Birmingham UFO Group Case Report
Author: Dave Hodrien
Last Updated: 22/09/2013
For reasons of anonymity pseudonyms have been used
Introduction
In May 2013 I was contacted by a gentleman named Sam who wished to report two sightings of UFOs he had experienced back in 1979. He was adamant that my response would be scientific in nature, and was reluctant to entertain the notion that the objects were extra-terrestrial in origin. Yet he was aware that what he had seen was both very real and highly unusual. What makes this case particularly interesting is that he saw the same type of object in both of these sightings, at two different locations within a week of one another. This in itself is extremely rare.
The report covers both the sightings in depth and then provides a detailed analysis looking into what they may or may not have been.
Initial Sighting
Back in September 1979 Sam was training to be a teacher at Milton Keynes College of Education, which used to be situated at Wolverton Mill. One evening he left the college to go to the house of his girlfriend Sandra for dinner. She lived at Pikes Farm close to Haversham, about 5 miles away. It was dusk and the sky was covered in streaks of dark cloud, with fading sunlight and a few bright stars seen dotted between them. However one of the stars looked out of place. To the South West there was a bright star-like light at a 45 degree angle in the sky. Sam has an interest in astronomy and knew that there should not have been a star in that location.
Aerial map showing the location where Milton Keynes College of Education used to stand:
He set off on his motorbike along Stratford Road which leads through Wolverton, but puzzled by the light he kept an eye on it.
Photograph of how Stratford Road looks today:
As he headed North on Haversham Road he lost sight of the light. When he reached Haversham the road split two ways. He took Wolverton Road to the right and continued his journey. The road was quite straight and lined by patches of small trees. About a kilometre along it Sam stopped his bike to once again look at the light. It was clear that it was now moving, and was also much bigger and brighter than it had been before. It now appeared to be about 3 miles away, and just off to the side of the road . It descended rapidly in the sky until it was only about 100 feet off the ground. It then began to follow the edge of the road at a slow steady speed.
Aerial map showing the location on Wolverton Road where Sam stopped and watched the UFO:
Sam stood and continued to observe the object as it approached. For some reason he knew that it was not a normal aircraft even when at a distance. As it got closer and was about a mile away he realised the object was extremely unusual. The object appeared to be about half the size of a football pitch. It was matt black in colour and was triangular in shape but with rounded corners, like a flattened cone. Some structural lines and bumps were visible on its surface. The light he could see was golden in colour and was brightly emanating from four large portholes in the front of the object. The inside of the craft which he could see through the portholes appeared bronze in colour.
Photograph of the location in the direction the object was seen:
Witness drawing showing the UFO flying past his location:
Witness drawing of the underside and side view of the UFO:
Due to the proximity of the object, Sam went and hid in one of the patches of trees and continued to observe it. It was completely silent and was moving about 5 mph. It travelled on a completely level and straight course. After heading away into the distance about 3-4 km towards the M1 motorway it suddenly came to a halt over a farmer’s field. After watching it a short while Sam decided to get back on his bike and continue the journey to Sandra’s house, about 1 km further along the road. He did not try to get any closer to the UFO as he was quite un-nerved by it, and also did not have any more time to spare due to his dinner arrangements.
As he completed the journey he kept a watchful eye on the object, which remained motionless over the field. It was still there when he arrived. Sam did not tell Sandra about the object. He did however continue to glance at it in the distance through a window. It remained in the area for up to an hour. During this time the sun finished setting, but Sam could still see the light emanating from the portholes in the object. After this extensive period of time it was no longer visible. He did not see it depart.
Aerial map showing the location of Pikes Farm (A) and the estimated position of the UFO (B):
Photograph near to Pikes Farm in the direction the UFO continued to be observed:
Sam did not have a camera on him, but it was possible that there was one somewhere in the house. He does not really know why he did not ask for a camera or point out the UFO to Sandra. But he feels that he probably acted in this way due to the fact that he could barely believe it himself. Due to the length of time the object was in the area, Sam feels that there may well have been other witnesses to it, although the area was quite rural.
Second Sighting
Between 7 and 10 days after seeing the UFO near Haversham, Sam was out with a group of 5 or 6 friends, none of which Sam had mentioned his previous UFO encounter with. It was about 7.30pm in the evening. Due to the time of year it was already dark. It was warm and still, with partial cloud cover and no moon visible. Sam and his friends were walking down Stratford Road on the way to Stony Stratford. They were talking and laughing with each other as they walked. There were trees either side of the road obscuring their view of most of the sky.
As they approached the A5, Sam happened to glance up into the sky visible between the trees. Suddenly about 500 feet ahead of him he saw a dark object come into view over the trees to the left of the road. It was the same shape as the UFO he had seen the previous week. But this time there was no glowing golden light coming from the portholes. It was closely followed by a second identical object! This was slightly off to one side rather than being directly behind it. But the two objects were so close it appeared that they were directly linked in some way. They maintained perfect distance from one another, so much so that it looked like the one behind was being towed by the one in front.
Aerial map showing the location on Stratford Road where the 2nd sighting took place:
Photograph of the location with the two UFOs drawn on top:
The objects were moving on a straight path and heading in a North North West direction. They appeared to be doing a survey of the area. They were moving quite slowly, about 10 mph. He observed them for about 10 seconds as they crossed the patch of sky visible over the road. For an unknown reason he felt that he should not tell his friend about the objects, like he was not supposed to say. Therefore he did not draw their attention to the UFOs.
For the remainder of the evening Sam thought about what he had seen. He was certain that the two objects had been similar to the one he had witnessed a week before. However he did not feel like they had been there specifically for his benefit. Yet, when he thinks back to the incidents, he feels that if he were to return to the area he would see them again. He cannot explain why he feels this way about the objects.
Map showing the locations involved with both the sightings and various witness notes:
Sightings Analysis
The objects which Sam witnessed were very unusual indeed. In the first sighting the UFO was clearly under intelligent control and quite large in size. This rules out the idea that it was a drifting lit inflatable or radio controlled model. It was clearly not any known type of aircraft, civilian or otherwise. Due to the alterations in movement speed, and fact that it hovered motionless over a field for up to an hour it is extremely unlikely to have been an oddly shaped hot air balloon. Also hot air balloons do not glow constantly from within; they only glow when they are given a burst of flame to keep them afloat. And when this is performed after dark the entire balloon glows a bright orange colour. Sam did not observe this at any point.
Could the incident roughly a week later really have been another sighting of two of these objects? They certainly appeared the same size and shape to Sam, although this time there was no light visible coming from within them. If the objects were a simple shape such as a sphere I would suggest that he may have been mistaken in this assumption. However the shape of the objects seen was quite distinct and unusual. It is likely that the two objects were flying in formation rather than one towing the other one directly.
Sam does not feel that there was any interaction between him and the objects in either sighing. However I am not so sure. First of all there is the fact that he managed to see the same objects on two separate occasions in different locations. Could it be just a coincidence that the UFOs in the second sighting just happened to be flying over the area where Sam and his friends were, ahead of him so they would be visible between the trees? Or the fact that it was Sam who happened to see these objects fly over instead of any of his friends. Of course you could say this was because he not only recognised the shape of the objects, but was more alerted to objects in the sky because of his previous sighting.
However Sam has also mentioned some other interesting points. He says that he does not know why he did not tell his girlfriend about the first object hovering in the distance near to her home. He could have easily pointed it out to her, or asked if she had a camera and attempted to photograph it. Yet he did not mention it at all, either while it was still there, or after it had departed. During the second sighting, Sam says that he felt like he should not talk about it or alert his friends to the presence of the two similar objects flying overhead. These feelings are not normal behaviour in such circumstances. It suggests that the objects were directly interacting with him in some way. Similar feelings have been mentioned by other UFO witnesses and contactees. A sense that they are not supposed to talk about what they have seen, that they are “not allowed” to speak about it.
Everything points towards this being genuine sightings of advanced craft, possibly of ET origin. When he first reported the incidents Sam insisted on remaining grounded and sceptical, and was hesitant to believe that the UFOs were alien. He initially suggested that the craft must have been military in origin. However their appearance does not fit with any known military aircraft. The objects were able to change direction instantly, fly silently and hover for periods of time. There were no navigation lights on the objects, the only lighting was the brightly glowing light emitting from numerous round portholes in the front. I find it unlikely the military would even create such a craft in the first place, secret or otherwise. However if we propose that they were some kind of secret military project, then it is illogical that they would fly them around in full view of the public on multiple occasions. Test flights of such craft would surely be restricted to remote military bases.
The appearance of the UFOs was far from ordinary. They did had some similarities with Flying Triangle craft. They were roughly triangular shaped, although were more like a flattened rounded cone. They were black in colour, just as with the majority of FT sightings. They flew silently. However the large portholes emitting golden light observed during the first sighting were extremely unusual indeed.
Whether you feel that these objects were extra-terrestrial craft or not, they appear to have been in the area for an extended period of time, due to the fact that Sam saw them twice within a week. This means there may well have been other witnesses who are yet to come forward.
Copyright Dave Hodrien 2013