Part One – The witnesses
Reports of UFO sightings in newspapers used to be a rarity, but today there seems to be scarcely a day or week that passes without some reference to UFOs in our skies — and no more so than in Shropshire.
What factors could be contributing to Shropshire being one of the top ten UFO hot spots in the country? Scientific analysis suggests that ancient sites, such as stone circles or burial chambers, and geological fault lines are areas of high UFO activity. In fact, sightings in these areas have been recorded as up to 80% higher than in other locations.
Shropshire fault line
A known fault line runs from the Wrekin through Much Wenlock, all the way down to Church Stretton, Marshbrook, and Craven Arms. During the late 1980s, approximately 60% of all UFO sightings reported to me originated from the Wrekin area, with numerous encounters occurring along the old A5 between Overley Hill and Uppington.
One of the earliest recorded sightings in Shropshire took place in 1957, when a man named Hubert Lewis claimed to have encountered human-looking beings just outside Church Stretton while cycling to work early one morning. Another report from Church Stretton came from a man driving over the Burway late at night in 1978. He described seeing a large structured craft hovering over his car, adorned with multi-colored flashing lights, before it vanished at high speed. When he reported the incident to the authorities, he was interviewed by two intelligence officers, who took him to a government establishment in Birmingham and showed him photos and films of alien craft filmed across the UK. They informed him that, for reasons unknown, Church Stretton had the highest level of UFO activity in the country.
To many readers, it will now become clear that the UFO phenomenon is far from new; evidence suggests it has existed for hundreds of thousands of years. Archaeological findings point to possible ancient contact, long predating the modern era.
Early Investigators
One of the early UFO investigators of the 20th century was Gavin Gibbons, a Shropshire linguist and scholar, who wrote extensively on UFO sightings across the UK from the 1950s to the early 1970s.
One of the earliest documented UFO reports in Shropshire was made by Mr. Phillips, a miner from Weston Rhyn who later joined the Special Constabulary. In September 1912, he and his mother observed a strange object hanging motionless over Selattyn Hill, on the border of Shropshire and Denbighshire. The object was orange, bottle-shaped, and had a strange cylindrical extension rising from the top. This sighting was documented in Gibbons’ 1956 book, The Coming of The Space Ships.
Investigations and CE-5 Program
My colleagues and I operate a CE-5 programme called NEX-TEP (National Extraterrestrial Encounter Project), aimed at instigating contact with the intelligence behind UFOs. Achieving this requires being in the right place at the right time, maximizing our chances of monitoring and recording UFO events.
We have worked closely with Roy Dutton, a retired civil engineer who developed computer software capable of predicting both the timing and location of major UFO incidents. Roy’s system correlates data from UFO abductions, contacts, and sightings to identify patterns that suggest when extraterrestrial civilizations may attempt contact.
Roy’s work has assisted UFO organizations worldwide, particularly in Canada and Ireland. In one notable case, a UFO was filmed emerging from a large lake at precisely the time predicted by his software.
Skywatch from Lyth Hill
One of the most active global dates for UFO sightings is December 21st. In 2003, my colleague Peter Jones and I conducted a skywatch from Lyth Hill, south of Shrewsbury, which offers an exceptional view of the surrounding area. A family with long-term UFO encounters also joined us from the foot of the Wrekin.
We did not have to wait long before observing a number of white lights zig-zagging over the Wrekin. At times, these lights clustered into a long line resembling a string of pearls. Over the course of an hour, we observed over 20 unidentified lights, as well as two very large spheres of light approaching from the west at low altitude, stopping directly in front of the Wrekin.
The family observing from the base of the Wrekin used binoculars and at one point reported seeing a rotating white diamond or cone-shaped object that pulsated. At another moment, they saw a golden trail of light moving across the Wrekin. The mother also observed a red grid pattern on her daughter’s coat, which appeared to come from nowhere.
To rule out conventional aircraft, I contacted RAF Shawbury. The Community Relations Officer confirmed that no helicopters or aircraft were operational on December 21st, as all craft were in the hangar until January 5th for the Christmas holiday. RAF Valley, under the same command, also had no flights. The Police Helicopter Unit at Halfpenny Green, Bobbington, likewise confirmed they had no flights recorded until the following morning. Civilian aerodromes gave the same account.
This event remains one of the most compelling demonstrations of Shropshire’s ongoing UFO activity.
Read more casebooks
Casebook Part 1 – The Witness
Casebook Part 2 – The Triangle Mystery
Casebook Part 3 – UFO abductions
Casebook Part 4 – Crafts and crop circles
Casebook Part 5 – Shropshire Animal Mutilations
Casebook Part 6 – The Cosford Sphere
Casebook Part 7 – The Long Mynd UFO
Casebook Part 8 – The Cigar Shaped UFO
Casebook Part 9 – Real Men In Black
Copyright Phil Hoyle 2012