Part 1 You Can't Tell the People...The Cover Up of Britain's Roswell

You Can't Tell the People 

The Cover Up of Britain's Roswell 

by Georgina Bruni 

BY NICK POPE 

I work at the Ministry of Defence, where between 1991 and 1994 I did what must be one of the most bizarre jobs in the department. Essentially, my task was to evaluate the several hundred UFO sightings reported to the MOD each year and to determine whether there was evidence of any threat to the defence of the United Kingdom. Each sighting was carefully investigated and I was able to determine that somewhere between ninety and ninety-five per cent could be attributed to the misidentification of ordinary objects or phenomena. There remained, however, a hard core of sightings that defied conventional explanation and involved what appeared to be structured craft of unknown origin, capable of manoeuvres and speeds beyond the abilities of anything in our inventory – prototype craft included. The best such cases were ones involving trained observers, such as police officers, airline pilots and military personnel, or ones where the sightings could be correlated by photographs, videos or radar tapes. 

The MOD’s public position on the UFO phenomenon is that it is of ‘no defence significance’. But my official research and investigation turned up numerous cases that seemed to contradict such a conclusion: RAF jets had been scrambled to intercept mystery craft tracked on radar; civil and military pilots were having close encounters with UFOs; unidentified craft the size of jumbo jets were flying over military bases. Such incidents led me to speak out publicly about the UFO phenomenon and warn that there were serious defence and national-security issues at stake, given that our sophisticated   network was being routinely penetrated by these unidentified craft. 

Although there have been attempts to portray me as a maverick, I’m certainly not the only person within the establishment to think along these lines. There have, for example, been several dozen UFO-related questions tabled in parliament over the last few years and there are plenty in the RAF and at the MOD who share my concerns. Despite this, there is a curious and infuriating tendency in certain quarters to ignore the best evidence. There are a number of possible reasons for such an attitude: ufology certainly attracts more than its fair share of cultists and crackpots and this may have led some people to dismiss the entire phenomenon, thereby throwing out the baby with the bathwater. 

It’s also possible that narrow-mindedness is to blame, as certain individuals refuse to contemplate possibilities that would challenge deeply held belief systems. Others would doubtless suggest a more sinister explanation: the idea that some within government are involved in a conspiracy to keep the truth about UFOs from the public is widely held among ufologists. 

While investigating UFO sightings for the government I had access to a massive archive of over two hundred relevant files, dating from the early forties. These contained accounts of previous UFO sightings and the subsequent official investigations, together with public correspondence and more general policy work. Until Britain gets its eagerly anticipated Freedom of Information Act, the public is denied access to all but a handful of these files. Yet even those that are currently available at the Public Record Office in Kew contain more than enough to challenge the idea that UFOs are of ‘no defence significance’: many of the documents are stamped ‘Secret’ and show just how seriously the subject is taken by those charged with the defence of the realm. 

One file that is certainly not available to the public attracted my attention more than the others. It seemed to offer the most tantalizing clues yet that some UFO sightings really did involve something truly exotic and not entirely benign. This was the file on the Rendlesham Forest incident and this book tells the story of this fascinating case. 

Even the most basic information about this incident is extraordinary; a series of UFO encounters took place in Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk, between the twin bases of RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge. Though nominally RAF bases, they were actually United States Air Force facilities and most of the witnesses to these events were USAF personnel. The official report on these incidents was submitted to the MOD by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt, the deputy base commander, who was himself a witness to some of the events. 

His memorandum described a glowing object, triangular in shape and metallic in appearance, which was seen manoeuvring through the forest and at one point even appeared to land. Nearby farm animals were sent into a frenzy. Subsequent investigation revealed three strange indentations on the forest floor in the clearing where the craft was seen to land and to damage the trees at the edge of the clearing. 

Radiation readings were taken from the area and peaked in the indentations. This initial incident, together with later UFO sightings involving spectacular displays of light, was witnessed by numerous military witnesses and correlated by radar evidence. 

These events alone, one might assume, would contradict any idea that UFOs are of ‘no defence significance’, yet this is precisely the position that the MOD takes on this incident. 

On several occasions when members of the public have written to the MOD or when questions have been tabled in parliament, the department’s response has been to describe the event as involving the sighting of ‘unusual lights in the sky’ or ‘unexplained lights’. This has prompted some to argue that there is an official policy to downplay the events, because even Halt’s memorandum – which has been in the public domain for some years – makes it abundantly clear that there was much more to this incident than just lights in the sky. 

One person who has confirmed that, contrary to the official line, these events were of great defence significance is Admiral of the Fleet, The Lord Hill-Norton. Lord Hill-Norton is a former chief of the defence staff and chairman of the NATO military committee, so there can be few people better qualified to offer an informed view on this case. 

Extraordinary though these events are, much of the story remained untold until now, despite diligent research from ufologists, coupled with considerable pressure from various MPs and peers. This book changes everything and tells as full a story as currently possible of the incidents themselves and the no less extraordinary aftermath of these events. Georgina Bruni has uncovered a wealth of new material which finally blows the lid off an event that might, in time, come to be regarded as a turning point in human history. This is certainly a book that will challenge people’s worldview and dent the reputations of certain institutions and individuals. Parts of it will leave an unpleasant taste in the mouth and will lead to some awkward questions for certain people. I have no doubt that many of those caught up in these events will regard this as long overdue, because some of these people have undeniably suffered as a result of what happened, and if some of this suffering could have been prevented, it is only right that there should be a reckoning. This book, as well as setting the record straight about what actually happened at Rendlesham Forest, might help bring about such a reckoning. 

Georgina Bruni, it has to be said, does not fit the public image of a ufologist – indeed, she would not classify herself as such. Trained as a private detective she has been a freelance investigative writer who specializes in exposing the activities of cults. But she is also a successful businesswoman who organizes social functions, promotes celebrity clients and runs an Internet magazine. She is well connected and mixes freely with politicians, diplomats and other key movers and shakers. It is this that has enabled her to access information, track down witnesses and elicit informed comments that have eluded other researchers. Few aside from Georgina would have been able to obtain comments on the UFO phenomenon from former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher, or arrange a face-to-face meeting with Gordon Williams, the retired USAF major general who commanded RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge at the time of the incident. This unprecedented access, together with the fact that the MOD gave Georgina a guided tour of the Woodbridge base during her research, will doubtless cause some to wonder whether this book has been written with official blessing, as a way of finally releasing the full story of this incident. While this goes too far, it would certainly be true to say that Georgina has persuaded most of those involved in the events to speak out about what happened in a way that will bring this information into the public domain. While this certainly doesn’t make the book an official venture, it does mean that it contains much of the information that would be contained in any official history of the incident that were to be written. 

I believe this interesting, disturbing and well-researched book will come to be regarded as the definitive account of the Rendlesham Forest incident. But aside from appealing to the general public, it is my hope that it will be widely read by politicians, civil servants and the military and that it will serve as a briefing document for the establishment in the continued absence of any detailed and definitive official comment on these events. 

Nick Pope is a civil servant at the Ministry of Defence, where he is a higher executive officer – a rank broadly equivalent to that of a major in the army. Best known for his official research and investigation of UFOs, alien abductions, crop circles and other paranormal phenomena, he is recognized as a leading authority on such matters. He is the author of Open Skies, Closed Minds; The Uninvited; Operation Thunder Child and Operation Lightning Strike. 

THE MAJOR PLAYERS 

Military RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge 

Colonel (later Major General) Gordon E. Williams (ret.) 

ROLE: Colonel Williams was the wing commander of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge. The Rendlesham Forest incident occurred under his leadership. In 1983 former Airman First Class Larry Warren told The News of the World newspaper that Gordon Williams was involved in the Rendlesham Forest incident and that the commander had communicated with alien entities. CONTACT: Major General Gordon Williams has never gone on record until now. He contacted the author in January 1998. 

Colonel Theodore J. Conrad (ret.) 

ROLE: Colonel Ted Conrad was the base commander at RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge. He was in charge of the overall running of the airbases. CONTACT: In 1983 Ted Conrad was interviewed for OMNI magazine and admitted that the Rendlesham Forest incident did take place. 

Colonel Sam P. Morgan (ret.) 

ROLE: Colonel Sam Morgan was the base commander at RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge in 1983. He was responsible for stewarding copies of Halt’s tape recording of the events to interested parties. CONTACT: He was first interviewed in 1983 by researcher Dot Street. The author contacted him in 1998. 

Lieutenant Colonel (later Colonel) Charles I. Halt (ret.) 

ROLE: Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt was the deputy base commander of RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge and an important witness to the Rendlesham Forest incident. Halt took a patrol of men into the forest where they witnessed several objects under intelligent control. In January 1981 he composed an official Air Force memorandum listing details of the events. The memo was then dispatched to the Ministry of Defence. Halt also made an audio tape recording of the incident. CONTACT: In 1991 he made his first public appearance in a television documentary where he confirmed the authenticity of the Rendlesham Forest incident. The author first talked to him in 1997. 

Wayne Persinger Deputy Commander of AFOSI Bentwaters (ret.) 

ROLE: Special agent, Air Force Office of Special Investigations and deputy commander of AFOSI Bentwaters/Woodbridge during the incident. CONTACT: He gave his first interview to the author in 1999. 

Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Malcolm F. Zickler (ret.) 

ROLE: Major Malcolm Zickler was the major in command of the 81st Security Police and Law Enforcement Squadrons at Bentwaters/Woodbridge. Larry Warren claims he was involved in the incident. CONTACT: He gave his first interview to the author in 1998. 

Major Edward Drury (ret.) 

ROLE: Major Ed Drury was deputy to Major Zickler. He ordered the first investigation of the landing site. CONTACT: CNN journalist Chuck de Caro contacted him in 1984 but he refused to talk because he was still in the USAF. He gave his first interview to the author in 1998. 

Captain Mike Verrano (present status unknown) 

ROLE: The on-duty day shift commander. He interviewed Jim Penniston and John Burroughs the morning after the incident. He also investigated the landing site. CONTACT: Has not gone on record. 

First Lieutenant (later Lieutenant Colonel) Fred Buran (ret.) 

ROLE: First Lieutenant Buran was the on-duty shift commander at Central Security Control. He was in charge of the bases and the Security and Law Enforcement Squadrons on the night of the initial incident. He claims he sent Staff Sergeant Penniston’s patrol out to the forest to investigate the UFO. CONTACT: He gave his first interview to the author in 2000. 

Second Lieutenant (later Major) Bruce Englund (ret.) 

ROLE: Second Lieutenant Englund was the on-duty shift commander and a primary witness. He was also with Lieutenant Colonel Halt’s patrol. CONTACT: Chuck de Caro contacted him in 1985 but he refused to discuss the incident. The author was given his location and acquired his telephone number but when she tried to call the number it was unobtainable. She was told by an operator that he did not want to take her call. 

Master Sergeant Ray Gulyas (ret.) 

ROLE: Day flight chief for the Security and Law Enforcement Squadrons. He was briefed about the incident daily by witness Master Sergeant Ball. He also investigated the landing site with Captain Verrano. CONTACT: Chuck de Caro first interviewed him in 1984. The author contacted him in 1998. 

Master Sergeant J. D. Chandler (present status unknown) 

ROLE: On-duty flight chief on 25/26 December. He followed Staff Sergeant Penniston’s patrol out to the forest and relayed the transmission to Central Security Control. Alleged to have witnessed the incident. CONTACT: He has not gone on record.

Master Sergeant Robert Ball (ret.) 

ROLE: On-duty flight chief during 26/27–28/29 December. He witnessed the UFOs for three nights and was one of the witnesses with Lieutenant Colonel Halt’s patrol. CONTACT: First interviewed by Chuck de Caro in 1984. 

Technical Sergeant William Kirk (ret.) 

ROLE: Communications operator during the incident and had to deal with an overloading of Flash calls. CONTACT: He gave his first interview to the author in 1998. 

Staff Sergeant (later Master Sergeant) 

James Penniston (ret.) 

ROLE: On-duty flight chief. He was a primary witness and the only known person to have actually touched the UFO. He waited fourteen years to tell his story. CONTACT: He was interviewed for a British television documentary in 1994. The author contacted him in 1998. 

Staff Sergeant Bud Steffens (present status unknown) 

ROLE: Law enforcement supervisor and the first person along with John Burroughs to report the UFO incident. CONTACT: Has not gone on record. 

Staff Sergeant Munroe Nevilles (present status unknown) 

ROLE: Disaster preparedness. He was the Geiger counter operator with Lieutenant Colonel Halt’s patrol. He took the radiation readings. CONTACT: Has not gone on record. 

Sergeant Adrian Bustinza (ret.) 

ROLE: Security police supervisor and primary witness to a landed UFO which was under intelligent control. CONTACT: Ray Boeche and Larry Fawcett first interviewed him in 1984. The author contacted him in 1998. 

Sergeant Rick Bobo (ret.) 

ROLE: Security police. He was in the Bentwaters Control Tower and was instructed to keep an eye on the UFO whilst it hovered over the base for almost five hours. CONTACT: He gave his first interview to the author in 1998. 

Staff Sergeant John Coffey (present status unknown) 

ROLE: Security controller on duty at Central Security Control during initial incident. Relayed transmissions from Penniston’s patrol. CONTACT: Has not gone on record. 

Airman First Class (later Sergeant) John F. Burroughs (ret.) 

ROLE: Law enforcement. Then airman first class, he was the only known witness to have been involved in two events. He was the first person to report the UFO. He was with Staff Sergeant Penniston’s patrol when he witnessed a landed UFO. CONTACT: First contacted in 1984 by Ray Boeche but could not discuss incident because he was still in the service. First interviewed by Jim Speiser in 1989. First published interview with Antonio Huneeus 1990. First appeared publicly on a British documentary in 1994. 

Airman First Class (later Sergeant) 

Jerry Valdes-Sanchez (ret.) 

ROLE: Law enforcement. Then airman first class, witnessed UFO over the Woodbridge base during the incident. Heard the radio traffic. CONTACT: First went public on Sightings radio in 1999. The author interviewed him that same year. 

Airman First Class Edward N. Cabansag (ret.) 

ROLE: Security police. First-hand witness to the initial incident. Went out with Staff Sergeant Penniston’s patrol. CONTACT: He gave his first interview to the author in 1999. 

Airman First Class Steve Roberts (pseudonym) (ret.) 

ROLE: Security Police. First known person to discuss the incident with civilians. A few days after the incident he told Chris Pennington and Brenda Butler he had witnessed a landed UFO with an alien crew. CONTACT: The author interviewed him in 1999. 

Airman First Class Greg Battram (ret.) 

ROLE: Security police. He claims he witnessed a landed UFO. CONTACT: Interviewed in 1984 by Larry Fawcett. The author spoke to his wife in 1999. 

Airman First Class Timothy Egercic (ret.) 

ROLE: Security police. On duty in the weapons storage area, Bentwaters. Took over the airwaves from Central Security Control and heard the radio transmissions. CONTACT: First contacted Peter Robbins in 1997. The author interviewed him in 1998. 

Airman First Class Larry Warren (ret.) 

ROLE: Security police. He claims he witnessed a landed UFO with an alien crew. He was the first witness to go public in 1983. CONTACT: First interviewed by Larry Fawcett in 1983. First contact with the author was in 1997. 

Tony Brisciano (present rank withheld) 

ROLE: Maintenance. Was responsible for filling the jeeps and light-alls during the incident. CONTACT: First interviewed by the author in 1998. 

Wayne (present status unknown) 

ROLE: Security police. He was a dog handler who claimed to have witnessed a landed UFO with its alien crew. CONTACT: Has not gone on record. 

RAF 

Squadron Leader Donald Moreland (ret.) 

ROLE: Squadron Leader Donald Moreland was the British liaison officer and was responsible for insisting that Lieutenant Colonel Halt make a report to the Ministry of Defence. CONTACT: In 1983 he was interviewed for OMNI magazine. The author interviewed him in 1998. 

Harry Thompson (pseudonym) Police Dog Handler (ret.) 

ROLE: Security police. Witnessed strange encounter at RAF Watton during the same week as the Rendlesham Forest incident. CONTACT: He gave his first interview to the author in 1998. 

Nigel Kerr Radar Operator 

ROLE: Radar operator at RAF Watton. Witnessed the radar. Was on duty during the incident when RAF Bentwaters made the report. CONTACT: He gave his first interview to the author in 1999. 

Suffolk Constabulary 

Superintendent George Plume (ret.) 

ROLE: Woodbridge police: He was in charge of the Woodbridge civil police during the incident. CONTACT: He gave his first interview to the author in 1999. 

PC Dave King (ret.) 

ROLE: Woodbridge police constable. He was sent out to investigate the first incident. CONTACT: First interviewed for British TV Documentary in 1994. The author interviewed him in 1998. 

PC Martin Brophy (ret.) 

ROLE: Woodbridge police constable. He was sent out to investigate the first incident along with Dave King. CONTACT: Has not gone on record. 

PC Brian Creswell (ret.) 

ROLE: Woodbridge police constable. He was sent out to investigate the landing marks the morning after the first incident. CONTACT: The author traced and contacted him in 1999. 

Civilian Witnesses 

Gary Collins: Primary witness to UFO (gave first interview to the author in 1999). 

Diana Persinger: Primary witness to UFO (gave first interview to the author in 1999). 

Gordon Levitt: Primary witness to UFO (author contacted him in 2000). 

Gerry Harris: Primary witness to UFO (author contacted him in 1998). 

Roy Webb: Primary witness to UFO (author contacted him in 1998). 

Marjorie Wright: Her father, Bertie Coleman (deceased), witnessed the UFO (author contacted her in 1998). 

Masie Pettit: Witnessed the stampede of cattle (gave first interview to the author in 1999). 

Betty Garfield, Ministry of Defence secretary at RAF Bentwaters: Witnessed the goings-on during incident (gave first interview to the author in 1999). 

Richard Nunn: Developed the photographs of the landing site (gave first interview to the author in 1999). 

Mrs Sawyer: Alleged to have witnessed the incident. 

SOME NEW USAF WITNESSES TO OTHER 

ENCOUNTERS AT WOODBRIDGE 

Anthony Johnson (ret.) (gave first interview to the author) 

William Sone (ret.) (gave first interview to the author) 

Steven La Plume (ret.) (interviewed by the author) 

Lindy Vaughn (ret.) (gave first interview to the author) 

Lori Rehfeldt (ret.) (gave first interview to the author) 

James Hudnall (ret.) (gave first interview to the author) 

THE MEMORANDUM 

Were it not for a memorandum, signed by Lieutenant Colonel Charles I. Halt (later Colonel), the Rendlesham Forest case would probably have remained buried in a dusty filing cabinet, along with other, as yet unknown, similar cases. The official memorandum which documented these unusual events was a researcher’s dream and a nightmare for the United States Air Force. 

The document may never have come to light but for the enthusiasm of a group called Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS). The case had attracted their attention in early 1983 when a witness, using the pseudonym Art Wallace (real name Larry Warren), contacted them. 

At the time, CAUS investigators Larry Fawcett and Barry Greenwood were busy compiling a book entitled Clear Intent. The publication aimed to present new evidence to prove that the United States Air Force were still continuing enquiries into UFO reports, even though they claimed to have ceased interest in the late 1960s. 

To back up their case the investigators had obtained several files released through the United States Freedom of Information Act. The Rendlesham Forest incident no doubt intrigued them, but they were primarily paper-trail investigators and at that stage all they had to go on was Warren’s word and a few rumours circulating from rural England. 

Nevertheless, they were convinced enough to begin enquiries and during the ensuing months Fawcett kept in regular telephone contact with British researcher Dot Street, who provided him with everything she had on the case. After several denials from the Bentwaters public affairs office, CAUS investigator Robert Todd was surprised to receive what became known as the famous ‘Halt Memo’. This turned out to be a fascinating document, typed on official Air Force letterhead, titled ‘Unexplained Lights’. Colonel Peter Bent of the 513th Combat Support Group had forwarded the memorandum to CAUS. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE 

HEADQUARTERS 81st COMBAT 

SUPPORT GROUP (USAFE) 

APO NEW YORK 09755 

REPLY TO 13 Jan 81 

ATTN OF: CD 

SUBJECT: Unexplained Lights 

TO: RAF/CC 

1. Early in the morning of 27 Dec 1980 (approximately 0300L), two USAF security police patrolmen saw unusual lights outside the back gate at RAF Woodbridge. 

Thinking an aircraft might have crashed or been forced down, they called for permission to investigate. The on-duty flight chief responded and allowed three patrolmen to proceed on foot. The individuals reported seeing a strange glowing object in the forest. The object was described as being metallic in appearance and triangular in shape, approximately two to three metres across the base and approximately two metres high. It illuminated the entire forest with a white light. The object itself had a pulsing red light on top and a bank(s) of blue lights underneath. The object was hovering or on legs. As the patrolmen approached the object, it manoeuvred through the trees and disappeared. At this time the animals on a nearby farm went into a frenzy. The object was briefly sighted approximately an hour later near the back gate. 

2. The next day, three depressions 1 1/2” deep and 7” in diameter were found where the object had been sighted on the ground. The following night (29 Dec 80) the area was checked for radiation. Beta/gamma readings of 0.1 milliroentgens were recorded with peak readings in the three depressions and near the centre of the triangle formed by the depressions. A nearby tree had moderate (.05–.07) readings on the side of the tree toward the depressions. 

3. Later in the night a red sun-like light was seen through the trees. It moved about and pulsed. At one point it appeared to throw off glowing particles and then broke into five separate white objects and then disappeared. Immediately thereafter, three star-like objects were noticed in the sky, two objects to the north and one to the south, all of which were about 10° off the horizon. The objects moved rapidly in sharp angular movements and displayed red, green and blue lights. The objects to the north appeared to be elliptical through an 8–12 power lens. They then turned full circles. The objects to the north remained in the sky for an hour or more. The object to the south was visible for two or three hours and beamed down a stream of light from time to time. Numerous individuals, including the undersigned, witnessed the activities in paragraphs 2 and 3. 

[Signed] 

CHARLES I. Halt, Lt Col, USAF 

Deputy Base Commander 

INTRODUCTION 

I have always been interested in anything categorized as ‘unexplained’, but it was not until ten years ago that I stumbled upon the UFO enigma, and I admit I was very sceptical. I had erroneously thought that the subject verged on the fringe of crankiness, but I soon discovered that there are some very responsible people who claim to have been witnesses to these events. These include politicians, police officers, military personnel and civilian pilots. It was this conclusion that prompted me to learn more about these people and their encounters, but I was especially drawn to military witnesses. I was sure that these men and women would know the difference between a UFO and one of their own aircraft, and if they were claiming these were ‘unknowns’ then there must be some truth to it. Of course, ‘unidentified flying objects’ do not necessarily need to be extraterrestrial in origin. They could be any number of things, from balloons to secret aircraft being tested. According to the Ministry of Defence 90 per cent of UFO cases are eventually solved but that still leaves 10 per cent that are not, and it is that 10 per cent which interests me. 

However, the Ministry of Defence claim that UFOs are of ‘no defence significance’ and on the surface other government departments appear to take a similar stand. I wondered if any of our political leaders had been briefed on the subject, if so then one would expect it to have been the Iron Lady herself, Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher was not your average leader: she had more than a passionate love affair with her country. If Britain was under threat, be it from her own citizens, a foreign power, terrorists or even extraterrestrials, Thatcher would want to know all the intricate details. Given the opportunity, I wanted to know if she was aware of the UFO enigma, which many people believe is a major threat to our national security. 

That opportunity came unexpectedly in the spring of 1997. I had been invited to a charity dinner by a prominent lawyer friend from the City of London. We would be sharing a table with several other lawyers and it promised to be an entertaining evening. Like most private functions attended by political guests, there was a strict security code to guard against possible terrorist threat. The names of the guests attending these functions are usually forwarded in advance and often one never knows where the function will take place until the actual day. On this occasion Baroness Thatcher was to be the guest of honour. 

We British are never more polite than when we attend these social gatherings, but pushing politeness aside, and realizing that the evening was quickly drawing to a close, I decided to introduce myself to the former prime minister. She was very pleasant, considering that just hours earlier she had returned from a visit to Washington DC and the tiredness and strain of a long hard day was beginning to show. For about ten minutes we exchanged polite conversation about the nicer side of politics, technological advancements and how Britain would keep abreast of it. I explained that I had launched one of the first British Internet magazines, and like most political minds Thatcher seemed nervous of the Internet but obviously realized its potential. I could see she was not averse to new technology though. 

It was then that I decided to tell her of my recent interviews with certain retired military men. I thought, what the hell, what have I got to lose; at the very worst she might think I had drunk too much champagne. Knowing of her close relationship with the United States, I asked her if she was aware that in the last few years several former US military officers had come forward with claims of a most unusual nature. I recounted my own personal interviews with scientists and military men, some of whom claimed they were actually working with alien technology. She listened in silence as if grasping every word I said, and I waited in anticipation whilst she quickly glanced around, as if looking to see if anyone was eavesdropping on the conversation. I could see her husband Dennis bending his ear. Not expecting much of a reply, but curious just the same, I asked her if she would offer an opinion on UFOs and alien technology. 

‘You can’t tell the people,’ she said. I asked if she was referring to UFOs, it seems that word always puts the wind up. At that moment she raised herself from her seat and said, ‘UFOs!’ No wonder her Special Branch bodyguards moved forward a few steps. Determined to pursue the questioning I stood facing her and, in almost a whisper, I said, ‘UFOs and alien technology, Lady Thatcher.’ ‘You must get your facts right,’ she answered. 

‘What facts?’ I wanted to know. In a worried tone of voice, but with her usual composure, she repeated, ‘You must have the facts and you can’t tell the people.’ It was the last statement she made. I shook her hand, thanked her for talking to me and stood aside as Dennis Thatcher moved forward to escort his wife out of the room, followed by her entourage of bodyguards. 

It was then that I realized Margaret Thatcher had actually taken the conversation seriously. So had my instinct been right after all, is the former Prime Minister aware of the UFO phenomenon and, if so, how much does she know? What were the facts she was referring to and, even more importantly, why would she insist that the people should not be told about UFOs? 

For anyone who thinks Baroness Thatcher was just being polite, I have it on very good authority that even in her private life she lives up to her public reputation of being a no nonsense sort of person. Rest assured, if she thought the conversation was verging on the wacky, she would not have stayed interested as long as she did. Not being a particularly humorous woman, she most probably would have terminated the conversation with a constipated, ‘You have been watching too many X Files episodes, my dear.’ 

Instead, it was a pleasant change not to have to endure another ‘It is of no defence significance’ type of reply. In all fairness to Baroness Thatcher, I am certain the reason I received such a response is because I caught her completely off guard. Just the same, I could not help feeling somewhat amused at the thought that she would think I was about to expose the UFO/ET secrets on the World Wide Web. 

For a brief period in my early twenties, I worked for a private investigator. It was a monotonous job, when more often than not I would spend days watching a premises to see who was coming and going. But one thing my boss taught me was the basics of how to investigate a case – something I never forgot. It was not until I decided to investigate the UFO enigma that I realized how much those skills would come in useful. The most important asset in any investigation is undoubtedly the witnesses, because without them one has a very difficult job. Unfortunately, if the case involves the military, there is often a wall of silence surrounding it, and nowhere is this more prominent than when it involves both the military and UFOs. 

My old boss taught me never to accept a testimony without first taking it apart and putting it back together again. I had been desperately trying to piece together Larry Warren’s testimony, but the pieces most certainly did not fit and this was a problem. Warren was a former airman with the United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE), and whilst stationed in England he claimed he was a first-hand witness to a UFO incident. He also accused the United States Air Force (USAF) of abducting him and taking him to an underground facility on a military base, where he was drugged and interrogated in order to silence him. 

For more than seventeen years he had been telling the world that his commander, Gordon Williams, had also been involved in the incident and, furthermore, Williams had exchanged communication with the alien crew of a landed spaceship. Another lesson my boss taught me was never to take one person’s word for it. But how do I get to talk to the general, I thought? No one had ever been able to interview him. Then, one dull January morning, as I was sitting at my computer, I received an electronic mail from a retired major general of the United States Air Force. His name was Gordon Williams. 

This was the beginning of a journey that led me on a quest to find the truth about one of Britain’s most famous unsolved mysteries, the Rendlesham Forest incident. 

It was a bitterly cold afternoon when Jacquieline Davis and I arrived in rural Suffolk. My companion had recently written a book entitled The Circuit, which told the truth about her career in the police force, and later as the world’s top female bodyguard and covert operator. She was glad to be taking a break away from the heavy schedule of media interviews and I was pleased to have a professional of her status along with me on this most unusual trip. As we drove up to the Woodbridge military base, there to meet us was the smiling and rather jolly John Lawrence Briggs, to whom I took an instant liking. 

Briggs, a six-foot-tall well-built man with more than twenty years’ army experience behind him, was in charge of the Ministry of Defence security at Colchester Barracks. Today he was going to escort us on a tour of an old RAF base, which until 1993 had been leased to the United States Air Force. Briggs needed a list of places I wanted to view so that he could arrange for the appropriate keys. I gave him three: the weapons storage area; the murals, which are all over the base; and the underground facilities. Briggs said he was unaware of any underground facilities and asked for their location. That was a question I did not have an answer to. According to the Woodbridge security personnel, they were not aware they existed either. But just as we were about to begin our tour, a guard nervously approached us, explaining that there was a place on the base with steps leading down to an underground bunker, but it was apparently full of rubbish. He gave us instructions and Jacqueline and I scrambled excitedly into Briggs’s vehicle. 

We began the tour by photographing many of the murals for which the Americans are famous. These consisted of rough graffiti to full-blown works of art, mostly to do with the USAF, although there were a few comic ones in the latrines. So historical are these murals that the Ministry of Defence have photographed and catalogued them for their archives. In a building that had been designated to the 67th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron (ARRS), I discovered a fascinating piece of work. It featured a circular globe depicting American aircraft throughout the decades, and to complete the cycle, which included a magnificent NASA space rocket, the artist had painted a realistic-looking A-10 tank buster, the last official military aircraft to be deployed at RAF Woodbridge. 

Our next stop was the search for the underground facilities. Whilst I was busy examining an outdoor shower structure, Briggs was receiving instructions on his radio for the combination lock to a nuclear fallout shelter. The shelter, which turned out to be the old Command Post, was a maze of vaults and rooms with enormous solid steel doors, many with elaborate combination locks. It was the spookiest place I had ever seen. Amidst the blackness, for there was no electricity connected, Briggs’s state-of-the-art torch cut out, and by now we were deep inside the vaults. Thank goodness I had remembered to take my torch along. The complex had the nauseating odour of stale air, which was obviously due to it being tightly sealed for a long period of time. With only one torch between us we were obliged to stay close together, fully aware that if one of the steel doors slammed behind us it could be a very long time before we were rescued. With no oxygen, I did not relish the thought of being buried for too long inside one of those confined units. Once inside the complex, neither our mobile phones or Briggs’s radio was functioning, so we had no contact with the outside world. 

In a small room at the farthest end of the complex we discovered an old telephone system. It was a PABX 4, which according to my British Telecom source was used by the Ministry of Defence until 1992. The reason they continued to use this old system for so long was because it was the most efficient and could not be hacked into. My source was part of a British Telecom team who had special MOD clearance. She would be responsible for checking out the MOD lines, which included underground facilities at Rudloe Manor and Colindale, as well as a secret facility beneath a public house in Hampstead and another accessible from the middle of a field in Redhill. 

Apparently, there are hundreds of underground bunkers scattered throughout Britain. It could take more than four hours to test and link up the bunkers, and apparently all lines went straight through to the MOD at Whitehall. One perk of being on this special BT team was that every five years they were able to purchase, for a cheap price, the underground food stocks that were being replaced with fresh ones. My source recalls that some of the bunkers were three floors below ground and they stank of diesel oil. It was a great relief to exit the shelter and Briggs gave us a thrill by driving us down the famous Woodbridge runway. 

On the way back we stopped near the east-gate exit and he pointed out that this was where the ufologists hang out. Since reports of UFO landings had first made the news, the area has become quite famous among UFO enthusiasts, and the local foresters have taken to conducting tours from the east gate to the suspected landing sites. 

I spotted a helicopter hovering overhead and my thoughts turned to the days when the runway was used as a crash-landing site in World War Two. How many innocent young souls had given their lives for king and country on this very spot. 

Whilst Jacqueline and I were examining numerous odd pipes and what appeared to be air ducts sticking out of the ground, Briggs, somewhat anxiously I thought, moved us on to another building. 

I could not help wondering if there was a facility under that area, but if there was I could find no visible entrance. Having toured the rest of the base, including the old weapons storage area, it was now time to call it a day; and Briggs had to return to the gate because the civil police were waiting to see him. 

As we said our farewells a police transport van came through and I learnt that they sometimes held their anti-terrorist training sessions on the base, as did members of the Special Air Service. It had been a fascinating tour, even though we had not found the entrance to any underground facilities – and we had certainly tried. 

The next morning, probably one of the coldest days of the year, I visited the old RAF Bentwaters site, which is situated just a few miles from the Woodbridge base. In its heyday, along with Woodbridge, it had been home to the largest single fighter wing in the USAF. By the time Jacqueline and I arrived at the Bentwaters gate we were late for our appointment, only to find we had to be redirected to the domestic site to meet with the security chief, Vernon Drane. 

We received royal treatment from Drane’s secretary, who kindly escorted us to the plush visitors’ room and offered us piping-hot coffee, which went down very well on such a cold winter’s day. Drane was equally accommodating, and when I cheekily asked for a copy of the huge Bentwaters map that graced his office wall, he willingly obliged. In all the excitement, I had forgotten it was my birthday and I could not have wished for a better gift than a USAF map of the entire Bentwaters complex, which listed and numbered every building above ground. 

Vernon Drane had assigned one of his more mature security guards to accompany us on the tour. Derek Barnes was due for retirement soon, so we were lucky to have his expertise. He was a local who had been with Bentwaters security since the Americans had departed, before that he used to service their domestic appliances. 

Our first stop was the air-traffic control tower and although not that high, it was one hell of a climb on a wet and windy day. The view from the tower was quite amazing, one could see right across the base, over towards the forest. The fittings, which had once held the controls, were still mostly intact, and I could imagine being seated there, watching the A-10s coming in to land. However, this was not the tower I was looking for, that was in the weapons storage area. It was from that particular standpoint that an airman was instructed to keep an eye on low-flying UFOs. 

Just as I was taking photographs of the panoramic view, an aggressive young security guard came barging in. He thought we were intruders and had charged in with the aim of confronting us. I was now beginning to feel guilty at dragging old Barnes up those slippery metal steps to the tower, if the climb up was difficult in the gale-force wind and heavy rain, the climb down was equally so. 

Our next stop was the base headquarters, where the wing commander would have ruled with his commanding officers. It was a large complex, surrounded by overgrown gardens, and at the entrance was a canopy that had obviously protected the officers from the elements as they stepped into their vehicles. 

I noticed most of the rooms were carpeted, and as we climbed the staircase to the higher echelons’ offices they became much grander. We entered a reception area through two huge glass doors: one etched with the emblem of the USAF and the other with that of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, the last squadron to occupy the base. The doors led to a spacious reception area, and off to the right was the grandest office of all, the wing commander’s. 

As with some of the other top-floor offices, its walls were a mass of wall-to-ceiling storage cupboards, concealed by sliding doors with no handles. Jacqueline and I had fun trying to figure out how to open them. This particular office had its own private toilet, en-suite shower and small built-in wardrobe: Air Force luxury at its best, I thought. I could not resist a nose around and found myself looking on to an enormous balcony that Barnes said had been used for cocktail parties during the summer months. 

This is where the wing commander would have entertained the local Anglo/American Social Committee, commonly known as the Mutual Admiration Society. This building was only constructed in the mid-1980s and according to a former wing commander the old place was embarrassingly decrepit and he had often found himself apologizing to visitors. 

Adjacent to the headquarters was the Command Post, which was the nerve centre of the installation. 

This was another nuclear-protected building. We had the spooks about the Woodbridge shelter, but this was far more sophisticated, and much larger, and I could not resist exploring it. 

I thought Barnes was not so keen but he never once complained. While we waited for him to open the combination locks we spotted more of the strange showers outside the main entrance to the building. After entering by the heavy door, we had to once again use our torches because there was no electricity inside the unused structures, and of course there were no windows. 

The door led into a small cubicle, which must have been where a security policeman once stood guard. From there we entered another door that led to a narrow corridor, and on the left-hand side there was a sign with the words DECON 1. 

This consisted of a small cubicle with a shower unit. We then passed through another heavy door and as we walked down the narrow corridor we passed three more decontamination units, DECON 2, 3 and 4. 

We realized that in the event of a nuclear attack, personnel would have been required to take an outside shower and go through the decontamination procedures before they entered the main complex. All along the corridor were strange-looking devices that we realized were oxygen vents. One room consisted of enormous pipes which led through the walls to where we did not know, but assumed these would have provided the oxygen. 

To my right was a small room full of row upon row of decaying telephone switchboards. Obviously, this had been their communications outfit, and I considered whether it would have functioned had there been an all-out nuclear attack. 

As we continued through the complex we passed other empty rooms and it felt as if we were inside some kind of capsule. It was difficult in the blackness with only torches for light and I almost fell down some steps as I tried to gain my bearings. 

At the far end of the building was a room that featured two rows of fittings joined end to end; these had, no doubt, housed computers. Barnes accidentally knocked over an empty can of coke and the noise suddenly brought me back to reality. This was some place! 

Exiting through the other side of the room, we came across another huge door and it occurred to us that we had passed through several of these on the way in. 

As with the Woodbridge post, we hoped that none of these would close behind us. I slid back a door that seemed to take up the whole of one wall, only to discover there was a sliding panel behind it made out of some type of steel. 

When I slid back the panel it revealed another of the same, and another, and another, and so on. 

After sliding all the panels back a solid steel wall was revealed. 

Moving back into the room I had previously exited, I found that the panels and sealed wall led right along the edge of that room too. It was obviously a nuclear-safe outside wall and it made me realize what little chance we civilians would have stood had there been a nuclear attack. 

The government information booklet, Protect and Survive, which advised its citizens on how to protect themselves from such an attack, seemed preposterous in comparison. 

Suddenly we found ourselves in another passageway that led to a small room. At the end of the room was an unusual solid red door that looked very important indeed. It had a small glass pane but was covered in warning signs such as: ‘No photographs beyond this point. This is a restricted area,’ and ‘Warning. Controlled Area. It is unlawful to enter this area without permission of the Installation Commander.’ 

Next to the door was some sort of old security system; unfortunately the door was well and truly locked and Barnes explained that there were no keys for it. I surmised this must have been one of the sensitive areas that Vernon Drane had told me still existed, apparently there were still a few of these on the installation. 

The door was at the very end of the building, which meant it could not really lead anywhere other than outside or down. But when I looked through the glass pane there was an area three-feet square directly in front of the door which was blocked off by a wall, and the exit which I could not see clearly was off to the left. However, there were no exits on that side of the wall because I checked when I left the building. Besides, it could not have been an exit because the signs clearly indicated it was an entrance to somewhere. We had to conclude that it was most probably the entrance to an underground facility. 

Disappointed, and knowing that the secret door would stay in my memory forever, we turned back, looking for the way we came in, but we seemed to have found another route. 

In the dark everything looked so much more confusing. We passed several more vaults and small rooms, and a sign on one of the heavy doors read: ‘There are no classified documents in this vault.’ 

Barnes pointed to a round steel contraption that reminded me of a submarine door. Was it an escape route? Did it lead to secret tunnels? Regrettably, I was not about to explore further. We were becoming nauseous at having to inhale the stale trapped air and desperately needed to get some fresh air into our lungs. As we stepped outside I was overwhelmed by a feeling of relief, and found myself thinking how fortunate we were to be able to walk out of that confined space into a world that was free from nuclear fallout. 

Our next stop was the weapons storage area. We passed numerous dull buildings on the way, with our tour guide Barnes explaining what they were. I knew from some of my contacts that many of the aircraft shelters were nuclear proof, but what I did not realize was that they were so tough that the only way to demolish them would be to bomb them with a direct hit. According to Barnes, this would take out the whole of the town of Woodbridge, so it looks as if they are here to stay.

As we approached the weapons storage area I was surprised to see how huge it was. I asked Barnes to take us to the sensitive area that was alleged to be inside the larger complex. He knew exactly where I meant, so it seemed my sources were right after all – there was another area. 

To gain access to the main complex, Barnes had to stop the vehicle and unlock the massive gates. I noticed a set of buildings to my right, which I was told had been a security post. 

Not only were there high double fences topped with two to three feet of twisted barbed wire, but when the base was active, the perimeters were heavily alarmed. These alarms were so sensitive that even a small animal could trigger them off. 

There were signs everywhere that this was a restricted area. It felt unreal to be seeing the base as it had been described to me by so many of the former personnel. 

We were now at the entrance to what some of my contacts had referred to as the sensitive area, and right in front of me was the ‘Hot Row’ where they had housed the nuclear weapons. 

Barnes had to unlock yet another set of security gates to gain access. We passed two rows of bunkers, one on either side of a small access road. The buildings on the right-hand side looked much more modern than the others and I noticed they did not appear on the old Bentwaters map. These were most likely the ones I had heard were built in the 1980s. 

Barnes was clearly shocked to find one of the older bunkers unlocked and immediately alerted the security desk. Of course I was delighted, and whilst he was busy on his radio I decided to explore the opened bunker. It was dark and smelly and full of huge cobwebs. 

Overhead was some type of pulley, which I thought could have been used to carry the weapons along. The floor had precise, filled-in cracks which might have been concealing an underground storeroom, and I noticed that the heavy bunker doors were fitted with elaborately secure bolts and locks. 

At the far end of the bunkers we spotted a small shack type of building, but hidden behind it, which was not visible from the front, was a strange vault with a huge steel door. Sadly, it was well and truly sealed. This was obviously another of those sensitive areas for which they had no keys, or so I was told. I had found two such impregnable doors, and the one on building 560 was one of them. 

We were now off to tour the rest of the weapons storage area. The weather was getting colder by the minute and I was sorry for Barnes having to struggle with so many keys every time we wanted to access or leave an area or building. The rain had now turned to hail and we were desperate for some hot coffee. I thought about those poor souls who had stood for hours on duty in these cold and dreary winter elements. 

Straight ahead was a very tall tower and I conceived that this was the structure I had heard so much about. Apart from witnesses viewing UFOs from this location, this was the tower where ghostly footsteps were heard by a security guard. Jacqueline was willing to climb the tower with me, but in the threatening wind and hail I realized it would have been a difficult task. She was trained by former SAS personnel and is qualified in close protection, surveillance and security, but old Barnes and I shrank in horror at the very thought. 

Unless you know the height of the tower, with its narrow metal steps, you cannot imagine what a climb that is. I was not feeling that brave and scrambled back into the vehicle. Driving around the site, looking at the dozens of empty weapons storage bunkers, made me realize the enormity of it all. Just as we were about to leave the area I spotted one of the more humorous graffiti on the wall of a building. It read: 

‘We live so you may die.’ Anxious to take a photograph, I stepped out of the vehicle and found myself slipping on a sheet of ice. I might have been able to save myself from the fall but I was more concerned about the camera and all the photographs I had taken in the Command Post. At the thought of having to return to that spooky place to take another film, I settled for the fall. For one moment I could not move and Jacqueline, who was at my side almost immediately, went into close-protection mode. 

With one arm holding Barnes back and the other pinning me down, she began firing questions to make sure I had not damaged my spine. Soaking wet from falling through the ice and in much discomfort, I headed for the warmth of the Crown Hotel in Woodbridge. I do not know who was responsible for the graffiti but his humour almost turned out to be real. 

Before I left for my Woodbridge trip I had called Adrian Bustinza to ask for directions to the photo laboratory. Bustinza is a former airman who claimed he was taken to this particular building where he was led underground and interrogated about his participation in a UFO incident. He had warned me to be careful about visiting the base, but did not explain why – just that it was not a good place to be. 

Jacqueline, as down to earth as she is, made a profound comment: ‘It’s strange that you should have an accident just when you are about to visit one of the very places you came here to see.’ I was beginning to think that some unseen mysterious force was watching from the shadows after all. You might wonder what I was doing exploring two old military bases, but it was all part of my investigation into the Rendlesham Forest incident. 

I wanted to see for myself the places the witnesses had talked about. But how did it all begin? 

At approximately 21.00 hrs on Christmas night 1980 people all over England were seeing strange lights in the skies. The emergency desks at RAF West Drayton and Heathrow airport told journalists they had received a flood of calls from as far south as Cornwall and as far north as Yorkshire. The West Drayton Observer Base reported that a mystery object was on a northeasterly course, high in the sky, causing them to make an immediate search for any aircraft in the area. Unable to find a suitable explanation for the mystery, they came to the conclusion that it was almost certainly a meteor breaking up. 

As these unusual events were taking place, amateur astronomer Roy Panther was out in his garden stargazing when he noticed an object that he identified as a comet. He was so excited about the sighting, apparently the first of its kind in fifteen years, that according to East Anglian press reports he took the credit for its discovery. 

Meanwhile, military personnel serving with the United States Air Force at the twin bases of RAF Bentwaters and Woodbridge in Suffolk suddenly found themselves caught up in a phenomenon that would change their lives for ever. Something had landed in the forest, outside the perimeter fence, and those who went out to investigate came face to face with something terrifying. Whatever it was that was lurking in the blackness of the forest, it was not something the airmen were familiar with, and nothing they had been trained for had prepared them for this moment. 

For three years the Ministry of Defence denied there had been any such incident, then, in early 1983, American UFO investigators managed to obtain an official document authored by former Deputy Base Commander Colonel Charles I. Halt. The memorandum, which was sent to Britain’s Ministry of Defence in early January 1981, revealed that two UFO incidents had occurred in Rendlesham Forest, on the perimeter of a US military base. It involved not only the US security police personnel but also the deputy base commander himself. Following the disclosure of this document, several military and civilian witnesses came forward, some even claimed to have seen alien entities, but both the USAF and the Ministry of Defence denied the incident had any defence significance. The Air Force personnel who witnessed these incredible events were never told the truth of what had happened. As part of the cover-up they claim they were interrogated by special agents and warned that if they talked, ‘bullets are cheap’. Some witnesses were drugged and hypnotized in order to silence them, others were given new identities, and there were those who simply disappeared. 

I realized early in the day that it was going to be a difficult case to work with, but I did not anticipate that there would be so many obstacles. Apart from the fact that most of the witnesses had long since retired from the Air Force and were scattered over the vast continent of the United States of America, there were other obstacles to deal with. There was the disinformation, the rumours, the warnings when I appeared to be delving too deep, the diverse testimonies, the hoaxers, the debunkers and the sceptics. It was a bewildering and complex network of truths and untruths which often left me emotionally drained. Nevertheless, I have managed to trace many of those who played a part and, against all the odds, my investigation has revealed that there was a major incident in Rendlesham Forest during the month of December 1980. 

The incident has been christened ‘Britain’s Roswell’, and it is true there are similarities. Before the Rendlesham Forest case became known, Roswell stood alone as the world’s most famous UFO mystery. For those who are not familiar with it, Roswell is a small town in New Mexico where, on a stormy night in July 1947, at least one UFO was alleged to have crashed to earth, scattering debris over the desert floor. The nearby Air Force base was put on immediate alert and the area cordoned off whilst alien bodies and debris were said to have been removed to a top-secret military installation. 

The Rendlesham Forest story is one of intrigue which spans two continents, involving the United States Air Force, the Royal Air Force, British and American defence and intelligence agencies and Her Majesty’s police force. It has taken a good deal of courage for the witnesses to speak out, and not only the witnesses themselves but also the players who were reluctantly caught up in this extraordinary incident. As courageous as the first-hand witnesses are, there are others who have also had to carry a burden. These are the men and women whose rank and authority have prevented them from speaking openly about this case. I have talked to several of these people at length and know the agony they have suffered at having to withhold that information. Here then, for the first time, is the true story of the Rendlesham Forest incident. 

GEORGINA BRUNI 

LONDON 

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 

If this were a fictional mystery I could not have chosen a better location than England’s rural Suffolk for the setting. Known for its myths and legends, hauntings and witchcraft, it is a fiction writer’s dream – but this story is not fiction. What you are about to read is the result of a three-year investigation into a factual case involving real people and real events. 

The incident took place in the county of Suffolk, which is a part of the larger region of East Anglia. It is a rural area blessed with green pastures, rich farmland and beautiful pine forests. The most popular town is Ipswich, but housewives tend to do their daily shopping in the quaint market towns where they can buy freshly baked bread and produce from the local farms. Scattered throughout the region are several picturesque villages with delightful old buildings and welcoming public houses. Approximately four miles east of the small town of Woodbridge sits Rendlesham Forest, home to an abundance of wildlife and Corsican pine trees. Amidst all this beauty, buried away in a corner of the nearby coastline and facing the cruel North Sea, is a desolate marshy terrain called Orfordness. It is often referred to as the Island due to it being separated by a small stretch of water known as the River Ore. The only structure to brighten up this dull unattractive range is a red and white ninety nine-foot lighthouse station. 

Not only did this part of East Anglia witness one of the strangest events of modern times but it was, and probably still is, home to some of Britain’s most secret government research facilities. As early as 1915 the Armament Experimental Squadron descended on Orfordness to test their new bombs. Those early pioneers must have thought they were in hell on earth due to the cold and miserable climate. Although high-ranking officers were fortunate to have been accommodated in the comfort and warmth of the Crown and Castle Hotel at nearby Orford, many of the regular troops were housed in makeshift wooden huts situated along the roadside, facing the seafront. It was a dreadful place to be in the middle of a harsh British winter. 

During the early 1930s a team of civilian scientists moved to the Island with the aim of conducting various top-secret military experiments at a building called the Orfordness Research Laboratory. For a brief period during the mid-1930s, radar experiments were also carried out. In fact, this part of Suffolk has a long history of being used for radar experiments. In 1915 Scottish meteorologist Robert Watson-Watt began testing radio waves with the purpose of using them to locate thunderstorms, which he hoped would provide an early warning system to RAF pilots. In 1934 Watson-Watt was approached by H. E. Wimperis, Director of Research for the British Air Ministry. Wimperis wanted to know if it was possible to incapacitate enemy aircraft or its crew by using an intense beam of radio waves, in other words a death ray. If Watson-Watt ever managed to produce such a weapon, it was a well-guarded secret. The meteorologist had other ideas and advised the Air Ministry accordingly, suggesting the death ray was impractical and that radio waves might be better used to detect, rather than destroy, enemy aircraft. Hoping to convince the Air Ministry of the need for practical radar research, Watson-Watt, and his assistant Arnold Frederick Wilkins, produced a detailed report entitled The Detection of Aircraft by Radio Methods. The report was then presented to Sir Henry Tizard, Chairman of the newly formed Committee for the Scientific Survey of Air Defence. 

The first radar trial took place at Daventry in February 1935 and was considered enough of a success to persuade the Air Ministry to finance further research. On 13 May a team of five scientists, led by physicist Edward George Bowen, began setting up a study centre at Orfordness. The inquisitive were told that the purpose of the studies was ionospheric research, but covertly the team were working on experimental ground radar. The project was so secret that even the lighthouse station was reclassified, and the keepers and their families were ordered to evacuate the living quarters. It was soon realized, however, that Orfordness was not a suitable location for the experiments, prompting Watson-Watt to persuade the Air Ministry to purchase Bawdsey Manor in nearby Felixstowe. By December 1935 the team had moved into the large country manor house and renamed it Bawdsey Research Station. Nine months later Watson-Watt became superintendent of the new establishment, and within three years, just in time for World War Two, the Bawdsey team began installing a chain of radar stations all along the east and south coasts of England. The system became known as the Chain Home and was instrumental in helping the RAF win the Battle of Britain. 

By 1940 Germany was swiftly advancing through Europe and Churchill realized that in spite of Britain’s military force, her knowledge of code breaking and radar, she was still in danger of being invaded. Although America was a strong ally, she was reluctant to be drawn into the conflict, but Britain was prepared to trade some of the country’s top defence secrets in exchange for America’s assistance. Part of that trade was the radar developments that were first achieved at Orfordness and Bawdsey Research Station. On 8 July 1940 Churchill sent one of his right-hand men, Lord Lothian, on a secret mission to Washington DC to meet with President Roosevelt. A month later the ‘Tizard Mission’, as it came to be known, headed by Sir Henry Tizard himself and a team of scientists, which included Edward George Bowen, began disclosing Britain’s secrets to US Army and Navy experts. Four months later Britain and the United States of America signed an agreement that would provide total exchange of each other’s secrets. 

Top-secret research continued at Orfordness throughout World War Two, but intelligence reports revealing that the Third Reich was preparing to invade the Suffolk coastline prompted the Air Ministry to erect barbed-wire fences around the Island. Certain unknown lethal defences were installed and eventually, as part of an anti-invasion plan, the surrounding beaches were heavily mined. By 1942 the Island was used more than ever for aircraft experimental work and bomb-dropping exercises. At the same time, large parts of the Suffolk countryside were classed as ‘Battle Areas’, which resulted in whole villages being evacuated to make way for training grounds. 

One of the strangest stories to emerge concerned a small seaside resort called Shingle Street, which is situated just a few miles from Bawdsey. In 1942 the resort was suddenly evacuated overnight with no official explanation given to the concerned residents. Shortly after this incident took place there were rumours that at least one hundred badly burned bodies, presumed to be British servicemen, had been washed up on the shore. Locals speculated that there had been some sort of explosion out at sea and to cover up the disaster the bodies had been buried in the nearby forest. To this day, apart from those in the know, nobody is sure exactly what happened. Whatever it was, it was so secret that the government closed the files on the case for seventy-five years. But rumours of the Shingle Street mystery continued to persist and it is possible the government wanted to quell these because in 1992 they declassified the files – twenty-five years earlier than expected. The files revealed several reasons for the evacuation, which included the laying of a minefield and the testing of new bombs and chemical weapons. But there was no mention of any accident involving British servicemen. 

At the close of World War Two Orfordness was still out of bounds to the public. Then in the early 1950s a new station was set up, known as the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE), and activities became more secretive than ever. Daily supplies of equipment were delivered and strange buildings were erected. This was followed by the arrival of numerous scientists and specialists. In January 1953 a terrible disaster struck when a gust of wind travelling at 81 mph broke through the riverbanks and flooded the research station. This was to be one of many unusual freak storms to affect the area, but it would be some time before the locals realized that the scientists at Orford Ness were carrying out secret weather experiments. 

By the mid-1950's the AWRE were testing their most secret atomic devices. According to local historian Gordon Kinsey, in August 1956 the very first major environmental experiment took place in the confines of an earth-shielded building known as the Pagodas or Lab One. A large live object, which was part of an atomic device, was launched with the aim of dropping it on the Australian desert. Whether the 1956 launch achieved its goal is not certain, but scientists were concerned that the components in the object could have been severely damaged by vibration whilst in flight. It is worth noting that Edward George Bowen, one of the original radar researchers at Orfordness, had since become involved in cloud and rain physics. Immediately after the war Bowen had shown an interest in the work initiated by the Americans Langmuir and Schaefer. After spending some time in the United States, he emigrated to the Australian outback where he used his knowledge to try to improve rainfall in that arid climate. It might be that Bowen was involved in the Orfordness/Australian test. 

What is extremely curious is that in August 1956, the very same month that Orfordness tested its most secret atomic device, radar operators at the East Anglian USAF bases Bentwaters and Lakenheath reported a series of UFO sightings that lasted for more than six hours. Until the Rendlesham Forest incident became well known, this event was considered Britain’s most authentic UFO case. The first sighting was reported at precisely 21.30 hrs on 13 August and continued into the early hours of the morning, with the objects displaying unusual high speeds and amazing manoeuvres. An official USAF report stated that they could not be explained by radar malfunction or unusual weather conditions, and one has to wonder if the Orfordness experiment could have been responsible for attracting these unidentified flying objects. 

By 1959 some of the best scientific minds of the time were involved in environmental atomic-weapons research at Orfordness, and in 1963, ten years after the hurricane wind penetrated the Island, Orfordness experienced more freak weather. This time it was a whirlwind, which in only four minutes caused excessive damage to the area. After the storm had passed there was a weird calm, followed by a strange-sounding noise and a build-up of enormous black clouds. Later that year another storm occurred, this time causing extraordinary high tides, which resulted in emergency work having to be carried out by the River Authorities. It was during this period that the research centre attracted the attention of a group of local protesters who felt they had a right to know the nature of the experiments. On 20 June 1964 the group organized a demonstration and attempted to march on the Island, but were halted within three miles of the site. Orfordness, it seems, was not ready to give up her secrets so easily. 

In 1971, twenty years after they moved to Orfordness, the AWRE transferred to their headquarters in Aldermaston, Berkshire. Meanwhile, a group of Americans had established a presence on the Island, setting up a research facility on a marshy section of land that had recently been cleared by a British bomb-disposal team. This was land that had been used as a bomb dumping ground for World War Two pilots ridding their loads before doing emergency landings at RAF Woodbridge. The new site was to be used for a top-secret experimental Over the Horizon project called Cobra Mist. This was a joint effort involving British and US defence departments. 

For twenty-five years the Bawdsey station had been operating a secret underground facility. It was not until its closure was announced in 1974 that ‘The Hole’, as insiders knew it, was revealed to the local press. An Ipswich reporter was invited to view the underground complex and was surprised to find that a small brick building was the entrance to the super-secret facility. After stepping through an ordinary door, he found himself being ushered into a floor-to-ceiling wire cage and, as the bolt on the door closed behind him, he thought it was like something from a science-fiction film. He was then asked to follow the station commander, Group Captain David Rhodes, down a flight of stairs, where he was guided to the radar rooms through a long air- conditioned corridor with deep yellow walls and a shiny linoleum floor. 

Bawdsey officially closed in March 1975, when the RAF ensign was lowered and the local rector conducted a simple service. However, in August 1979, four years after its very public closure, the station reopened with several old surface-to-air missiles parked on its front lawn. Could this have been a front for other activities? I discovered that during Bawdsey’s closure serious work was carried out to extend its underground facility. Gary Collins, a resident of Capel St Andrew, was one of the workers employed in the reconstruction and recalls how huge it was. Gordon Kinsey, who has written extensively on Orfordness and RAF Bawdsey, assured me that the station did reopen, but the underground was reconstructed as an area where the RAF would have launched missiles and no longer operated as a radar station. However, according to a former USAF officer, RAF Bawdsey was still active as a radar station in 1980. 

A LITTLE PIECE OF AMERICAN PIE 

Sandwiched between Bawdsey and Orfordnesss, and surrounded by miles and miles of thick pine forest, lie the remains of RAF Woodbridge and Bentwaters. Woodbridge, first named Sutton Heath Airfield but known in official circles as the Emergency Landing Ground, was completed in November 1943. It was rumoured that more than a million pine trees were felled to make way for the site, which was to boast one of Britain’s widest and longest military runways. Measuring more than 3,000 yards long and 250 yards wide, it covered an area of 159 acres. The site was chosen for its location and fog-free zone (although it was later realized that fog was still a problem), and was intended as one of three wartime emergency airstrips. These were designed specifically to accept damaged and fuel-short fighter planes returning from German raids. In the first two weeks after its completion the new airfield received more than fifty emergency landings. Throughout the rest of the war they used to bulldoze the burning wrecks off the runway as soon as they came to a halt and the remains of the dead pilots were taken to the morgue, which later became the non-commissioned officers’ club. 

Soon after work began on Woodbridge, construction also began on another airfield less than five miles away. The site was to be officially called RAF Butley and, although work was started in 1942, it was not completed until late 1944. This was due to emergency war work being carried out at other installations throughout the country. During its completion, two buildings known as ‘Bentwaters Cottages’ were demolished to make way for part of the airfield, and it was recommended that the name Bentwaters be used as it already appeared on the ordnance map. Because of their close proximity, Woodbridge and Bentwaters essentially became part of the same complex and were often referred to as the twin bases. 

In 1945 the Woodbridge airfield, having played an important role in World War Two, became a ground for experimental work, with the RAF testing ‘Grand Slam’ bombs around Orfordness. Four years later its sister base, RAF Bentwaters, which had been used to train pilots to convert from old propeller driven aircraft to modern Vampire and Meteor jets, formally closed down. Bentwaters would not rest in peace for long, however; within a few years, along with Woodbridge, it would come to life again, only this time it would be home to Uncle Sam’s mighty military power – the United States Air Force. 

In the summer of 1951 the United States Air Force in Europe began moving into RAF Bentwaters, and within two years they would expand their forces and take over the lease of RAF Woodbridge. The dual complex was to become part of a large group of sophisticated NATO bases scattered throughout the world. In 1979, one year before the Rendlesham Forest incident occurred, seventy-four A-10 tank busters were flown in from Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. It was to be the first time the A-10s would be dedicated exclusively to close air support of allied armies. Why did Bentwaters suddenly need so much powerful hardware? Maybe ‘Operation Ready Bentwaters’, the name given for the massive delivery, offers a clue. But what were they preparing for? 

In 1979–80 there was a build-up of extraordinary tensions worldwide and this was of special concern to the United States of America and her allies. It was also the height of the Cold War and everyone was keeping a close eye on the USSR, especially when they invaded Afghanistan on Christmas Day 1979, precisely one year before the UFOs landed in Rendlesham Forest. On 3 June 1980 a US nuclear alert occurred when a computer error indicated a missile attack by the USSR. There were serious problems stirring in Poland and, in early December 1980, just weeks prior to the incident, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher warned the USSR not to intervene in the Polish crisis. At the same time the Irish Republican Army was threatening Britain with a Christmas bombing campaign. 

Being a NATO installation, it is understandable that Bentwaters would have had its fair share of secrets. According to a reliable military source, the then super-secret stealth F-117 aircraft, which was supposed to still be in testbed mode, was deployed there during the early 1980s. I was told they would move the A-10 aircraft to the transport ramp and close off the entire east end of the flightline. On these occasions no one was allowed past the mid-field taxiway and all the Tab-V aircraft shelters were closed the whole time they were there. 

These arrivals and departures would only take place during the night and, apart from those directly involved, no one would be any the wiser (the latter was confirmed by a high-ranking USAF officer). This is interesting considering the existence of F-117s was not made public until they were used overseas on 19 December 1989, when the Americans gave a show of force by briefly invading Panama with the aim of overthrowing General Noriega. It seems the military were very fond of using the month of December for an invasion. The same source also mentioned that an experimental unit (A-7) from Los Angeles Air Station was deployed at the base as a cover for the entire F-117 programme. 

However, not everything was what it appeared to be, Skycrash (1984), an early book about the Rendlesham Forest incident, featured a photograph of an alleged top-secret missile parked on the side of the Bentwaters airfield. But this was nothing more than a dummy that had been welded together by the base sheet-metal shop. Personnel had ingeniously joined several 50-gallon drums end to end and topped the structure with a white-painted metal cone. No one can blame the authors of Skycrash for their error; I understand it looked very realistic when viewed from a distance. Mark Birdsall, editor-in chief of Unopened Files, even sent me a photograph taken in 1984 which featured six of these dummy missiles lined up on a transporter. Apparently, these were situated on the Woodbridge base. Although no one is really sure what their purpose was, it was speculated they were intended to fool spies and partially for local pilots to see as they came into land. Whatever the reason, they were constructed without authorization and the wing commander was heard to yell, ‘Get that shit off my runway.’ They then disappeared until they got a commander with a better sense of humour. 

From their comparatively humble beginnings the twin installation was turned into the equivalent of a small American town. Once on base, one had to drive on the right-hand side of the road and the monetary exchange was strictly US dollars. To the thousands of personnel stationed there, the bases were affectionately referred to as ‘a little piece of American pie’. 

At the time of the incident the joint installation was under the command of Colonel Gordon E. Williams (later Major General), wing commander of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing. It is worth mentioning that Colonel Williams’ title was misleading to the British because ‘wing commander’ is recognized as a rank in the Royal Air Force. His deputy was Vice Wing Commander Brian Currie, and under the Wing were four commanders, one for each of the major departments. These consisted of Operations, Maintenance, Rescue Management and the Combat Support Group. 

Our story revolves around the latter group of personnel who were under the command of Colonel Ted Conrad. The position held by Conrad was commonly known as the base commander because the Combat Support Group’s role was basically to manage the housekeeping and take care of security and policing. Lieutenant Colonel Charles I. Halt (later Colonel) was the deputy base commander. There has also been confusion as to the role of Conrad and Halt, especially Halt, who was one of the primary witnesses to the incident. It had erroneously been thought that Halt was deputy in command of the actual operation, but this was not the case, in fact Halt was subordinate to the Wing. The confusion did not escape the United States Air Force, and a few years ago they decided to do something about it: Combat Support Group commanders are now no longer referred to as base commanders. Subordinate to Lieutenant Colonel Halt was the commander of the 81st Security Police and Law Enforcement Squadron, Major Malcolm F. Zickler (later Lieutenant Colonel). 

The 67th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, who have since changed their name and are now part of a special operations unit, were tenants of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing. The squadron had been stationed at RAF Woodbridge since 1969, when they transferred from Moron Air Force Base in Spain. The ARRS were America’s equivalent of Britain’s elite Special Air Service and were recognized as the world’s largest rescue squadron. They were primarily trained to recover space-mission splashdowns in the Atlantic and Indian oceans but, following the cutbacks by NASA and the termination of the lunar missions, they concentrated on carrying out air rescues behind enemy lines. They were also known and praised for their aid in rescuing civilians. A little-known fact, however, is that during the Cold War they also operated from their Icelandic sub-base in Keflavik, where they rescued many a Soviet trawler in distress. The finest of this elite squadron were the para rescues, or PJs as they were called. These were the highly professional men trained to operate in all areas of rescue. 

In 1980 they flew the Lockheed HC-130 Hercules, which was fitted with an air-to-air refuelling system and special advanced rescue avionics. They also used the HH-53 helicopter, known as the Jolly Green Giant, which was ideal for sea rescues and lifting crash survivors to safety. Their sophisticated instruments included a special screen that allowed them to see surfaces in all weather conditions. During their tenure on the Woodbridge base, they were known to carry out simulated emergency exercises, and these were often performed during the twilight hours. When alerted for duty, the crew would speedily take off in their Jolly Green Giants, using a special device called the Apollo beacon, a spin-off from the Apollo space shots. This special transmitter would enable the crew to locate troubled or downed military aircraft. Whilst on the Woodbridge base they were sometimes called to assist the RAF with local air and sea rescues. 

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) was also a tenant of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing. This unit was predominately placed on the Bentwaters installation, next to the Law Enforcement Office. The AFOSI is an agency that polices the USAF and its personnel are called ‘special agents’. Although their role is intended to assist commanders in dealing with criminal investigations, they are known to operate through their own means, which more often than not annoys senior officers. 

The Combat Support Group was, among other things, responsible for base security, and this was the job of the 81st Security Police and Law Enforcement Squadrons, which also included the fire department. The security police, or SPs as they are known, were seldom seen by the public because they were primarily assigned to protect the sensitive areas, such as the weapons storage area, non-alert parking area (NAPA), the aircraft and the flightlines. Both police squadrons carried weapons, such as the M-16 and a weapon capable of shooting down a helicopter or small aircraft. There was also a special department within the Security Police Squadron, known as Security Police Investigations (SPI), which liaised directly with the AFOSI. The Law Enforcement Squadron, known as LEs, is the military’s version of the civilian police. They would be responsible for watching over personnel, keeping an eye out for drugs, girls in the dorms, greeting people on the front gates, traffic control and reporting crimes in general. These squadrons were all under the same leadership and would assist each other whenever there was an emergency or a problem on the installation. The personnel primarily involved in the Rendlesham Forest incident were from the Security Police and Law Enforcement Squadrons. 

Many of the young recruits assigned to RAF Bentwaters and Woodbridge had joined the Air Force hoping to make a career out of it. Instead, they were disillusioned to find themselves standing on guard duty for up to eight hours a shift, sometimes even as much as twelve. In the middle of a Suffolk winter on the perimeter of a dark and spooky forest and with much time to think, it often got to the young airmen. I was alarmed to hear of cases of drug and alcohol abuse, mental breakdowns and attempted suicides among personnel.

However, not all the attempted suicides were genuine. One such incident concerned a young airman who was so distressed he thought that by pretending to kill himself he would be retired from the Air Force. Steve La Plume was a young nineteen-year-old assigned to Law Enforcement from late 1980 to early 1981. Although not involved in the December incident, in early January 1981 he witnessed two UFOs over the Woodbridge base, and from that moment on things seemed to go downhill for Airman La Plume. More often than not he would end up on guard duty at the Woodbridge east gate, which looks out on to the desolate forest. La Plume hated the boring work and was frustrated because he was not doing the job he claims he had enlisted for. After only a few months in the service he began making enquiries on how to get a release on a breach of contract clause, but the Bentwaters legal department offered various reasons why this would not work.

It was during a bout of drinking at Woodbridge ‘all ranks’ club that La Plume realized a possible way out. Dazed in the stupor of alcohol, he decided that an attempted suicide should do the trick. On returning to his dorm he tore off his jacket and, using his diving knife, proceeded to slit open his belly. But the knife was far too blunt to do a proper job and in desperation he broke open his razor to extract a sharp blade. This seemed to work and, careful not to break open his intestines, he started slashing his belly from one side to the other. At that moment all he could think about was getting out of Bentwaters and going home to his family.

Dragging himself to the wall phone, situated just outside the barracks, La Plume dialled the Law Enforcement desk and shouted down the phone, ‘I fucked up.’ When a patrol arrived to pick him up, he flipped and ran off towards the soccer field. La Plume was a trained track runner but he was wounded and bleeding and after quite a chase the two patrolmen finally caught up with him. Once he had recovered from his ordeal he was summoned to appear before Major Zickler. La Plume told the commander that he was sick and tired of standing around watching the paint peel and wanted to do what he had been trained for. Just to make sure Zickler understood, he threatened that if he was put back on duty watching the forest, he was going to shoot down an aircraft the first chance he got. That apparently did it, and La Plume was instructed to report immediately to the base psychologist, where he pleaded depression and emotional instability. His release document stated ‘failure to conform to military standards’, and he received an honourable discharge. La Plume clearly wanted some action and shortly after his release he became a mercenary. If the USAF could not find a war for him to fight, some foreign country could.

Understandably, the USAF does not want to publicize its problems, yet their suicide figures for the last decade are very disturbing indeed. In 1996 General Charles Roadman, the US Air Force Surgeon General, realized there was a problem and formed an integrated team of experts to deal with the large rate of suicides. The team put forward eleven recommendations to the US Air Force Chief of Staff and senior leadership. A report published in their inhouse news service for January 1998 revealed a drop in the suicide rate for the first time in years, with the lowest number of active-duty deaths being only forty-five. But, as the good general said, this was still forty-five too many.

Most of those newly assigned to the Security Police and Law Enforcement Squadrons were just teenagers. For the majority of new recruits at Bentwaters and Woodbridge, it was their first time outside the United States of America. Fortunately, they had been born too late to experience the horrors of Vietnam, and for this we must be truly thankful. But for those whose lives were changed for ever, and for those whose nightmares still haunt them, the Rendlesham Forest incident was their Vietnam.

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The Early Years 54s

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