June 2022 – Bewdley – Silver Disc Sighting
Updated: May 10
Birmingham UFO Group Case Report
Author: Dave Hodrien
Release Date: 07/05/2023
Last Updated: 10/05/2023
Note: For privacy reasons precise location details have been omitted
In late April 2023 elderly gentleman Stephen was asking me some questions about a particular case I’d previously investigated. During our discussion he informed me of a UFO sighting he and his partner Christine had both experienced on the Queens Diamond Jubilee in 2022. I arranged a phone call to go over what took place.
Sighting Details
2022 was an important year for the United Kingdom, with Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. As part of the celebrations the RAF’s Battle Of Britain Memorial flight (BBMF) appeared at numerous airshows around the country.
The celebrations culminated in a four day bank holiday weekend from 3rd to 6th June. I was informed by the witnesses that around this time the Lancaster flew over Bewdley (probably on it’s way to/from the Midlands Air Festival Display on 3rd and 4th June).
However I have checked on Flight Radar 24 around 2pm on 3rd and 4th June and there are no tracks for the Lancaster. This either means that Stephen has the date/time wrong or the Lancaster Bomber is not tracked on Flight Radar 24. I have reached out to the BBMF via E-Mail in an attempt to confirm when it flew over Bewdley.
According to Stephen, when it was due to fly over, he and Christine stepped outside the front of their house with a Nikon camera to get a few shots of it. There was nobody else out on the street at the time. It was a very pleasant, clear and still day with only light cloud cover. They both began to look around the sky to see if they could spot the approaching plane.
Suddenly Christine noticed an unusual high altitude object coming towards them from the North North West. It was initially at an elevation of 45 degrees and appeared to be around 30000 feet up. The object was a silvery colour and was reflecting the sunlight. However it did not look at all like a high altitude aircraft. It was a circular shape, giving the impression of a flattened disc rather than a sphere. No wings, tail or contrail were visible, and no sound could be heard (although it was of course very high up).
Stephen estimated the object was moving at several hundred miles per hour, similar to an aircraft’s speed. If it was at the height it appeared to be he thinks it was about 100 feet across. However he was certain it was not a normal aircraft. He was fascinated by the object, so much so that he completely forgot to lift his camera and attempt to photograph it. He and Christine watched it approach and pass overhead. The object then entered (or was lost from view behind) a small cloud.
They waited and sure enough it re-appeared out of the other side. About ten seconds after it had emerged from the cloud it suddenly vanished without trace! They were both amazed, as there were hardly any other clouds in the sky so there was nothing it could have been hidden behind, it was just gone. In total they had watched it for about 2 minutes.
Stephen informed me that the fly over of the Lancaster paled into insignificance in relation to the sighting they had just had. He did not even bother taking any photographs of it, they were too busy discussing what had been witnessed! Later in the day they informed one of their neighbours about what they had seen.
Christine’s Testimony
While chatting with Stephen on the phone I asked if Christine could provide a quick statement on what she remembered seeing. Here is what she said about the incident.
"We were basically wandering round the road looking up. We saw this thing appear coming towards us. I asked "Is that a UFO?" It went through a cloud, came out of the other side, carried on ten seconds and then suddenly disappeared. It looked like a silvery blob, roundish shape, certainly not an aeroplane, no wings or a contrail."
Sighting Analysis
Despite the fact this was a high altitude sighting, and the fact that the object did not perform any advanced manoeuvres, it is still an interesting incident due to a number of other aspects. There are a number of factors pointing away from it being a normal aeroplane/helicopter.
At high altitude aircraft can lose their definition, and even sometimes be at such a height that no wings or tail can be made out. However the general shape of them can still usually be seen, for example appearing as a thin white line. However Stephen says he regularly sees aircraft flying overhead coming from RAF Cosford to the North. So he is very familiar with how high altitude aircraft appear. He is certain that this object truly was circular in shape.
At the date/time that the witnesses believe the incident took place there were no tracked aircraft (The Lancaster or otherwise), however as previously mentioned it is possible the date/time is different to what was believed.
360 Radar confirms that the area to the North of Bewdley falls within the edge of controlled airspace, lowering the chances of it being an untracked aircraft:
Another possibility is that it was an inflatable of some kind, such as a weather balloon. However Stephen believes it was moving too fast for this to be the explanation. It appeared to be on a controlled flight path, although when inflatables are caught in air currents they can travel on a straight line across the sky. That said, it is hard to accurately judge an object's height and therefore speed or size accurately.
One aspect that might point away from either of these explanations is that the object suddenly vanished in a clear sky. I asked Stephen whether he thought that it could have been reflecting sunlight, but then moved to an angle where it was no longer doing so, giving the impression that it had disappeared. He does not believe that this would explain what they saw, he says the object was clear enough in the sky to make out the shape and not just a glinting light. Nor does he believe that it merely vanished into the distance.
If the object really did suddenly disappear, this of course rules out mundane explanations such as planes or balloons. I have investigated numerous cases where UFOs have been seen to suddenly appear or vanish in a clear sky, tending to support the idea that they either possess advanced stealth technology, or perhaps the ability to move into another dimension at will. Is this what was witnessed by Stephen and Christine?
As with many sightings on record it is hard to say for sure, especially without supporting photographic or video evidence. It is a shame that Stephen did not think to try photographing it at the time, although due to the height of the object it is likely it would not have come out particularly well anyway. It’s still good to get this incident down on record, and as many people were no doubt looking up at the sky that day, there may well be other witnesses who have yet to come forward.
Copyright Dave Hodrien 2023