Haunted Skies Volume 7

By John Hanson and Dawn Marina Holloway

Haunted Skies Publishing 2012

Haunted Skies is the most ambitious series of books ever attempted in the history of UFO research. They provide a new benchmark in the quality of such publications, despite ridicule and scepticism constantly aimed at the subject by those who claim there is very little evidence of its existence.

This Volume of Haunte

• Language: English
• Publisher: haunted skies publishing
• Release date: Jul 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9780957494466

Book preview

HAUNTED SKIES VOLUME 7 1978 - 1979

Copyright © 2012 John Hanson & Dawn Holloway. All rights reserved.

First paperback edition printed 2013 in the United Kingdom.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-9574944-0-4

ISBN 978-0-9574944-6-6 (e book)

No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information retrieval system without written permission of the publisher.

Published by

Haunted Skies Publishing

For more copies of this book, please email: [e-mail]

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Designed and typeset by Bob Tibbitts ~ (iSET)

Printed in Great Britain

Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions.

Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of this information contained herein.

FOREWORD

By David Bryant

FOLLOWING a short and less than remarkable career as a Royal Navy Pilot, I spent nearly forty years teaching and lecturing on science and astronomical topics: my retirement fall-back position was my meteorite and space-flown memorabilia e-business that was one of the first in the UK to go online. My long-suffering wife Linda and I have dined and discussed UFOs with many US and Russian astronauts and provided Professor Brian Cox with meteorites for his TV programmes.

My interest in UFOs began in 1957 when, as a boy of 6, I witnessed a classic metallic disc over Hornchurch, Essex.

Since then I have seen a further half-dozen or so, and photographed three of them. If this seems a lot, bear in mind that my twin passions are Astronomy and bird watching: I spend many hours a week walking in the countryside with camera and binoculars and many more looking upwards at the night sky! Since the beginnings of the internet, my website Chilling Tales UK has attracted millions of visitors and published accounts of hundreds of previously unknown paranormal occurrences.

I first met Dawn & John through my interest in the Rendlesham Forest incident: John & I have both lectured at conferences on the case and met up in Woodridge on the 30th Anniversary. We share a basic belief that something important occurred back in December 1980, and similar suspicions that subsequent embellishments have clouded the issue . . . Like John & Dawn, I have spent many hours in the forest, both during the daytime and at night and have both seen and photographed strange phenomena, including apparent humanoids. I have thoroughly enjoyed John & Dawn’s previous volumes and feel they are a much-needed resource for true investigators, as well as being a labour of love for the co-authors.

I wish them all the success in the world and suggest that, if you’re just flicking through this volume at a bookshop, you take it straight to the counter and buy it!

Maude, pictured above, has earned the right to be shown in each and every book. She was actually Christopher Hanson’s dog, but we looked after her when he was on shift. She came with us to many parts of the Country, and was a delightful companion. She had a weakness for custard pies and adored being driven around in the car. She is still sadly missed but never forgotten. Thank you, Maude, for your company, when you should have been out chasing rabbits (although she never caught any!) RIP 18.5.2009

INTRODUCTION

ALTHOUGH this book only covers what some may deem a rather short period of UFO history, this was an important couple of years covering discussion of the UFO subject, never mind taking into consideration the enormous number of cases covered in this Volume. We accept that there are no doubt one or two questionable cases catalogued here, but they only represent a small proportion to what is, after all, overwhelming evidence of something very odd that is continuing to make its appearance known to us.

We have endeavoured to locate the witnesses and various members of the UFO organisations concerned who carried out the investigations, in order to learn first hand for ourselves what took place. Where it has not been possible to do this, for various reasons, we have always credited the source of the information and the copyright of the illustration/photo to the author, the majority of whom, we have traced. On the odd occasions where this has not been possible, we apologies and will publish any amendments in the following Volume.

Our intention is to show the readers what the reality of what UFOs are all about, rather than relying on the distorted, sensational, accounts often seen in the media over the years. In light of a number of requests received from people that would like to see a more comprehensive breakdown of when and where these sighting took place, we have changed the contents list which will if nothing else give an idea how busy individual months were.

Jon and Corinna Downes

Sadly we have had to relinquish our association with Jon and Corinna Downes of Fortean Words – who have been responsible for publishing Haunted Skies, Volumes 1-6. The heart-breaking decision did not come easy; they have been good friends and we shall miss them, but we can no longer afford to facilitate this current method of producing the books. The immense journey, backwards and forwards to Devon, is having an effect on our health as well. We wish him and his family the best for the future.

Bob Tibbitts

We felt that it was time to publish our own books; a daunting challenge. We would like to thank Bob Tibbitts – formerly head of the Coventry-based UFO Research Group – who has agreed to produce the work onto a print ready PDF. Bob has been a source of valuable information and assistance with regard to his UFO investigations around the Coventry area, over the years.

He was also a frequent visitor to Warminster, during the 1970s, and was editor of SYNTONIC Magazine, with many years of employment as a typesetter for the Coventry Telegraph, Bob is more than qualified.

It goes without saying that these events should be recorded, as they form part of our social history. The opportunity to catalogue the sightings is, of course, becoming more difficult as the years slip away, due to the passing of time. As we have said, many times over, this is not about us – it is about the army of people, who have laboured for many years, often unpaid, to ensure that these events were recorded. If it wasn’t for these people and their dedication, there would be no Haunted Skies.

Dr. J. Allen Hynek photo courtesy of CUFOS

Dr Josef Allen Hynek (The Center for UFO Studies) Born 1.5.1910 – 27.4.1986

US Astronomer Scientist, Scientific Adviser, to three consecutive UFO studies, undertaken by the US Air force – Project Sign 1947-1949, Project Grudge 1949-52 and Project Blue Book, 1952-1969 – was asked in 1976, how he would react to the suggestion that UFOs may originate from another space-time continuum or dimension.

He indicated the ET Hypothesis was ‘naïve’ and felt it was an unlikely explanation for a phenomenon which takes into consideration various factors, strongly suggesting a linkage, or at least a parallelism with occurrences of a paranormal nature. He also pointed out those reported instances when distinct different UFOs will converge and fuse into one object (many examples of which will be found in our books) and remarked: "I’m anxiously waiting for the curtain to rise and the next act to begin."

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Albert S. Rosales, www.Humanoid Sighting Reports and Journal of Humanoid Studies.

Andrew Collins for his help.

Barry King for his assistance.

Bob Tibbitts for typesetting this work to Print Ready PDF and his valuable advice.

David & Linda Bryant (Space Rocks) for their assistance, encouragement, Foreword and illustrations.

Brenda Butler, co-author of Sky Crash.

David Sankey for his assistance with illustrations and general advice regarding specific cases.

Gordon Creighton for his encouragement and permission to refer to FSR Articles.

John Jenkins, from Edinburgh – ‘a wee canny Scot’ but a darned good UFO investigator.

Leslie Harris/John Ledner, of Scan Magazine, for their assistance with the Edwin Pratt /Joyce Bowles case.

Kevin Goodman, for his assistance with marketing the book on YouTube and the WWW.

Lionel Beer (Ex BUFORA) for the supply of a number of photographs, and permission to refer to specific cases and his continuing support and encouragement.

Margaret Westwood, formerly Head of the Birmingham Group, (UFOSIS), passed away in 2009.

Michael Hellicar, Journalist for the Daily Mail for his recommendation and advice.

Maude, our faithful dog, who passed away in May 2009 – a frequent visitor to places like Alton Barnes, Suffolk, and the Welsh Coast – sadly missed but not forgotten.

Nick Maloret (WATSUP) for his continuing help.

Normal Oliver, previously with BUFORA, for his assistance.

Omar Fowler (PRA) for access to his Guardians of the Skies manuscript.

Peter Paget, for his assistance regarding the ‘Warminster scene’.

Peter Robbins – for his assistance, advice, and various photographs and documents pertaining to the UN Debate.

Peter Tate, from Bristol, for allowing us access too many letters and UFO reports regarding sightings at Warminster and the Bristol areas, which includes personal letters written by Arthur Shuttlewood, and Ian Mryzglod of ‘Probe’ UFO Group.

Philip Creighton (FSR) for his permission (2012).

Philip Mantle, UFO researcher and author, for his assistance.

Randall Jones Pugh, for his assistance with regard to his investigation into the events that took place at Broad Haven, during the early part of 1977.

Rupert Mathews of Bretvald Publishers for his assistance and kind advice.

Steven Franklin of Tomcat Media for his illustrations and assistance with the publishing of this Volume.

Tony Pace, the ex-Director of Investigations of BUFORA, a source of much information and encouragement over the years.

Victoria Hanson for her encouragement and general advice.

Wayne Mason for his assistance with illustrations.

Calendar of UFO events – 1978

Chapter 1 – UFOs debated at the United Nations: Peter Robbins recollects his visit to the United Nations, Did Sir Eric discuss UFOs with President Carter? Major Colman Vonkeviczky, The United Nations, UFO sighting 18th October 1973, The French Connection, UFOs debated by the Kuwait Government.

Chapter 2 – January 1978: UFO over Chatham Kent, Landed UFO, Kendal, Humanoid figure seen Cheshire, UFO Landing, Doncaster, UFO over Gloucester, Police chase UFO, UFO over Bold Power Station, UFO over Surrey, Close Encounter over North Humberside, UFO Landing Bedfordshire, UFO over Dorset, UFO Display Bedfordshire, UFOs over Essex, Close Encounter, Frodsham, UFO over Chelmsford.

Chapter 3 – February 1978: UFO photographed over Birmingham, UFO over Power Station, Close Encounter Plymouth, Domed-shaped UFO Devon, ‘Flying Saucers’ galore, Strange figures seen Oxfordshire.

Chapter 4 – March 1978: UFOs over Bristol, Flying ‘Cigars’ over South Downs, Close Encounter near Nuclear Power Station, UFO over Horncastle, A visit to Warminster.

Chapter 5 – April 1978: UFOs over East Sussex, UFO over Hampshire, Triangular Lights Staffordshire, Did a UFO crash land in Ashdown Forest? UFOs over Staffordshire, UFO over Farnham, UFO over Dorset, Glowing ‘figure’, Bournemouth, UFO Display Bristol, UFOs over Scotland, Triangular UFO over Gloucester, UFO over Southampton, RAF Scrambles over Suffolk.

Chapter 6 – May 1978: UFO over London, UFO over Bournemouth, UFO landing Lowestoft, Triangular UFO over Atlantic, Was there connection with NATO? Spinning top UFO, ‘Flying Saucer’ landing Essex, UFO over Portsmouth.

Chapter 7 – June 1978: UFOs over Yorkshire, UFO over Wales, A Strange Journey, UFO over Weybridge, Surrey, Cylindrical Column of White Light, UFO over Chepstow Race Course, Chased by a UFO, UFO over Devon.

Chapter 8 – July 1978: UFO Display over Bristol, Chased by UFO, UFO over High Wycombe, UFO over Norwich, UFO over Tyneside, A letter to Flying Saucer Review, Abduction of vehicle, Kent, The Fortean Picture Library, Triangular lights over Devon, Close Encounter at Plumstead Common, Flying ‘Submarine’ UFO over Northumberland, Flying ‘Helicopter’ UFO over Kent, UFO over Bexleyheath, Kent, UFO over North Yorkshire, Close Encounter, Broad Haven, Randall Jones Pugh, Ted Holiday, UFO over Kent.

Chapter 9 – August 1978: UFO over North Yorkshire, UFOs over Essex, UFO over Gatwick Airport, UFO over Swanley, Kent, Strange noises, Dorset, UFO over Oxfordshire, UFOs over West Sussex, ‘Flying Saucer’ over Middlesborough, UFO over Essex.

Chapter 10 – September 1978: UFOs over the Solway Firth, UFO landing North Wales, UFO over Clacton Pier, Essex, UFO over Rome, UFO over Staffordshire, Warned to stop investigations, Zagreb UFO, UFO seen over Leeds, UFOs over Birmingham, UFO over Essex, ‘H’-shaped UFO, London, Triangular UFO, Essex, UFO sighted, visit from the MIB.

Chapter 11 – October 1978: UFOs over Staffordshire, UFOs over Ilford, Essex, Triangular UFO over Stoke-on-Trent, UFO over Isle of Wight, UFO Display over Wednesfield, UFO over Penysarn, Amlwch, UFO over Lowestoft, UFO over Kettering, UFO over Anglesey, ‘Flying Triangle’ over Dorset, Police Officers’ sightings of UFOs, UFO over Minehead.

Chapter 12 – November 1978: UFO over Stoke-on-Trent, UFO over Portsdown Hill, Coastguard Sights UFO, ‘Flying Saucer’ over Devon, Red Lights over Waltham Hill, UFO over Portsmouth, UFO over Northampton, UFOs over Plymouth, UFO over Tyne and Wear, UFO over Plymouth.

Chapter 13 – December 1978: Further reports of Triangular UFOs, Italian connection?, Triangular UFO over Norfolk, Triangular UFO over Oxfordshire, UFO over North Yorkshire, Gigantic UFOs seen, Kent, UFO Display at Harston, UFO over Plymouth, Brilliant lights seen, The Krankies’ UFO sighting.

Calendar of UFO events – 1979

Chapter 14 – January 1979: UFO over Pontypridd, Close Encounters, Rowley Regis, includes: Jean Hingley, her account, The Birmingham Group UFOSIS, The ‘Beings’ BUFORA Conference, Alan Poyner, Margaret Westwood, Kenneth Wintle, Pamela Collett, Toot & Ploot Val Lewis. Similar case USA July 1955. UFO over Birmingham, UFO over Hampshire, UFO Display Harston Hill, UFOs debated in the House of Lords, UFO over Plymouth, UFO over Hampshire, UFO Display over Clwyd, Encounter with ghostly figure, UFO over Cornwall, Close Encounter, South Yorkshire.

Chapter 15 – February 1979: UFO seen over Staffordshire, UFO over Bristol, UFO over Hartcliffe, UFO over Stourport, UFO landing Leeds, Mr ‘Ted’ Frederick William Holiday passes away, UFO landing North Bacup, UFO landing, North Yorkshire.

Chapter 16 – March 1979: Dome-shaped UFO, UFO over Bristol, UFO over Hertfordshire.

Chapter 17 – April 1979: UFO over Mendips, Mysterious cloud seen.

Chapter 18 – May 1979: UFO landing Essex, UFO over Bacup Lancashire, UFOs over Bedfordshire.

Chapter 19 – June 1979: UFO over Shortclough reservoir, UFO over Essex, UFO over Lowestoft, UFO over Portsmouth, UFO over HMS Nelson.

Chapter 20 – July 1979: UFO over Witham, Essex, Police helicopter chases UFO over London Airspace, UFO over Plymouth UFO Display, Luton, Bedfordshire.

Chapter 21 – August 1979: Mysterious helicopters seen over Crewe, UFO over Kidderminster, UFO over Coleshill, UFO over Surrey, Close Encounter, Manchester.

Chapter 22 – September 1979: Close Encounter, Peterborough, UFO over Staffordshire, UFO over Cheshire, UFO over Stoke-on-Trent, ‘Tadpole’-shaped UFO seen Worcestershire.

Chapter 23 – October 1979: Close Encounter, Lincolnshire, UFO over Gloucestershire, UFOs over Devon, Cigar shaped UFOs over Staffordshire, The Gnomes at Woolaton Park!

Chapter 24 – November 1979: Aberration of the lens, UFO over Nottinghamshire, Cigar-shaped UFOs over the Black Country, UFO over Crayford, Close Encounter, West Lothian, includes Malcolm Robinson of SPI, T. Roy Dutton, c. ENG, MIMECHE, MRAES, ‘Flying Saucer’ photographed over Suffolk, UFO Display over Norfolk, Brenda Butler Landed UFO Harrogate, UFO over Watford, Arrow-shaped object over Bolton,UFO over Rickmansworth.

Chapter 25 – December 1979: Triangular UFO over Norfolk, UFO over Gloucestershire, UFO over Conwy Mountain, UFO sighting solved, UFO over Devon, Pulsing object over Swindon.

1978

Perhaps best remembered in the public’s mind for the Hollywood blockbuster film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Columbia Pictures), ironically set against the backcloth of real UFO activity taking place … but how many people now remember, or even suspect, the true scale of what was occurring on a more or less daily basis over the UK, during the relatively short period of just two years? With one discerning difference, this was not science fiction! Illustrating how serious Governments were taking the UFO subject, there was even a discussion at the United Nations.

OTHER events for this year included: Russian satellite Cosmos 954 burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, scattering debris over Canada’s Territories. Serial killer Ted Bundy is captured in Florida. Police in the West Midlands of England launch a massive murder hunt, when 13-year-old newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater is shot dead. U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs a bill into law, which allows home brewing of beer in the United States. In the UK average house price is £13,650 and a gallon of petrol costs £0.79. Space Invaders appear in arcades, launching a craze for Computer Video Games. Sweden is the first country in the world to recognise the effect of aerosol sprays on the Ozone Layer and bans the sale. The Serial killer David Berkowitz, ‘Son of Sam’, is convicted of murder, after terrorizing New York for 12 months.

1978 is also a great year for movies, with Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, all showing in Cinemas around the world – but why, in today’s record of Global social history, is there little mention of the below matter which still has massive implications for the human race?

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

CHAPTER 1

1978

UFOs debated at the United Nations

WHILST it is of much interest to include details of the now famous debate, held at the House of Lords on the 18th January 1979, we felt it was important to also include discussions by other Governments into reported UFO activity, to show that this was (and probably still is) a matter of worldwide concern.

Ironically, the opinions put forward by people such as Alan Hynek and others, now over 30 years ago, shows us that nothing has changed with regard to how society, in the main, views reports of UFOs brought to their attention. In order to save space, we have included extracts of what was spoken about, rather than word for word verbatim. We are fortunate to have also eye-witness testimony from UFO veteran friend and author Peter Robbins, who has on occasion, assisted us with his knowledge of UFO matters and his friendship with the late Budd Hopkins, whom we felt privileged to have met personally, a few years ago, at a lecture given by him at Truro, in Cornwall.

The United Nations 1978 UFO Committee Initiative: A Personal Reminiscence by Peter Robbins

On the 12th October 1978, Sir Eric Gairy, the Prime Minister of the small Caribbean nation of Grenada, made his way to the lectern at the head of the United Nations’ General Assembly hall. In a parallel universe the remarks he was about to make might have shocked those present, but Sir Eric Gairy had long since established himself as someone who took the unusual, and indeed the paranormal, seriously – something which violated an unspoken rule among his colleagues in the diplomat corps. For the media, though, the fact that the leader of any sovereign nation would make such a statement made his words newsworthy. They were: I have myself seen an unidentified flying object, and I have been overwhelmed by what I have seen.

The Prime Minister then proposed the appointment of a group of experts to define guidelines for a UN study of the nature and origin of unidentified flying objects and related phenomena. Gairy went on to say that while his real goal was to see the establishment of a UN agency, which would actually monitor UFO activity, he was willing to begin modestly with a small committee to make a study. Such an effort should be undertaken, he maintained, because he was convinced that UFOs were space vehicles, used by highly intelligent aliens of extraterrestrial origin. Acknowledging his own predisposition in the matter, he assured those assembled that he would keep an open mind, taking no categorical theoretical stand on the question of UFO.

The next day’s New York Times carried the story under the title, ‘U.N. Hears Call to Debate UFOs’, and reported that the announcement "did not exactly stun the delegates – possibly because when he has come here over the last few years, Sir Eric has talked about psychic research, and the strange disappearances of ships venturing into the waters of the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ not too far from his own island."

Did Sir Eric discuss UFOs with President Carter?

But the newspaper’s abiding question was, had the PM discussed the subject of UFOs with another witness to the phenomenon, President Jimmy Carter, when the two had met, the previous month, in Washington. Gairy chose not to comment on this, but an unnamed White House official said the subject had, indeed, been raided with the President.

Peter Robbins said:

"A week later, Gairy met with Secretary General Kurt Valdheim to discuss the creation of a steering committee, whose aim was to involve the United Nations in UFO research. Accompanying him were noted ufologists Allen Hynek, Jacques Vallee, Len Stringfield, David Saunders and Claude Poher. Apparently their points were well made because the subject was put on the agenda of the General Assembly’s Special Political Committee for later that year. This was where I entered the story. My interest in the subject had begun the previous year and I’d already been lucky enough to meet and be befriended by the three men, who would serve as my ufological mentors."

Major Colman VonKeviczky

A retired Hungarian Army Staff Officer, who had been in charge of that country’s military photo reconnaissance and analysis during WWII, was the Director of the International UFO Galactic Spacecraft Research and Analytic Network (ICUFON). This group held that UFOs represented an intergalactic task force that will destroy Earth, unless world leaders band together to end their hostile actions against UFOs.

Colman’s interest in UFOs had begun as a recently naturalized American citizen, the day that photographs of the 1952 Washington D.C. UFO over-flights were published. His distinguished military background and standing as a photo analyst allowed him to develop lucrative contacts with leading camera film manufacturers, and within both the Pentagon and the United Nations

VonKeviczky began his career by working for the United Nations staff audio-visual department. In 1966, he wrote to United Nations Secretary U Thant, recommending that a UFO authority be installed to act as a World Authority for Spatial Affairs. U Thant was interested in the UFO mystery and commissioned VonKeviczky to work on a preliminary memo on how the UFO problem could be inserted in the U.N. agenda. Since then, and up till his death in July 1998, Colman sent Memorandum after Memorandum to Secretary General after Secretary General, attempting to get action on UFOs from the U.N. He also confronted every President from Johnson on by mail, with letters and packages of materials related to the UFO situation. He demanded that action be taken to deal with the visiting aliens.

Major Ret. Colman VonKeviczky hired Peter Robbins and Antonio Huneeus – a Chilean American journalist, who also had an interest in the subject – to act as his editors. Antonio was Peter’s first real colleague in this work and he was thrilled to be involved in such an august project. ‘Hired’ in this case was something of a euphemism; neither of them was paid for their work.

Peter Robbins said:

I think we would have paid Coleman for the opportunity he’d given us. Coleman’s heavily Hungarian-accented English (which Antonio and I affectionately termed ‘Colmanese’), along with his natural pride and stubbornness, tended to guide his textual decisions and the majority of our suggested changes were politely declined, but always with his warm thanks. Nonetheless, Secretary General Valdheim accepted the paper and Antonio and I were invited to attend the relevant upcoming meetings that autumn.

The United Nations UFO Debate • Lord Clancarty and Major Colman VonKeviczky • Peter Robbins

On Monday, 27th November 1977 (the day the meetings were to be held) a snowstorm hit the city the weekend preceding the meetings, and while this slowed city traffic considerably, it hardly halted it, though Peter believes that a good percentage of the delegates, who should have been in attendance, used the weather as an excuse to remain at home that day.

Peter said:

"I woke that morning in my loft in Chinatown and dressed in my only suit. I was feeling pretty full of myself that day, and why shouldn’t I? As far as I was concerned, I would be seeing history made at the United Nations that day. I caught the number fifteen bus, which took me up First Avenue and dropped me off in front of the United Nations complex on the East River.

Passing through security was a simple matter, at the time, and I made my way to the General Assembly’s cavernous hall and found an empty seat in the gallery. The scheduled 10:30am meeting was called to order at 11:00am and the text of ‘draft resolution 126’ was read into the record. You can deduce it’s the nineteen seventies by my father’s sideburns, my eyeglasses, and the lit cigarette in my mom’s left hand; yes, smokers were welcome to light up in the UN lobby back then. After lunch they joined me in the General Assembly gallery for the afternoon session, which was to be relatively brief. We were in our seats before the scheduled 3:00pm start and the meeting was called back to order at 3:45pm."

Former Astronaut Gordon Cooper had been scheduled to speak next, but his flight to New York had been cancelled due to the weather. Mr. Cooper had been the most outspoken astronaut regarding the reality ofUFOs and Mr. Friday read his prepared statement into the record. It read in part, . . . I believe that these extraterrestrial vehicles and their crews are visiting this planet from other planets, which obviously are a little more technically advanced than we are here on Earth. I feel that we need to have a top-level, coordinated program to scientifically collect and analyze data from all over the Earth concerning any type of encounter, and to determine how best to interface with these visitors in a friendly fashion. We may first have to show them that we have learned to resolve our problems by peaceful means rather than warfare before we are accepted as fully qualified universal team members.

The ufologist and nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman was the last major presenter of the day. He spoke with authority as he told the assembly that evidence in favour of visitations by intelligently controlled extraterrestrial vehicles was considerable, and went on to cite some of the vast and varied evidence then available.

He explained in some detail why the truly anomalous ones couldn’t possibly be terrestrial craft and laid out a series of reasons, which these other intelligences might have for such visitations. Friedman then addressed the question of why they seemed to choose not to make direct contact with us, and why the initiative on the floor was important to all of the representative nations of the UN. Some speculation on the number of possible planets which might harbour life followed, as did his thoughts on the implications of contact.

Peter Robbins:

"I spoke with Stan, the other night, regarding his memories of the event. He told me that he’d wished Dr. Hynek had come on stronger and shown more leadership that day and that Sir Eric had been less associated with all other things strange. He also reminded me that the primary reason for the meeting’s receiving the minimal Press coverage they did was due to the tragic murders of San Francisco Mayor Muscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk by a deranged former city supervisor that very morning! The floor was then relinquished to Mr. Friday, who invited members to make suggestions and recommendations concerning the draft resolution. He assumed that a vote on the resolution would take place at a later date. Mr. Tubman of Liberia then requested that the statements made by the members of Grenada’s delegation be reproduced and distributed for further study. Miss Harden of the United Kingdom asked what costs might be attached to such an action. None were foreseen – for the transcriptions that is, and those assembled then approved the request made by the Delegate from Liberia. The meeting was adjourned late that afternoon and I returned home to watch the news coverage of the murders in San Francisco and nothing on the historic events I had witnessed just hours earlier and two and a half miles to the north.

I was, of course, prepared to follow developments at the UN from there, but there were really none to follow. Grenada’s efforts to establish a UFO study program were left to languish in committee and died a quiet death the following year. Less than four months later, while Prime Minister Gairy was back in New York on UN business, his government was overthrown in a coup staged by Maurice Bishop, a lifelong political opponent and leader of the leftist opposition and admirer of Che Guevera. Gairy was called a ‘criminal dictator’ in rebel radio broadcasts and Bishop demanded his extradition to Grenada, but the American government was not forthcoming and the former Prime Minister remained in exile until October 1983 when President Reagan, who was no fan of leftists and, like Sir Eric, took the subject of UFOs seriously, ordered the invasion of the island nation and deposed Bishop’s successor. Despite the Grenada delegation’s failure to successfully implement ‘Agenda Item 126’, my first serious lesson in the human and political implications which UFOs represent on the world scene remains one of the most important I’ve learned. I consider myself fortunate to have been some small part of those proceedings and have done my best to apply the lesson it taught me."

The United Nations

On 8th December 1978, the Special Political Committee of the United Nations, at its 47th meeting of the Thirty Third General Assembly, decided by consensus to recommend to the General Assembly, that the interested Member States be invited to: Take appropriate steps to coordinate on a national level, scientific research and investigation into extraterrestrial life, including Unidentified Flying Objects. These States would be asked to inform the Secretary General of the observations research and evaluation of such activities.

The Press release of 8th December 1978 (GA/AH/1490) stated that the Assembly would request the Secretary General to transmit to the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space the statements made by the delegation of Grenada on the item concerning unidentified flying objects, which was submitted for the agenda by Grenada.

The decision made on 8th December 1978 stemmed from a draft resolution (document A/SPC/33L.20) submitted by the Grenada delegation, proposing: That the Secretary General appoint a group of experts, under the aegis of the Outer Space Committee to define guidelines for a United Nations study of the nature and origin of UFOs and related phenomena.

November 27th, 1978: Lt. Col. Coyne addresses the Assembly

That submission was made at the 35th meeting of the Special Political Committee on 27th November 1978. It involved the attendance of some very influential people. The Prime Minister of Grenada, Sir Eric Gairy, started the discussion, supported by Mr. Wellington Friday, Minister of Education. Other persons present were Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Dr Jacques Vallee, Lt. Larry Coyne and Stanton Friedman.

Mr. Friday read a letter from former astronaut, Gordon Cooper. He was followed by Sir Eric, who stressed it was a matter of world-wide importance, which warranted serious consideration by the Special Political Committee, and then made reference to the recent case of ‘abduction’ of the pilot of the Cessna aircraft (Frederick Valentich). He then also made reference to the data contained in UFOCAT as exemplifying the world-wide nature of the phenomena: and said, My Country is well aware of the different views among Government scientists and researchers, and the public in general, regarding the origin, nature and intent of the UFO phenomenon.

A number of proposals were then suggested by way of a draft resolution, which included: (the gist of which contained) . . .

1 – To promote international co-operation.

2 – Consult with the appropriate specialised agencies and appeal to the United Nations Organisations to conduct research into the baffling phenomena and to disseminate more widely among the Nations of the World such information.

3 – Request the Secretary General to invite member States, agencies, and non-governmental organisations, to transmit information to him by 31st May 1979, information which would facilitate the proposed study.

4 – Request to appoint, at the earliest possible date, a three member group of experts under the aegis of the Committee on the peaceful uses of Outer Space, to study information and proposals submitted to the Secretary General by Member States.

As we said before, this is not a word by word verbatim of what was said – far from it. Lack of printing space prevents us from doing this, but it will give the reader an idea of the essence of what was said.

Dr. J. Hynek delivered a short speech, congratulating one of the smallest nations on Earth for having bought the matter to the attention of the United Nations –

"Where mightier Nations had feared to tread." He added: "There existed a worldwide phenomenon so strange and foreign to our daily terrestrial mode of thought that it was frequently met with ridicule and derision by persons and organisations unacquainted with the facts."

He defined the UFO phenomenon as:

. . . Any aerial or surface sighting, instrumental recording radar, photography, etc., which remained unexplained by conventional methods, even after competent examination by qualified persons. In the popular mind, the UFO Phenomenon was associated with the concept of extraterrestrial intelligence, which might yet prove to be correct in some context.

Dr. Hynek spoke about the millions of people that were interested in UFO reports assembled from 133 countries. He accepted that not all of the tens of thousands of reports were of high quality, but they did include a large number of extremely interesting and provocative accounts of strange events, which challenged man’s conception of the world and might signal a need for a change in some of these concepts. Dr. Hynek also went onto talk about Close Encounters of the Second Kind, involving 1,300 physical trace cases. They included immediate physical effects on either animate or inanimate matter (or on both), physiological effects on humans, animals and plants, interference with electrical systems, and disturbed regions on the ground or nearby. He concluded by saying:

I had once been openly sceptical, believing that the phenomenon was simply mental aberration and public nuisance. It is now my considered opinion that the UFO phenomenon is real and worthy of study.

Dr. Jacques Vallee spoke next.

I would like to call your attention to a new social movement based on the expectation of contact with beings from outer space. This belief in many ways is an emotional one. Although the UFO phenomenon is real and appears caused by an unknown physical stimulus, I have so far failed to discover any evidence that it represents the arrival of visitors from outer space.

He then made reference to the three aspects; the first being a physical manifestation that can, and should, be investigated through already available scientific equipment, the second being psycho-physiological, which involves witnesses at the scene who complain of disorientation symptoms, a loss of sense of time, partial paralysis, or loss of voluntary muscle control. Others tell of auditory and visual hallucinations, eye complaints, ranging from conjunctivitis to temporary blindness, massive psychic reactions, and longer term effects, such as disturbed sleep, dream patterns, and radical behaviour changes.

Dr. Vallee than spoke about the third aspect:

"The Social belief system which has been generated in all the nations represented on this committee by the expectations of Space visitors. This belief has been nurtured by the lack of serious attention given to genuine reports of UFOs and is creating new religious, cultural and political concepts of which social science has taken little notice.

I have spent over 15 years conducting studies of the reports made through official and unofficial channels in France and the USA. These analyses have been supported by extensive computer statistics. In addition I have been in frequent communication with scientists in other parts of the world. The conclusions I have reached regarding the social effects of the UFO phenomenon in the cultures I have studied are as follows:

1 – The belief in space visitor is independent of the physical reality of the UFO Phenomenon. In terms of social science we might say that something is real if enough people believe in it – the UFO Phenomenon has now reached this point. The question of knowing whether or not UFOs are physically real is becoming secondary in the mind of the public.

2 – The belief in the imminence of UFO contact is an indication of a widening gap between the public and science. We are beginning to pay the price for the negative and prejudiced attitude with which our scientific institutions have treated sincere witnesses of the UFO Phenomena. Lack of serious open minded research in this field has encouraged these witnesses to think that science was incapable of dealing with the phenomena. This attitude has led many people to seek answers outside of the rational pursuit of knowledge to which science is dedicated. Only an open exchange of information on the subject could now correct this dangerous trend.

3 – In the absence of