sphere Mrs StonerJ?urington, Cheshire W-E ,, Mrs Hale

Grasgoii, stradrcilde v:"t +iii"T\;i,i:i,:fi1 Ml,t:io*fcild, o*ford3ni.e V:E Elongated object

Ml.?:i"rJ7-E (anon)W-E Mr Searle

_cusr'ior, qx!.rciirrire E-.N Em?X*l',i;;:!i"" Mifiii,:.-Banbury, Oxfordshire E-N\f Miss AmvKidlington, Oxfordshire E-N ,, ,, Miss MaiieLondon W-E Round blue obiect Mr O'LearvPenzance, Cornwall E-N Elongated obiebt Mrs Smith'Looe, Cornwall \f-E Elongated oblect with

windows Mr MacanterBristol, Avon E-N White round obiect Mr PriestDevonport, Devon S-NW Yellow round obiect Mr KentYeovil, Somerset \il-E Triangular silver object Mt MeekStmton, Suffolk W-E White round obiect Mrs SteelC€stleton, Gwent !u0-E Elongated object Mr LongbridgerJ?ormington, Gloucester I7-E Mrs Duin -Carlisle, Cumbria N-SE ,, ,, Mrs RanterPreston, Lancashire 'if-E ,, ,, Mr LonghornCannock, Staffordshire 'i7-E ,, ,, Mrs CarierSheffield, S Yorkshire !(/-E Round yellow obiect Mrs PriceAberdeen, Grampian W-E Elongated objectrEdinburgh, Lothian rJr-E Triangular white obiect Mrs McClanarkGlasgow, Strathclyde NW-E Round white obiect Mt MantonPrestwick, Strathclyde W-E Elongated object Mr KaneBanbridge, Co Down NNE-SSE Tailed yellow object Mr McFaddenAbergavenny, Gwent, W-E Elongated obiect Mrs PeeneLondon ti/-E Mrs Peak

continued on ltage 18

15

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t33 7.05134 7.05I 35 7.05t 36 7.05 Margate, Kent137 7.O5138 7.05 Nr Liverpool, Merseyside139 7.05 4671, nr Bacup, Lmcs

E-NE-N

lt1 7.o3r 18 7.O3I 19 7.03t20 7.03t2l 7.M122 7.O4123 7.O4t24 7.O4t25 '1.04t26 7.O4t27 70.4128 7.O4129 7.O4130 7.05131 7.O5t32 7.O5

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Oxford, OxfordshireCumnor, OxfordshireBury St Edmunds, SuffolkLincoln, Lincolnshire

crewi, CrresrriiiCromer, NorfolkBaldock, HertfordshireLondonAbingdon, OxfordshireBristol, AvonHanford, StaffordshireScunthorpe, HumbersideOxford, OxfordshireBanbury, OxfordshireLondon

Elongated obiect

Rectai'gular oiiiect (2 1 )Tapering oval (21)Blue-green cigarRocket-likeCylindrical objectElongated oblectRound white obiect

rtoiigatea iiulecii I o;Comet-like (21)Tailed sphereTailed round objectElongated obiect with

windowsTailed round obiect

'raiild veiiow etSteTailed round obiectElongated obiect (4)Tailed sphereDiffuse obiect with

flaming tailRed oblong obiectElongated silvery obiectSilver triangular obfectCigar-shaped obfectOval obiectRocket-like

"""'li'o 'o':,i'

Tailed'round 6biectrJfindowed cigar-likeRound red objectTorpedo-shapedElongated objectCigar-like with tailFiery obiectWhite globeThree elongated obiectsSpiky sphereOrange sphereBlue-green sphereWhite sphere becoming

cigar-like$Thitish orb becoming

cigu-likeTailed whilte light (21)Tailed round obiectOval green obiect (21)Long white obiectTailed yellow globe!7hite sphere (3)Red spherePink sphereBrowny-red sphereSegmented obiect (3)Tailed sphereElongated obiect (15)

,, ,, (2)

Mr PateMr HarpMr Cox

rur Poiioct

Mrs StlensonMiss PrenticeMrs DearMr RockMr Darby

tvtr Ha-zetteMr Tapper

Mrs MacKinnonMr DuntonMr Dale(many)Mr ArmitageMiss ChildesDr R Gibson

Mr ScottMr Fletcher (*)Mr CottMrs CuttleMrs DaleMr StewrtMr Kerr

Mrs Co]lMrs SmithMr HaleMrs MerckMr KapeRev E RossMr PearsonMr Hicken ( |)Mr TrotterMr CottonMr RockettMr BallMr IwmiciMr GuyMr LanniganMr Bridger

Miss Molesbury (f )

Mr Tipple (t)

Mr Beest-ston (f )Mr Faddon (*)Mrs BuchananMr Dunne

Miss Dr-rningMr EdwardsMr McFadden

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l4O 7.05 Bromsgrove, Worcestershirel4l 7.05 Hull, Humberside E-NW142 7.05 E-N143 7.O5 Aberdeen, Grampian W-E144 7.05 Sandport, Kinross, Tayside145 7.05 Dromore, Co Down146 '1.06 Cromer, Norfolk147 7.O7 \findermere, Cumbria E-N148 7.O7 Sheffield, S Yorkshire149 7.O7 High rVycombe, Buckingham150 7.O7 Dover, Kent E-N151 7.O7 Bexhill, E Sussex r0f-E152 7.08 Ditchling, E Sussex rif-E153 7.08 Haslemere, Surrey E-NW154 7.lO Clowne, Derbyshire N-NWI 55 c. 7. l0 Quinton, Northamptonshir156 7.10 Erdington, rl(/ Midlands NW-SE157 7.10 Nr Biminghm, W Midlands158 7.10 Cannock, Staffordshire W-E159 7.10 Tamworth, Staffordshire E-N160 c.7.10 Rochdale, Lancashire N-E161 7.10 Rutherglen, Strathclyde162 7.12 Peopleton, Vorcestershire N-Sl61 1.15 Stray, Yorkshire

164 7.15 Howood, Renfrewshire

165 7,25 Unlocalised area in Strathclyde166 7.3O Stafford, Staffordshire16'1 8.30 Kirkbridge, Cumbria168 c.8.30 Nr rhe Derby/Staffs border169 c.9.00 Nr Rathmullen, Co Donegal170 c. 11.50 Bentillee, Staffordshirel7l 11.55 Ballincollig, Co Cork172 11.56 Yardley,'W Midlands173 c. midnight Buntingford, Hertfordshire174 ' evening ' r\3 N of Newcastle, Staffs175 ,, Letterskenny, Co Donegal176 ,, Watsall, rI7 Midlands177 ,, Sandbach, Cheshire178 ,, Blackpool, Lancashiret79180l8l182183184185186187

,, Balcombe, \J( Sussex,, Brighton, E Sussex,, Swanage, Dorset,, Shanklin, Isle of Wight,, Burley, Hampshire,, Hubridge, Hmpshire,, Rockbourne,Hampshire,, Oakhampton, Devon,, Kinsall Green, Warwick

,, ., (2)Creenish-blue globe Mr BrownLong yellowy oblect Mr Trafford ('l )Tailed greenish orb Mrs RedfieldTailed greenish orb Miss ClementsGreenish-blue globe Mr PensfoldTailed green sphere Mr Acroyd

,, Miss PriceElongated obiect Mr Macey

,, ,, (9) (several),, ,, (9) (several)

MrLeighton(l)MrsCorbett(l)Mr FortiscueMr Belton

,, ,, (14) Mr Smith* Zigzagged between these cmpass roints

188 ,, Nr Ashby, Dordon, rJfarwick189 ,, Gainsborough, Nottingham W-E190 ,, King's Lynn, Norfolk \7-E191 ,, Wymondham, Norfolk192 ,, Clacton, Essex E-N193 ,, Grangetown, Tyne & lfear

18

Duration of Sightings

Generally speaking, percipients statedthat they observed the phenomenonfor ' seoeral seconds' or t quite sometime,' while not a few estimatedthe duration as appreciably longer,viz: 30 seconds (154), c.40 seconds(138), 1 minute (50), c.1 minute (114),c.2 minutes (70), 2+ minutes (7), 2-3minutes (128), 3-4 minutes (1), 5minutes (25) and c.5 minutes (5);others merely described the object/sas moving slowly or at a leisurely pace.Although eyewitness estimates of thistype are notoriously unreliable, it isnevertheless clear that the phenomenonwas-at least over many locatities-visible for a much longer time thanwould be, say, a meteor or fireball.

Size of Obiect/s

Many observers remarked upon thehuge size of the phenomenon, manydescribing it as gigantic, colossal orimmense. At least three reports statethat the glowing or fiery tail stretched$ of the way across the heavens, andalthough this appears to have been anemission rather than a part of the actualobject/s, it undoubtedly contributed tothe general impression of enormity.

Height and Traiectory

Over 50o/o of the reports state that theobject/s travelled horizontally and atno great altitude, some witnesses ex-pecting it, indeed, to crash at anymoment. In fact, no reports of crasheswere made, and the phenomenon wasstill proceeding towards themainland ofEurope at low altitude when seen byairline pilots over the North Sea enroute to Amsterdam (4). The lowaltitude factor may have been partlyresponsible for the great apparent sizeof the phenomenon.

Noise

With very few exceptions (eg, ' hissed'(71) and 'sighed ' (180)), observersagreed that, despite visible flames,sparks, smoke and vapour effects, theobject/s emitted no noise at all. This,coupled with the apparent great sizeand low altitude of the phenomenon(see foregoing) is truly remarkable.

Variety of Obiects

Perusal of the list of reports disclosesthree principal types of object: (i)elongated objects resembling cigars,rockets or torpedoes (one report-12-likened it to an airship): (ii) spheres orglobes, and (iii) triangular objects- Afew isolated reports ascribe oblong andbar-shaped configurations, and onedescribes a globe as ' spiky.' Veryprobably these are local variants of themain types just listed. As nearly allreports ascribe a long fiery or luminoustail to all the objects, the general im-pression of an 'elongated object' (see

reports /esr) was widespread.

Accounts describing the phenomenonas ' lollipop-like '.' like a' rupering ooal'or like a ' legless newt ' are thus moreunderstandable when the presence ofthis lengthy tail is allowed for. Somereports, however, refer only to a 'cometlihe' object (I29) or to a'flying flame'(65), while others specifically mentionthe object/s as black (10, 68, etc). Theobscuration or sporadic fading out ofthe main object/s would readily accountfor the variety of submitted obser-vations. The 'segmented' effect seennear Newcastle (74), is perhaps ex-plainable as a sighting of the black-banded luminous tail only such as wasassociated with an obiect noted over$Torkington (see Fig 1). It seems veryclear that the object/s did not appear inconsistent clarity to every witness.

continued oaerleaJ

t9

Colours

A wide spectrum of colours was re-ported, although in general white oryellowy-orange tinges were attributedto the most elongated object/s; green,blue or greenish-blue (but also pink,red or browny-red) to spherical ob-ject/s and white or silver to triangularobject/s. See Figs I and 2 for furrherdetails of colburs. Colours do notappear to have been related to speedsor altitudes, while some reported col-ours may well have been partially dueto the inability of eyewitnesses todifferentiate accurately between diff-erent (or the more subtle) tones.

Directions of FlightSummarised in Fig 3, these clearlyshow that at least three different ob-jects proceeded in three different direc-tions, viz: \7-E (including NW to SE),N-S (including N-SSE and NNE toSSE), and E-N (including E-NW).A number of other directions were alsoreported (E-SE, S-SE, S-\[/ and NE-NNE, E-E, etc), which, though theymay well be eyewitness errors' allshare a common factor-they only in-volve small segments of sky. In thatrespect it is perhaps significant that atleast three of these reports (7, 83 and171) state that the phenomenon' arced'or ' zig-zagged about' in a small area ofsky before disappearing from view.Also noteworthy are some virtually sim-ultaneous reports made by independentwitnesses in different parts of a paftic-ular locality of radically different ob-iects proceeding in different directions(reports 43,44,136 and 137, are goodinstances of this). The three elon-gated objects seen flying in parallel overTamworth (159) are less easily in-terpreted, although the two round,yellow lights seen over Waddington (3)hay ultimately prove to have quitemundane origins.

20

A Precedent and A Conclusion

A rather similar phenomenon gracedBritish skies on the evening of 24March 1955, and was exhaustivelystudied by Arthur Constance, whopublished his findings the next year (5).As on the present occasion, a multi-plicity of directions were then reportedfor the obiect or objects by hosts ofcredible witnesses, who included train-ed and professional observers. In1955 the phenomenon was officiallydismissed as a big meteor. Constanceconclusively proved otherwise and thatin all probability, it was some type ofextraterrestrial visitor. The official ex-planation of the December 31 1978phenomenon is that it was the boosterrocket of Cosmos 1068 burning up onre-entering Earth's atmosphere. Theforegoing details reveal this to be agrossly unsatisfactory explanation.

The events detailed by Constanceoccupied a relatively short (approx] hour) period of time: those dealtwith here occupied a far longer period(at least 5 hours if all the listed reportsare reliably timed). Even Constance'srelatively short period was certainlytoo long for a re-entering boosterrocket to be pottering about in ourskies, while the present S-hour periodis absurdly overlong for such an event.One might also add that re-enteringsatellite hardware does not zigzag andleap about when burning up.

It is not unreasonable to conlude thatthe numerous sightings over Britain onthe evening of December 31, 1978,were not of Cosmos 1068's bootserrocket : that they related to at least threedifferent objects proceeding in quitedifferent directions: that these flightswere occurring simultaneously but atcomparatively slow speeds: that theobjects travelled horizontally at lowaltitudes: that they were virtually silentand that in some areas they meandered

about the heavens in a manner no re-entering satellite could emulate. Eye-witness drawings, viewed collectively,show artificial shapes for many of theobjects (see Figs I and 2), from whichit is possible to further conclude thatthe objects were of alien or extra-terresrial origin.

Acknowledgements

I should like to acknowledge theassistance afforded me during thisstudy by individuals too numerous toname separately, but without whosehelp this work could never have beenproperly undertaken, and to ContactInternational (UK), who put their ex-tensive files at my disposal. Specialthanks go to Mr D N Mansell of thelatter organisation for first pointing outto me the enormity of the events on theevening in question.

References

I: In Text:

Q) East Anglian Times, 1.1.79: Ches-hire Eoening Nezls, 2.1.79.

(2) Norrh Staffs Eztening Sentinel,4.1.79.

(.1) Norrhern UFO News, issue 57,Feb,79, p.2.

(4) North Norfolk Nezls,5.l.79: Lan-tern, No 25, Spring 79, p.5.

(5) A Constance: 1956. The Inex-plicable Sky (London), pp.26 I -2 78.

II: In Reports List :

(1) Berkshire Herald, 2.1.79.(2) Manchester Evening News, 1.1.79.(3) North Staffs Evening Sentinel, 2.1.79.(4) Thanet Times, 5.1.79.(5) Lancashire Daily Mail, c.2.1.79.(6) Eastern Daily Press, 2.1.79.

(7) Eastern Evening News, 3..1.79: Lantern, No 25, Spring 79, p.5.

(8) North Staffs Evening Sentinel, 4.1.79.(9) Tamworth Herald, 3.1.79.

(10) North Staffs Evening Sentinel, 4.1.79.(11) Sunderland Echo, 4.1.79.(12) North Norfolk News, 5.1.79.(13) Sunderland Echo, 6.10.79.(14) Op cit, 10.1.79.(15) Express & Star, 15.1.79.(16) Western Evening Mail, 1.1.79.(17) Bufora Journal, Vol 8, No 2, 79, p.4.(17a) Lantern No 25, Spring 79, p.5.(18) Bufora Journal, Vol 8, No 3 79, p.4.(19) Op cit, Vol 8, No 4, p.29.(20) Op cit, Vol 8, No 5, p.29.(21) Op cit, Vol 9, No 2, p.29.(22) Op cit, Vol 9, No 3, p.27.

Copyright 1980: J. B. Delair.

Continued from page IThe Morunau UFO Plrctograph

showed the bush on the hill but therewas no sign of the UFO. Time estim-ated between the 2nd and 3rd photowas between 5 and 10 seconds.'We were satisfied that the three personsinvolved, June and Norman Neilsonand Lou Blackburn, were all sincere,honest, down-to-earth folk. They hadnever been interested in anything to dowith UFOs before.

Both editors were members of theRNZAF Photographic Section, andhave been professional photographersfor many years. After careful scrutiny,to us the colour slide is genuine, theauthenticity of the photograph un-questionable. It is a genuine photo ofa UFO under existing cloud formationwhen the sun had risen a few degreesabove the horizon.

c-,F' €t P Dickeson,Xenolog.

Report Extra ! has been omitted from this issue through lack of space-andfor no other reason. Kensington Lecture Reviews have suffered also. Both willbe resumed in the March/April '81 Journal.

2t

From here

-and there

Norman Oliper

UFO 'Vampires'According to the lVorld Weekly Newsof 26 August 1980, Nelson Sayego, ofSanta Rosa, Argentina, claims- thatwhen he was driving home along acountry lane a 'black shape' hoveredover his car. The engine stalled, lightswent out and as he alighted he wasfrozen in his tracks. ' It felt like I wasin a oacuum.'

Quyggo then avers that two glowing,faceless figures appeared beside him:one covered his face with its hands,which were large with long, coldfingers: then, something was stuck tohis head and blood was drained off.Weakened, he passed out. Sayegowas found on the hood of his car,screaming for help.

Californian Uforia23-year-old US TV star actress CindyWilliams, of Laz;erne and Shirley fame,who herself lays claim to a 'saucersighting' when on a highschoolreligiousretreat in the Bernadine Mountainssome years back, is breaking into films.Her first, appropriately enough about awoman who sees spaceships and titled" Uforia," is being filmed in the areawhere she had her own experience ofUFOs.

Alpha to OmegaI record with regret that Alpha, the" independent magazine covering theparanormal and other aspects of realityas yet excluded from acceptance by orth-odox sciencer" went into print for the

22

last time with its issue No 9 for October1980. Produced by its co-editorsDavid Harvey and Fioy Stemman, itspages contained some of the most read-able, factual and well-presented articleson psychic, Fortean and UFO phen-omena it has been my pleasure to read.To quote from its last editorial i " 'W'e

still strongly belieoe that a magazinelike Alpha is needed to cut a clear pathof honest common sense through theprejudice and bigotry that mar so muchof the cozterage gioen to the paranormal

-by both belieaers and detractors whohazte already made up their minds."SodoI....

UFO 'Flat'. . And in that finaI Alpha issue,Lionel Beer, in his Ufo Report soheaded his first item, pointing out thatduring 1980 we'd been going through aremarkably ' flat ' period of sightings-which was certainly true at that time.I'm delighted to say, though, thatthingsare now picking up-indeed, I myselfreceived at least half-a-dozen variedaccounts over the phone during thesecond week of November. Thosehalf dozen certainly sounded interesting,but when Venus next appears on thescene-help !

True, TrueI was about to slate the US magazineTRUE UFOs for publishing in theirissue No 19, an illustration 'lifted'from a Bufora Report Extra item-Strange Encounter at Church Stoute-without reference, without acknow-ledgement and, indeed, without anyreal connection with their article,when IRUE UFOs No 20 droppedthrough my letterbox.

Inside, in an article " Close Encountersof the Fourth Kind" was to be found asummary of the Taunton 'Mrs V' ab-duction and rape case featured in BJ

Vol 8, Nos 2 and 3. And-there was afull acknowledgement of source to-gether with Bufora's address:proposed' slating' withdrawn.

Full title TRUE UFOs €e OuterQuarterly, its 4 issues per year cost$10 from 23 West 26th St. New York,NY 10010. Though a 'popular' typeof presentatiqn it contains a number ofinteresting and varied articles.

Well, wellOne silver, humming cigar: unusualsmell-like burningmatches. AnAug-gust '79 report received from a 72-year-old schoolboy who gave contra-dictory colours for a ' reooloing dome'and showed the time of the occurrenceas 12.15 am instead of 12.15 pm. Healso stated he was a Qualified Invest-igator (Ufoin).

loker-1.An anonymous letter from the Rom-ford area received on 25 September'80purported to tell Bufora of a UFOencounter near Salisbury, Wilts fivedays previously. The writer, who' works for the goverment ' (sdc) says itwas around t2-2.00 am (a trifle oague),when his headlights faded, he heard awhistling sound and saw a UFO.Including a drawing of ye olde classicUFO with the report, our claimant also" noticed a symbol of some kind whichled me to belieae it was a secret uteapon."(Surprise, surprise-the Socorro sign) |

Given a couple of telepathic messagesin' a strange languager' our hero finallydiscovered they were in Latin and nowonly wishes he had had camera and awiteness (src) to support him. So do I,mate, so do I . . . .!

Joker-2Introducing the 'gentleman' who hasbeen ringing me up between 1 am and3 am over the last four or five months

and saying nothing, or at. most, asepulchral' hello,' presumably underthe impression that I'm going to takehis infantile proceedings seriously andconclude I'm being contacted byaliens or persecuted by MIB ! Sorrychum-no luck! I haoe been able tofind out a bit about you, though, and ifthese nocturnal nuisances don't ceaseyou'll either find your name printed inthese pages, on a summons or both.Happy New Year!

Those 'alien bodies'Bufora member M Foley of Bicestersent me a cutting from a US paper,The Globe, which shows that the pressrelease by Dennis Pilichis of photosof alleged alien bodies (mentioned inVol 9, No 3) is bearing fruit. Pilichis,Charles Wilhelm and Dr Williard Mc-Intyre, The Globe states, have quizzedthe photographer-a veteran US Navyphotographer who has kept themsecret for 32 years-and say that:" We'ue had them analysed and thereappears to be no sign of deception,"adding however, that " If the futureproduces any evidence the photos arebogus, we will be the first to tell thepublic."

The photographer claims that thewreckage of a crashed UFO was in-vestigated by US and Mexican militarypersonnel and then divided betweenthe two governments, also that a char-red body shown in the photo, as well asseveral others, is still in the possessionof the American government.

Well, the newspaper reproduction iscertainly better than the photocopy Ioriginally received, but without seeingactual prints and copies of the other40-odd photos said to have been takenway back in 1948, I, for one, would notlike to pass judgement.

continued oaerleaf

23

MIB in a MistQuarterly Report 2/80 from SuomenUfotutkijat ry, The UFO Research ofFinland, includes details of a regressivehypnosis/abduction case still beingresearched. Aino Ivanoff, aged 52, theReport states, experienced a two-hourabduction on 2 April 1980. She wasdriving along a country road nearPudasjarvi in the north of Finland aftermidnight, and at 1.15 am crossed abridge, immediately afterwards enter-ing a ' sftange /og,' whilst at the sametime her car lights were directed up-wards. Stopping the car she saw adomed, aluminium coloured objectwith oval portholes.

Taken inside (details not given), shewas examined on a metallic table bythree men dressed in black: there wasno other furniture. When returned toher car, the ' fog' was still there andremained with her most of the wayback home. A time lapse of two hourshad occurred. After the incident shewas extremely tired for a week andfound five small dots on her rightshoulder. She claims to have beengiven a message ' supporting peace' and' opposing war' and to have been toldthat 'men in black are unable to getchildrenPresumably 'get' is a mis-translationfor 'have,' and even from the scantydetails given many comparisons andquestions spring to mind. The fullaccount is awaited with interest.

Frontiers of ScienceForget what appeared in the lastJournal about Hynek's InternationalUFO Reporter and the magazine Probe.

A letter to subscribers from Dr Hynekappeared in the July/August '80 editionof Frontiers of Science/Second Look/IUR: the following is an extract:

" I wish to apologise for the unfor-giveable goof up that followed ourassociation with Probe magazine.

" We might have forgiven them theirinability to correctly mail copies ofthe publication to our subscribers,but we could not condone the lack ofscientific quality in their publication.Nor was the International UFO Re-portet featured as a complete entityas I specified by our agreement withProbe. We have therefore severedthe relationship with them.

" . . . . rJ7e have merged with themagazine Frontiers of Science (form-erly known as Second Look). \7e aresatisfied that the new publication willexamine and report on the UFO con-troversy in a reliable fashion.

" The publication will be owned bythe Center for UFO Studies so thatwe can be assured that the IUR willbe given the presentation and pos-itioning it deserves . . . ."

All straight now ? Good!

Thanks FolksMy thanks to Lindy Whitehurst, LouFarish and others, not to mention thevarious magazines we exchange with,for material used Here, There-andElsewhere in this Journal. For thoseinterested, Lou Farish's NewsclippingService provides a regular update on theUS (and overseas) UFO and Forteanascene. See ad elsewhereinthesepages.

We would like to thank Colin and Janet Andrews for their past kindnessand good work in housing Bufora's lending library and organising theservice. In future the library will be run by Robin Lindsey (address oninside front cover). It is hoped to print a full list of available books etc,in a futureJournal issue.

24

Book ReviewsThe Encyclopediaof UFOsEdited byRonald D StoryDoubleday & Co, Gar-den City, New York440p. $13.95.

Ronald Story spent many months pro-ducing this comprehensive work, butit has indeed been time well spent.His Encyclopediq's merit lies in itsimpartiality and objectively, for it hasbeen written by no one person, Storyhaving approached many of the world'sleading ufologists to contribute reports,views, background information andbiographical details. The result is awell-illustrated, alphabetical pot-pourriof UFO events, aspects) theories, pro-jects and personalities-a very accept-able pot-pourri and the best guide toour subject and those involved with itthat I have yet seen.

Vhilst not unnaturally having an in-built leaning towards American per-sonalities and incidents, those fromother parts of the world are by no meansneglected, and the rather interesting andheterogenous British list (extracted inalphabetical order) reads: ChadesBowen, Eileen Buckle, Stuart Camp-bell, the Earl of Clancarty, J BernardDelair, W Raymond Drake, John Hind,George King, Desmond Leslie, Nor-man Oliver and Jenny Randles.

This Encyclopedia's 440 giant-sizedpages include three appendices de-voted to Chronological UFO events:UFO-related periodicals and UFOabbreviations and acronyms, togetherwith an extensive bibliography. Num-erous UFO photos are to be found,though perhaps not as many as thestatement on the back cover that theEncyclopedia is " illustrated with ooer

240 rare and startling photographs"might suggest-not, that is, unless oneconsiders the photographs of the ufol-ogists themselves as 'rare and start-ling! 'Now to be published in the UK, if youcan get a copy, do so. It's a uniquepresentation and at $13.95, an ex-cellentbuY'

* * *The Interrupted JourneyJohn G FullerSouvenir Press, September 1980340pp. {6.95.The Interrupted Journey was, I believe,originally published by Dial Press ofNew York in October 1966. As mosrreaders will know, it related the ex-periences of Betty and Barney Hill inSeptember 1961, as later disclosedunder regressive hypnosis in sessionswith Benjamin Simon MD, these ses-sions suggesting the probability ofcontact with humanoids aboard analien craft during a 2-hour time lapse.This new edition is precisely as theoriginal, other than a revised Fore-word and an additional section largelydevoted to a rranscript of a furfheihypnosis session attended by Dr Hynekas one of the questioners. As prob-ably the first and most detailed pres-entation of a CE11l regressive hypno-sis/time lapse case, The InterriptedJounrey is a classic, and should younot already possess a copy, here is anideal opportunity.

continued ozterleaf

25

What bugs me a little, though is why,at a time when one finds it hard to getnew UFO material published, a 19-year-old event is given a re-run ? Canit be that the publishers are hoping tocash in on the more recent popularityof The Airmen lVha Would not Die andThe Ghosr of Flight 401 by the sameauthor ?

Be that as it may, at {,6'95, the book isfair value, though if the copy I re-ceived is typical of others, you'd bettercheck out the binding before purchase!

T Huntington

Photographs of the UnknownRobert Rickard, Richard KellyNew English Library,October 1980. l44pp. [7.45.Glancing through the pages of this" greetest single collection of photo-graphs from the dizterse realms of theLtnknou)n," I had the feeling of deja-vu,which was rapidly rationalised as beingcaused by having viewed some of thesame pictures in Arthur C Clarke'sMysterious LVorld TY series an hour orso previously: indeed, Photographs ofthe Unknown has more or less dead-heated with the appearance of theprinted version of Mysterious World.

The difference between the two lies in' Photograph.s' delving more rather intothe psychic sphere than its more prom-inently authored counterpart, andwhilst, for example, the Loch NessMonster, the Komodo 'dragon,''moving stones,' ball lightning andUFOs are well-featured, Mediumship,Firewalking and bleeding images are,inter alia, well to the fore also.

The book is of large format and in-cludes over 300 excellent photographsof unusual phenomena of all des-criptions, and the content is meticu-

26

lously documented as one has come toexpect from those associated with theFortean Times, though I would com-ment that whilst only 16 of the 300-oddphotos are credited with an 'unknownorigin,' 6 of those 16 concern UFOs,which seems a rather high proportionconsidering the variety of phenomenaincluded! I cannot, though, do betterthan to quote the dust cover when itsays: " The result is an astonishingalbum of eoidence to support a wide rangeof paranormal phenomena presented in away which will fascinate eoeryone fromthe general reader to the serious student."Indeed it is, and a good buy, too.

Norman Olioer

The Janos PeopleFrank JohnsonNeville Spearman, 1980.

198pp. [5.25.

" This book," says the antthor, " con-tains so many ' first times' that I haoescarcely troubled to indicate them, Ufol-ogy looks quite different after experien-cing this inoestigation." The onlymajor 'first time,' however, that I can-not immediately recall as being dup-licated in other time lapse/regressivehypnosis/abduction cases is that the'Janos People'-the aliens allegedlymet by an Oxfordshire family when,as is claimed, they were abductedaboard an alien craft in June 1978-areactually terrestrial extra-terrestrials, orto be more exact, terrestrials extra-terrestrial prospective terrestrials. Ap-parently, having departed from Earthin unexplained circumstances in thedistant past, colonised the planet Janosseveral thousand light years away andexperienced the break-up of its nearestmoon, which necessitated evacuation,those remaining decided to nip smartlyback to Earth-taking two subjectiveyears to do so-and start life afresh.

Now, it would seem, ten million arewaiting around for the green light toland, meantime picking on an oddfamily or two to whom to break theglad tidings !

I am sure the investigator/author be-lieves the family to be sincere, and theymay well have had a genuine exper-ience. S7hat disturbs me, however, isthat he app€ars to have completelyaccepted the reality of The JanosPeople and expects us to take this par-ticular CE111 as the gospel truth, whenpractically all contact/abduction claims

-many with equal or superior cred-ibility-differ not only from this one,but from each other! The whole storyof the 'Janos People' can virtually besummed up as a non-violent BattlestarGalactica epic minus the Silons I

I must take issue too, with the use ofthe term CE4 in the context of thisclaimedoccurrence. Thoughproposedby Hynek, it is not yet common ufologi-cal parlance for an abductioncaseastheauthor states. CE4 has though, beenused (or mis-used) in respect of contactclaims where experiences of a sexualnature have been involved-and thisdoes not seem applicable to our Ox-fordshire family!

The names, alas, are typical. Janos

(looking both ways-very apt.l): Saton(the exploded satellite-no comment).Personal names: Anouxia, Uxiaulia,Vurna, etc-well, they have to be calledsomething, I suppose.

The book is well illustrated, but if thestory were science fiction I would classit second rate and somewhat naive.As a claimed contact experience, oneshould perhaps peruse it, for there arevery few regressive hypnosis/abductionclaims in the UK. I cannot, however,take it seriously and I doubt many re-viewers will.

H Thomas

Our reviewer does not appear to take avery charitable view of The JanosPeople, but in order to find out whetheror not you agree, it's necessary to readit! So-if YOU haven't done so bythen, come along to Kensington onSaturdayr 9 May to hear the authorand to purchase a copy-Ed.

***Tell***your friends about

***Bufora***

*********

UFO l{EWSCtlPPll{G SERYICE Want to k:gp qp with the real 'close

Lucius Farish, Route 1 ::i,ll1t"t'rt*r,n?il5 "Tffttri*r$tot,iJBox220, Plumerville Servlce, bringing yo,, UnO reports^frorfr

Arkansas 72I27,USA the United Siatls"and aroundihe world.

Each monthly issue is a 2O-page repoft containing the latest UFO accountsfrom the US, England, Canada, Australia, South America and other coun-tries. Let us keep you informed on worldwide UFO activity. \frite todayfor subscription information and sample pages from our service issues.

27

Si$htin$ Summaries

Code No Date Time Place Report Investigator/Credit

I 933 ? 2300 Salisbury Plain Bright white oval C3c M KEATMAN

1948 Spring am Ipswich, Suffolk Bright sphere C4c M HALL

1949 Julv 2200 London, Wl Green ' dart C4c M HALL

1952 ? 2130 Malaya Grey object<rangebeam c3b M HALL

t956 June 1730 rJforcester Silver oval c3b G R RUFF

1956 July am Beverley, E Yorks 3 silvery round objects c3b G R RUFF

1961 Summer I t00 Birmingham area Silver ' Diamond ' c3b M PRITCHARD

1964 19.9.64 1000 Coventry 2 silver discs C2c

1965 2.1 1.65 t'7 t3 Sunbury-on-Thames,Middlesex

2 white points B4c T Fox/M HALL

1966 Feb 2030 Craigavon, NI 2 LITS C4c

1966 Summer pm Bradwell, Essex 2 metallic cigars c3b L DALB

196',1 Julv 2330 Bexley, Kent 3 glowing discs C3c M rtTEAvEN

1968 Sept 1945 Vauxhall Bridge,London

Wheel-shaped obiect c3b W REID

1969 26.9.69 1700 Calella, Spain Multicoloured half-circle

c3b T Fox

t969 April 0100 Edinburgh Red'Rugby-ball' C3c S Caupnrnr970 Jan/Mar 0100 Edinburgh Square, hazy oblect C2c S Caupsrrr-

t97 I JulyiAug 2400 Majorca Blue light C3c V J BALLISTEROLMos

19741 5 Julv 0630 Fareham, Hants 3 round orange obiects C3c SNPIm75-303 I 5.3.75 Midday Hammersmith,

London' Silver star-ball' C4c D H Srucs

76-467 24.6.'16 o030 Stone, Staffs ' Green star ' C4c

76-468 Aug/Sept 2200 Havant, Hants Orange ' Fish-shape ' C4a W PmronoWATsUP

77-605 5.lt-77 I115 Acton Trussell,Staffs

Misty cone C3c M KEATMAN

77-606 6.9.77 2145 ITistaston, Cheshire Round, pink object C4c M TYRRELL

77-607 Autumn 2200 Billericay, Essex ' Fat, red cigar ' C3c R EASTON

'17-608 3.9.77 2245 Audley, Staffs Coloured cigar clb77-609 Nov 1830 Petworth, Sussex 3 roundish red objects C4c S N PITT

78-416 17.5.78 2240 Billericay, Essex Spherical, white light C4c R EASToN

78-417 25.12.78 2tto Yeovil, Somerset ' Amber star ' c4b

?8-4t 8 15.1 1.78 l7 l5 Farlington, Hants Cream, oval object c3b S N PITT

78-419 6.1 1.78 1800 Petworth, Sussex Red object c4b S N PITT

78-420 l.10.78 2130 Rookery, Staffs Yellow oval C4c M TYRREI,I-

'18-422 20.11.78 o725 ' Cigar and crescent ' c3b S N PITT

78-423 26.7.78 2035 Sandbach, Cheshire Round silver/whiteobtect

C4c S R CLEAVERFUFoR

28

Code No Date Tlme Place Report Class Investlgator/Credlt

78-424 I O. I O.78 2030 Sandbach, Cheshire Dumbell shape C4c S R Cr-IAVERFUFOR

78-426 M"y 0300 Cwmbran, Gw-ent White beam C4c

78-428 Autumn 2330

t r50

Basildon, Essex Blue-green LITS c4b R EAsroN

79-tl5 8.8_79 Moston, Manchester Beige cylinder Clc7)-177 1t.2.79 2tl5 Sawston, Cambs Round ' Flare ' C4c P JoHNsoN

79-178 22.3.79 am Sawston, Cambs Round, orange obiect c4b P JoHNSON

7)-179 2.5.79 1700 \ilindsor, Hants Round object C4c C JAMDS

79-180 26.6.79 1600 Totton, Hants Orange sphere C4c C JAMns

79-r 8r 17.6.19 2300 Totton, Hants Orange sphere c4b C JAMES

79-184 5.9.79 1640 E Kirby, Lincs Two aluminium' saucers '

c3b J CAPEWELL

7)-185 6.11.79 1830 Boultham Moor,Lincoln

Orange ' saucer ' c3b B TAYLoR

79-l 86 3t.t2.79 0145 Mylor Bridge,Cornwall

White oval c4b

79-l9OA 22.9.79 1 150 Leeds Grey box shape c3bW REID

79-lgoR

79-l9l^ 29.11.79 I 840 Dunstable, Beds Five red/white LITS c4b

K PHILL1PS79-191u

79-19lc 1830-1900 Five round red/whiteLITS

c4b

79-t94 27.9.79 0015 New Buckenham, Red ball C4c K WILLIAMSoN

79-195^ 12.12.79 t455 Portslade, Sussex Three silver discs c4bA Fox

79-1958 t2.12.79 Three roundish objects

79-090 15.4-79 2035 Gillingham, Kent Deep pink round objec c4b D N0AKES

79-O9t 14.7.79 0010 Burgess Hill, Sussex Bright orange cigar c3b A Fox

79-O92 1O.6.79 2235 Little Odell, Beds 2 orange lights c4b

79-O93 19.6.79 2230 Aylesbury, Bucks ' Magnesium streak ' c4b

79-228 9.2-79 1905 Church Minshull,Cheshire

Flashing LIT B4c N OLDHAM

79-229 Sept I 300 London, E1 I White ellipsoid C3c T HuDsoN

79-230 Nov 0300 Billericay, Essex Orange glove-shape C4c R EAsroN

79-231^ 20.9.79 2t00 Nantwich, Cheshire Oval with lights c3bS R CLrAvrR/M TYRRELL79-2318 20.9.79 2100 c3b

80- lA I 3.2.80 t6t5 Beare Green, Surrey 3 LITS changingPatterns

c4b

J BARToN80-lB I 3.2.80 t 6l5 c4b

80-2 5.4.80 2030 Looe, Cornwall 2 golden'basket-shapes '

C4c D CUTLERUFoSIS

80-3 2.2.80 0905 Epsom Downs,Surrey

Silveriwhite metallicobiect

c3b

80-4 2. l 80 1300 Edgware, Middlesex Red dome C3c K PHU,I,IPS

Continued oaerleaJ

29

Code No Date Tlme Place Report Clase fnvestlga tor/Crcdlt

80-5 31.t.80 2200 Broad Oak, Sussex Multicoloured roundlights

C4t T Fox

80-6 7.2.80 061 5 Chertsey, Surrey Orange/yellow ball oflisht

B4c T Fox

80-7 5.4.80 ol 30 Upper Dicker,Sussex

Flashing ' mass ofwhite spikes '

C4c T Fox/L DALE

80-8 7.4.80 2100 Ml1 Motoruay \Jvhite star-shape c4b J BARToN

80-9 8.4.80 2l 30 Edinburgh Red/white LITS c4b S CAMPBELL

80-10A I 5.1.80 2015 Bradley, N Yorks Spinning red ball c3bA DODD

80-108 15.l 80 20t5 c3b

80-l I 7.2.80 1740 Leicester Flashing LITS C4c J CAPEWELL

80-12 7.1.80 1630 Market Harboro',Leics

Whirring ' saucer c3b J Canrwrrr

80-l 3 3.4.80 2345 Nr Folkestone, Kent Grey/silver oval B3b B FLETCHER

80-14 30.3.80 2220 Thurnham, Kent 2 round lights c4b R WTLLTAMS

80-t 5 I.t_80 0800 \|Thitstable, Kent Gold crescenl C4c V MARTIN

80-t6A I 1.1.80 2055 Obiect with whitelights and red beams

C3aV MARTIN

80-t68 I 1.1.80 2030 + Seasalter, Kent 2 light beams C4a

80-17 10.2.80 2245 + Dartford, Kent Yellow light c4b M HALL

80-l 8 4.3.80 1900 Vilmington, Kent Orange ball c4b M HALL

80- 19A 3.6.80 2215 Ockenden, Essex Green obiect C4aR EAsroN

80-l 9u 3.5.80 22t5 Pitsea, Essex C4a

80-20 26.2.4O o740 Milton Keynes,Bucks

Red ball C4c K PHILLIPS

80-2 I 19.2.80 2045 Parson Drove- Cambs White and green LITS c4b J CAPEWELL

80-22 20.3.80 2345 Peterborough Cigar with red lights c3b

80-23 3.7.80 l0l0 London, V4 Round, flat, grey obiect c3b T DAVIm

80-24 I 3.7.80I 7.7.80

varlouspm

Skegness, Lincs Black oval c3b M HALL

80-25 20.6.80 I 500 Enfield, Middx Varicoloured ball offire

CJc K GoLDswoRTHy

8o-264 2 1.8.80 2 100 Friern Barnet, Midx White ' sting-ray c3b K GoLDSWoRTHY

80-268 2l.8.80 2lo0 Spherical obiect C3tt M Harr80-27 3.8.80 2345 Edgworth, Lancs 3 yellow circles C4c A BRAMHILL

80-28 I 0.8.80 1410 Frogmore, Herts Metallic sphere C4c T DAVITT

80-29 27.7.80 2030 London, S!?16 Silver oblong c4b T DAVITT

80-30 27.7.80 2330 London, SW16 Oval with bright centre c4h T DAVITT

NoticeLarry Dale has vacated the position of National Investigations Co-ordinator.Pending recommendations from a working Party on a new investigations struc-ture, communications and reports should be sent to Maureen Hall, 19 HallRoad, Dartford, Kent DAl 5HB.

30

UforumI write to congratulate you on youreditorial subtitled The Resurrection ofETH-2 (BJ Vol 9, No 2). I fullyagree that it is time we launched aconcerted 'saturation attack' on any'flap' areas.

As for your list of possible objections,I feel that a fair number of investi-gators would be very willing to give upmore of their spare time if they thoughtthere was a fair chance of furtheringour knowledge of UFOs (as surely suchan exercise must eventually do). Themoney, whilst a problem, would not beimpossible to come by if correctlymanaged. Your third possible ob-jection ' zohat a waste of time ' would not,surely, be voiced by anyone who has agenuine interest in the subject.

I hope the editorial will lead not onlyto comment, but also to action.

J Hand, Basildon.

. . . . The concept of time travel wasdiscussed by philosopher Guy Robin-son in a radio talk in 1964 (reproducedas " Hypertraael " in The Listener1964, Dec 17). He examined the para-doxes and impossibilities which theconcept produces, especially the con-undrum which involves altering thepast in such a way that the 'present'to which one returns is not the same asthe present which one left. Time isnot a dimension to be treated in thesame way as space.

The only way out of this conundrum isto propose that the past to which timetravellers journey already contains alltheir appearances. The future may bepliable, but the past is fixed. If anytime travellers are going (in the future)to travel back to any time prior to thisdate, then they must already haveappeared. You can if you like propose

that UFOs are time travellers, but thefreedom of future time travellers to gowhen they like will be restricted to theappearances they have already made !

How would this work in practice ?

Prospective travellers would know thatbefore they go they have already been,the record of their visit being recordedin history. But how could they appearbefore they were born ? Is life acharade with our actions determinedbeforehand ? Is there no free will ?

And if the flow of actions in time isfixed, who fixed it ?

Paradoxes begin to pile up here, andthe impossibility of the concept be-comes clearer. How, for instance, doestime arrange that you only travel backto become a manifestation that has al-ready occurred ?

Another difficulty (but that is hardlythe right word), that advocates of timetravel usually forget, is that the Earthrotates, and revolves around the Sun.The Solar System also travels throughspace and revolves within the Galaxy.And for all we know, the Galaxy itselfhas its own proper motion. Whatchance, then, that a time machine willmaterialise at the same point on thesurface of the Earth that it left ? Morelikely it would appear light years awayin deep space. Real time travel wouldrequire complex co-ordinate systemsthat could plot the departure point inrelation to a stationary background, ifone could be found.) It would alsorequire a space travel mechanism thatcould get you from one co-ordinate setto another instantaneously!

Quite simply, travel into the past orfuture is impossible because neitherexist-now. The past did exist, andthe future will exist, but for us, as foranybody, there is only the present.

Stuart Campbell,Edinburgh.

)oninued overleaf

31

The foregoing is a continuation of theletter from Stuart published in our lastissue, being prompted by an item fromF R Hendry, on the time naoel pro-posirion in Vol 9, No I-Ed.

Having been a passive member ofBufora for some fifteen years on andoff, reading the Journal and from timeto time attending meetings, it appearsto me that over the years views ex-pressed have all along been reliably thesame, each speaking from his ownviewpoint.

There seems to be a dichotomy-the'nuts and bolts' people and the'cultists,' the latter having little or noidea of scientific training with theirideas based around vague conceptionsof ' telepathy,' ' dimensions ' and othernotions extracted from 'occult' prac-tices. The 'nuts and bolts' adherents,on the other hand, are fewer in numberand usually have some scientific train-ing, but themselves split between terres-trial and extra-terrestrial UFO origins.Secret weapons, rocket experiments,etc, may well account for some reports,whilst misidentifications of drogues,balloons, etc, are common. But whatof the ETH ?

From recent studies it appears quitelikely that there are over five millioninhabited planets in our own galaxy:it is also likely that at least half wouldbe further advanced than ourselves. . . . we have progressed from the horseto space travel in a little over a century,so assuming extra-terrestrial beings areat least as bright as we are, then a fewthousand years of technological evol-ution might have produced the' FlyingSaucer ': it may be that we on thisplanet may have produced one by thenext century. My conclusionthat whilst the majority of UFOsightings are misidentifications, de-lusions, hoaxes, etc, the few that re-

32

main are of craft produced and con-trolled by intelligent beings fromanother solar system within our galaxy.

C Stexens,London SWI9.

May I make a few comments on yourlast issue ?

First, why does our 'impartial' editortake sides ? In its silliest form (videVon Daniken and Drake), the EThypothesis should be re-christened" Kid's Comic Hypothesis " (KCH).

Secondly, while I sympathise with MrCampbell's complaint that Bufora isnot a debating society (p.5), I alsothink he is less than fair to HilaryEvans, who after all, was encouragedby you to be flippant. Campbellshould have reserved his wrath for theabsolutely appalling drivel inflicted onus by Drake. Perhaps it would be agood idea to invest in an " anti-gravity beam " gun (p.23)-to savemoney a second-hand (8.C.) modelshould do to excise matter from theJournal likely to bring the subject intocontempt.

Thirdly, while I have read the accountof the Plumstead case (p.10) withgreat interest, I regret the fact that thedata are only presented at third-hand.(Was the psychiatrists's diagnosis just' nerves '?)'

Manfred cassirer,Piltdown, Szssex.

I'm not at all sure Margaret Fry zoouldagee that the 'Plumstead' data r.oas

all third-hand. For the rest I referManfred to my editorial and in view oJthe' broadside' in the next letter, refrainfrom further comment here !-Ed.

In his letter (BJ Vol 9, No 2, May,1980) Manfred Cassirer berates me formy apparently' crude fundamentalism

in conjunction with (rny) grossly un- assume that there speaks the chair-scientific ottitude' towards the uFo bound, hide-bound mind-bound theo-phenome-non generally. In the same retician who has never even got hisissue, Hilary Evans does indeed give {9e1 wet during a uFo invesigation.me credit for my ' ftack record in the " Mere " investigation indeed! Vhereinaestigatioe field,' for which r thank would the scientific world acquire itshim most sincerely. information without the efforti of weHowever, and for the record, do please ' mere' investigators ?

allow me space to clear up a few of the llowever, if, inadvertently, I seem toapparently arirbiguous points me prior have given the impression that r haveletters seem to have induced. denied the ' direct' experience toHilary, in his letter, states thar he' was others' I

- hereby challenge Cassirer

dismayed when I i"";;" h;;";;;"'r"7;; T9 "1tY others who mav care to sccorn:

rh,e nitipnysuot oiprrt'iof'ddo';;:;'r;7t panv him' to come down to this littleas though it ry *rr', i" trit"r*i";i';;;; :.:l"tt of Pembrokeshire' and meet the

the oikat i'tgltingr; ;{"i';';; ffii witnesses who have themselves ex-

ii,;;iX-"!;yn"i;;^yry,,::;:!'If l"'ffi T:X3"ltf Filll,si'lua'lionwhich

timate grounds, as being, time, substance,'and fundamentalism as being a move-ment ' which srresses the infallibility ofthe Bible, not only in matters of faithand morals, but also record and pro-phecyJ And it was precisely becauseof the interlacing connotations of thesedefinitions, plus the validity of the casehistories I have. in my possession, plusmy own experience, that I do claimthat there really do exist within theframework of the ufological phen-omenon entities 'whose sole purpose isto destroy belief in Christ . . . .'As for Cassirer's contention that thework I have done in the ufological fieldgenerally is ' the sort of nonsense whichbrings the whole subject into contemprwith the scientific fraternity,' I can only

One can only report what one has ex-perienced, but if hypercritics such asM Cassirer do not have the moralcourage or the magnaminity to take upthe challenge, then in the writer's ownwords, such ' sulphurous lucubrations,scarcely deserve a reply. But then,of course, Mr M Cassirer, in his dis-cursive peregrinations, may never haveencountered the symptomatology-thescience of interpretation-of the ufol-ogical enigma.

RJones Pugh,Haverfordwest.

Subsequent to receipt of this letter Iunderstand from Randall that he haspresently withdrawn from all ufologicalactiztities and associations-Ed.

The British UFO Research Association does not hold or express corporate views on UFOphenomena. contributions reflect only the views of the editor or the authors. copy forpublication must be sent directly to the editor and not to any other ofrcer. originalmaterial is copyright to both contributor and Bufora. Where contributions involveother copyright holders, they should be so marked. Requests for permission to re-produce material ftom the Journal must be addresseC to the Editor.

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2nd Psychics & Mystics Fayre & UFO ShowAlexandra Palace, 27-28 September 1980

were peering at the panels.It was reported that 9,000attended this Fayre, al-though the first fayre earlierin the year had attractedsome 14,000. Sales of liter-ature from the Buforastandwere sufficient to covercosts, and the bonus was theresulting new members andadditional people coming tothe London lectures.

The displays in a stand area of about15ft. x 6ft. were set up in only 90minutes prior to the formal opening ofthe Fayre at 11 am. This was done byBetty Wood, Arnold West, his daughterAveril and Lionel Beer. Wilf Grunau,Bufora Treasurer, provided a 40 min-ute talk on UFOs in the demon-stration area of tlcLe Fayre during theSaturday lunch-hour. Other mem-bers who assisted in manning the standincluded Pam Kennedy, Eve Demuth,John Shaw, Robert Morison, Mr &Mrs Leslie Bayer and their sonChristopher. To sum up, this was asuccessful exercise in public relationsfor the Association and provided usefulexperience for those involved.

AnecdoteGay Wilson orginally wrote to LionelBeer on 10 July, soliciting Bufora's participation. And what happened on 10

July ? This was the day the GreatHall burnt down! One might well ask,what price their psychics and mysticsnow ? flowever, the event was sub-sequently transferred back to the PalmCourt area at the western end of thesite, which, together with the BBCtransmitter at the eastern end, re-mained intact.

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Gay Wilson, the organiser of this event,offered Bufora very favourable termsfor participation. Since the Assoc-iation needed to raise funds and pub-licise itself to a wider audience, it wasagreed, as an experiment, to go ahead.It was recognised that the Fayre was a

' fringe' event, but equally Bufora wasable to demonstrate that UFO researchcould be handled in a serious manner,as opposed to the para-religious andtheosophical approaches adopted bythe Aetherius Society and VieznpointAquarius,both of which were exhibitors.

Lionel Beer spent three weeks assem-bling and mounting photographs andassociated material, together with thepainstaking task of' Letrasetting' cap-tions and headings. The display in-cluded well-known photographs (someof which were of suspected fakes):UFOs on movie-film: historical phen-omena and unusual man-made obiects,all with appropriate captions. A postershowing humanoid types drew muchattention and there was also a small,colourful selection of book covers.Without any modesty, it could be saidthat the displays attracted very con-siderable interest and on the Sundayafternoon, people up to three deeP

Burnett's Printing V'orks, Cyprus Rd, Burgess Hill, lV Sussex. Tel B Hill 3126 (STD)O4446.