The Rendlesham Forest UFO Incident

The Rendlesham Forest UFO incident has often been called “Britain’s Roswell” after the famous New Mexico UFO event and at first blush does seem to be a close encounter of some kind, but as is often the case closer inspection can reveal confusion and contradiction in eyewitness testimony, supposed facts can turn out to be conjecture and the lack of tangible evidence is always a definite minus. Claims and counterclaims fly fast and furious as skeptics shake their heads and believers cry cover-up.

Today’s forest is a far cry from the forest of the 1980s, extensive replanting following a devastating storm in 1987 has significantly changed its appearance, but important landmarks connected to the "Incident" have been preserved and are linked by walking trails. A sign and map provide details of what purportedly happened, where and when.

To the west projecting into the woodland is RAF Woodbridge and to the north RAF Bentwaters. The bases are presently deserted, but in 1980 during the height of the cold war they were fully functional NATO installations occupied by American forces under the overall command of Colonel Gordon E Williams. Woodbridge was under the command of Colonel Sam Morgan with Colonel Charles I Halt as Deputy Commander.

The alleged encounter began on December 26, 1980, when an unidentified object was observed in the sky by personnel at the Woodbridge Base who fearing a possible downed aircraft entered the forest by way of the base’s east gate. What happened next is somewhat confusing and at times contradictory.

The first thing the airmen noticed were mysterious lights moving about amongst the trees with another extremely bright light shining forth from an unknown object. Apparently a few personnel also saw a cone shaped object hovering over a clearing, one eyewitness even claimed to have seen landing gear, while all concerned maintained that the object began to move away forcing them to give chase.

According to some reports, those involved were later found to be somewhat bewildered about just what it was they had witnessed and afterwards were purportedly forced to sign documents swearing them to secrecy the process couched in thinly veiled death threats.

The next day a follow up investigation of the clearing where the mysterious object had been observed revealed three small depressions some burn marks on nearby trees and a few broken tree branches.

Apparently determined to lay the matter to rest Halt himself investigated on December 28. He and a number of base personnel armed with radiation detectors entered the forest only to find themselves involved in an encounter of their own, this time near the forest's eastern boundary and the adjacent farmer’s field. A voice on an audio tape made by Colonel Halt stated that local farm animals were frightened and noisy “We‘re hearing very strange sounds out of the farmer‘s barnyard animals. They‘re very, very active, making an awful lot of noise.” A bright pulsing light close to the horizon and several star-like objects in the sky were also observed.

Initially reports of higher than normal radiation levels from the original landing site, in the depressions, at the center of the triangle they formed and on a nearby tree gave greater credence to the story, but later the equipment used was proven to be of the wrong type and never intended to measure background radiation, its readings virtually worthless. In addition rumors that the overall Base Commander communicated with diminutive aliens using sign language also appear groundless there being little or no solid evidence to back them up.

Many local residents when questioned stated that in their opinion the bright light was the local lighthouse, a fact seemingly corroborated by the Halt tape of the incident in which an airman can be heard calling out “There it is again. Watch, straight ahead off my flashlight, sir. There it is.” the frequency of his calls matching that of the flashing light from Orford Ness Lighthouse. The locals also stated that they believed the landing marks were simply rabbit diggings and the alleged burn marks nothing but the axe cuts used to mark trees designated for felling. It was also pointed out that there were no farm animals in the immediate vicinity, so they couldn’t possibly have been the source of any noise.

Polce investigate the clearing in Rendlesham Forest

Constables from the local constabulary after conducting an investigation reported that the airport had no knowledge of aircraft in the sky that night, that their were reports of aerial phenomena (probably alluding to a very bright meteor sighted over southern England at the same time as the incident or possibly the report by a nearby resident of an unidentified object in the sky over his house), that the only lights that were visible in the immediate area were from the Orford Ness Lighthouse and that their search of the area had produced no tangible results.

Other possibilities have been advanced over the years and include a bright planet, the Shipwash Lightship (lightvessel) and even a downed Russian spy satellite.

If the incident has its detractors it also has some high profile believers such as Nick Pope a former MoD (Ministry of Defense) investigator and Lord Hill-Norton a parliamentarian who questioned the British Government on whether they were aware of Special Branch involvement in the investigation of the Rendlesham Forest Incident. The answer he received was that while Special Branch may have been aware of the incident, they would not have shown any interest unless they perceived a threat to national security. Later after evidence came to light that there was in fact an extensive MoD file on the matter, the answer seemed contradictory and led to claims of government cover-up.

The authenticity of the Halt audio tape has also come into question. When asked directly if he thought it was a fake Colonel Morgan replied “I do not think it is a hoax. I think the men really were out there that night and they saw something which frightened them. You can hear their exited conversations and references to frightening bright lights. The only opinion I have, is that based on the evidence available, those guys definitely saw something which cannot be explained. As for them fabricating it all and putting on an act, I do not think they could pull it off.”

Whether or not this was a real UFO occurrence, a downed spy satellite, or a mass hallucination is a matter of opinion; perhaps Fred A Buran 81st Security Police Squadron put it best with this simple if ambiguous statement "those involved were definitely part of something out of the realm of explanation.”

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