R.forest
Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, UK, 1980
In recent times Britain has played host to potentially one of the most important UFO incidents on record. Certainly in recent British UFO history the rendlesham Forest incident has been written about more than any other and has received worldwide TV and press coverage.
It is hard to imagine how a sleepy, little known area of Suffolk could be the focus of such international interest, yet surprisingly the similarities between this case and the famous Roswell, New Mexico incident are quite striking.
Both, despite taking place in obviously different geographical environments involve areas of great military concentration. In fact all of the bases in the area were occupied at the time by United States service personnel (handed back since due to the official ending of the cold war). There were also, as in New Mexico, top secret defence research establishments nearby and the Sizewell nuclear plant also lies less than five miles distant.
The UFO incidents began on Boxing Day, 26th December 1980. Reports of a huge flying light plummeting down from the sky into the dense vegetation of Tangham Woods (which forms part of rendlesham Forest) attracted the attention of three security guards on patrol at the twin bases of Bentwaters and Woodbridge. It had also been tracked on radar crossing the coast off of Lowestoft heading towards Rendlesham by several tracking stations.
On reaching the area where the object was headed the guards were astounded to find what appeared to be a saucer like craft (also described as aspirin shaped which may result from viewing it at ground level perspective) with apparently small, large headed beings suspended beneath it by means of some kind of beam of light. The beings appeared to be effecting some repairs to the underside of the craft and initially did not acknowledge the guards. Keeping a healthy distance the men radioed for emergency assistance from the base. Assistance soon arrived in the form of a heavily equipped and armed unit including senior officers. Some later reports detailed amazing reality bending effects (such as time displacement) experienced by the men that got closest to the craft. At some point once the area had been secured it is also alleged that the senior officers communicated with the beings in a manner that indicated prior experience. However none of these latter events have been substantiated to date.
In June 1983 a memo that was sent by the base commander, Colonel Charles Halt (who after promotion still serves within the USAF which helps to substantiate its authenticity), to the British MoD was obtained (in America!!) via the Freedom of Information Act. This document undoubtedly stands as one of the most important pieces of official evidence in UFO research history. Interestingly the Halt Memo refers to slightly differing events to the other eyewitness reports that had arisen in previous years. It states that two patrolmen encountered a saucer like object in the forest adjacent to the bases. It eventually maneouvered through the trees disappearing into the winter sky. The following day marks were found at the spot coupled with abnormal levels of radiation. That night lights were seen in the vicinity performing amazing movements which defied the laws of physics before dividing into smaller lights and disappearing out of view.
There was no mention of aliens, or communications between the men and any craft occupants or indeed any occupants being witnessed. Nonetheless the disclosure in such detail by a high ranking US official which evidently chronicled a UFO encounter was unparalled and of obvious extreme importance.
Then, after years of feverish behind the scenes activity an audio cassette was released by Colonel Halt which was purportedly recorded during the early hours of the 27th December 1980. On it could be clearly heard various senior personnel including Halt communicating on walkie talkies whilst moving through the woods towards the strange lights. The voices could be heard to reach a panic strikken state as a beam of light projected from a craft and electrical devices faltered in the vicinity. What is more the tape (which has obviously been edited from a longer and perhaps more detailed recording) suggested that video and photographs were being taken at the same time. We must therefore assume that this evidence is also still in existence somewhere.
Despite overwhelming evidence of a major unexplained event the military and governmental bodies still refuse to produce any further documentation or confirm the existence of any video or photographic material. We can only hope that this situation will change in the future and then Rendlesham Forest will take its rightful place along side the other great encounter sites such as Roswell, Kecksburg and Tunguska (Russia 1920s) in chapter one of the "Official Guide to IDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS and ALIEN ENCOUNTERS".
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