I am sure i saw The Rendlesham Forest UFO. My Story

On the night of December 24th 1980, my wife and i her brother and his wife where on our way for an evening celebration as it was my wife's birthday. We had decided to go to a restaurant in the town of Henley-In-Arden Warwickshire. The time was around 8.00 pm as we set off along the A34 road out of south Birmingham. This was a route that we had traveled on numerous occasions. As we cleared the city and drove into the countryside the buildings where replaced by open farm fields. I was sitting in the rear of the car on the near side with my wife next to me. My brother-in-law was driving with his wife next to him in the front passenger seat.
After traveling for about 10 minuites in the countryside i happen to glace at an open field on my left hand side. What i saw just transfixed me. In the far side of the field ( i would estimate about 300 yards from my position) was what i could only describe as a "Craft" It was about 50 feet across and about 9 feet high. It was cone shaped and was giving off what i would describe as a "mother of pearl" effect. It was changing colour from red to blue to green to white. There are two things to bear in mind here:-

1) it was about 8.25 pm and in December the night is pitch dark so what i saw was very prominent against the blackness of the surroundings.
2) I had traveled this route on numerous occasions over many years and i knew from past experience that there are no buildings, outhouses etc in those fields. That's why my attention was fixed as i did not expect anything to be there.

We continued on the journey toward Henley-In-Arden and no one had utter a word within the car during the period i had made the "sighting" we where all quite. However about one and a half mile further along the road my brother-in-law suddenly said aloud "You will never guess what i think i saw in one of the fields back there?" Within unison all three of us replied "a ufo". My brother-in-law said "I am going to stop, turn around and go back and have a look" We all agreed. We returned to the location and.........nothing. It had gone.

Some years later i was watching on TV a documentary about the Rendlesham Forest UFO incident which occurred over Christmas 1980. When the UFO was described by people who had witnessed it at Rendlesham, they where in fact describing the EXACT "Craft" that four other people had seen in Warwickshire on December 24th 1980.

I hope my story may be of interest to some on here.

I was stationed at RAF Bentwaters around that time. You would NOT believe the similar accounts from others. I personally saw nothing. At that time, at that age, I was at the NCO club trying to get lucky.

(and epically failing)

epic fail your route doesnt go anywhere near rendlesham AT ALL and living near there i would know heres a link to show a example route and then see where rendlesham is and its miles away, you might of seen a UFO but deffintly not at rendlesham forest.

maps.google.co.uk...

reply to post by djpigz


Did you read what i said? I did not say at anytime i was near Redlesham. I stated that what we saw was in WARWICKSHIRE which is nearly 200 miles away from Rendlesham. My point was, what we saw was the SAME craft that appeared at Rendlesham the following two nights. Next time READ what i said before making a stupid comment.

reply to post by alldaylong


Thank you for your report. However, the description you gave is inconsistent with USAF SSgt Jim Penniston's official witness statement in 1980 (declassified in 1998 under the FOIA): "Size: 9ft / 2.8m long, 7-8ft / 2.5m high. Fabric: black, smooth, glass-like. Bluish/white glow underneath the UFO, red blinking light on top. No sound.
www.hyper.net...

reply to post by micpsi

Thank you for your reply. Two points i would make:-

1) We where about 300 yards away from the "Craft" so close up detail was not possible.

2) The lighting of the "Craft" was changing colour. Yes it did have a blue/white colour change along with red/green. The red may have been the blinking light. As for the green? If this was indeed a "Craft" was another world then we have no idea what these colour changes indicate and what sequence of colours they go through at any given time.
Thank you again for your input.

As a footnote, i heard a story on a UFO forum many years ago that the Rendelsham UFO may have also been sighted on the same evening (December 24th 1980) by a truck driver near the MI Motorway in Nottinghamshire. That would put it about 200 miles north of Rendlesham. We spotted it in Warwickshire which is around 200 miles NW of Rendlesham.

Thank you, All Day Long

I saw your post in the current Rendlesham discussion. I find it very interesting that you saw a craft of some sort just a few days before the big event. 200 miles to a craft that some say can instantaneously be in one spot, and in seconds be miles away, would be like 2 feet to us. And to those that say the description doesn't fit what the soldiers described, witnesses to these craft also observe changing sizes, colors, and also becoming more than one object in a matter of seconds. You could have seen the same craft, or it could have been one of many that may have been observing the base.

A friend of mine was stationed at the American base at that time. He and quite a few of the others stationed at the base were separated, and shipped to bases all over the world. He felt they were separated to keep them from talking to each other about what had happened. I highly doubt they would be split up, if what they saw was a light house.

You know what you saw. The soldiers know what they saw. I just wanted to thank you for giving us a recap of that December night, back in 1980. I am sure it is something you will never forget. Thank You

originally posted by: alldaylong

Thanks for your fascinating opening post.

Whether it's the same object seen by Penniston & Co on 26th Dec is another matter, considering how confusing and contradicting those initial accounts were. But yours is definitely an important sighting in itself, whatever the hell it was.

As a footnote, i heard a story on a UFO forum many years ago that the Rendelsham UFO may have also been sighted on the same evening (December 24th 1980) by a truck driver near the MI Motorway in Nottinghamshire. That would put it about 200 miles north of Rendlesham. We spotted it in Warwickshire which is around 200 miles NW of Rendlesham.

Funny you mention truck drivers - I'm reminded of a Telegraph article from 4th Sept 2009 in which Peter Turtill, a 66-year-old from Ipswich, claimed the Rendlesham UFO was actually - get this - a truck of burning fertiliser he'd set alight after he retrieved the truck from a friend who'd borrowed it for nefarious purposes. It broke down near the airbase in December 1980. In Mr Turtill's own words:

To my horror, it was loaded with stolen fertiliser, so we towed it off the road into the forest and set light to it to destroy the evidence of the crime. The truck had an aluminium body and the fertiliser and metal made some very unusual coloured flames which flared among the trees. Some of the airmen from the base thought it was a multi-coloured cross from out of space, and with the truck tyres popping they were getting a bit edgy.

They had guns and we didn’t want to get in their way so we towed the burning vehicle onto the road. I admit it probably looked spectacular rolling through the forest but it was hardly a spaceship.

ww w.telegraph.co.uk


With no specific dates given, it's an amusing and at least feasible incident, but I doubt it's any way connected to the events beginning 26th Dec.

Or Turtill's story is total BS. Either way, an interesting nugget to add to an already sky-high mountain of confusion.

originally posted by: ConfusedBrit

originally posted by: alldaylong

Thanks for your fascinating opening post.

Whether it's the same object seen by Penniston & Co on 26th Dec is another matter, considering how confusing and contradicting those initial accounts were. But yours is definitely an important sighting in itself, whatever the hell it was.

As a footnote, i heard a story on a UFO forum many years ago that the Rendelsham UFO may have also been sighted on the same evening (December 24th 1980) by a truck driver near the MI Motorway in Nottinghamshire. That would put it about 200 miles north of Rendlesham. We spotted it in Warwickshire which is around 200 miles NW of Rendlesham.

Funny you mention truck drivers - I'm reminded of a Telegraph article from 4th Sept 2009 in which Peter Turtill, a 66-year-old from Ipswich, claimed the Rendlesham UFO was actually - get this - a truck of burning fertiliser he'd set alight after he retrieved the truck from a friend who'd borrowed it for nefarious purposes. It broke down near the airbase in December 1980. In Mr Turtill's own words:

To my horror, it was loaded with stolen fertiliser, so we towed it off the road into the forest and set light to it to destroy the evidence of the crime. The truck had an aluminium body and the fertiliser and metal made some very unusual coloured flames which flared among the trees. Some of the airmen from the base thought it was a multi-coloured cross from out of space, and with the truck tyres popping they were getting a bit edgy.

They had guns and we didn’t want to get in their way so we towed the burning vehicle onto the road. I admit it probably looked spectacular rolling through the forest but it was hardly a spaceship.

ww w.telegraph.co.uk


With no specific dates given, it's an amusing and at least feasible incident, but I doubt it's any way connected to the events beginning 26th Dec.

Or Turtill's story is total BS. Either way, an interesting nugget to add to an already sky-high mountain of confusion.

I’ll be honest, any time I hear a “random explanation” I’m always skeptical, because TPTB lie and instruct others to lie. So while I’m still positive that the story you mentioned is fabricated, I still appreciate you posting it.

While time has made the original accounts seem less credible (and this is due to witness testimony changing) there are still those that maintain what they saw.
It’s still an important (possibly one of the most important due to witnesses) case in UFOlogy. The fact that this topic has been rebirthed (I had not read it until now) inspires me even more!
Either the original TC is flat out not being truthful, or this is the real deal (I believe it is).

The data coming forth at a later date and stories changing doesn’t mean that all the data and every story changed.

originally posted by: Neechavela

While time has made the original accounts seem less credible (and this is due to witness testimony changing) there are still those that maintain what they saw.
It’s still an important (possibly one of the most important due to witnesses) case in UFOlogy. The fact that this topic has been rebirthed (I had not read it until now) inspires me even more!
Either the original TC is flat out not being truthful, or this is the real deal (I believe it is).

The data coming forth at a later date and stories changing doesn’t mean that all the data and every story changed.

The original 1983 headline caught my imagination as a kid, but ATS has taught me far more since I began lurking here this Spring.

Penniston's story, of course, has morphed the most and arguably damaged the case more than Larry Warren who still maintains his 'big budget' spectacular 'East Gate' version (despite his co-author 'divorcing' him), and is assisting researcher Gary Heseltine with a new documentary.

Halt has added in subtle embellishments (eg lights beaming down to his feet - which may be true but not explicitly said on the tape, and overtly missing from his memo, even if a 'cleaned up' document). His 'Alien' hypothesis is relatively recent, too.

Burroughs has remained consistent, is wary of the 'alien' explanation, and expresses disappointment at Penniston's claim of touching a craft and receiving binary code.

Lt Skip Buran, meanwhile, who ordered Penniston & Co to investigate a possible aircraft crash on 26th, insists the first night's events are an elaborate tall story, and that nothing of import was relayed to him during or after the event, even after taking his men's statements. Halt seems to have taken Penniston and Burrough's accounts more seriously, and I assume Penniston later gave him the description of a "triangular" craft - missing from his original statement but there in Halt's memo.

And then we have Sgt Adrian Bustinza... it's no secret that he frustrates me the most. A very nervous, rather inarticulate fella during both a 1984 phone convo and a 2015 radio interview - 31 years later and still no concrete, stable account from him despite his intrinsic importance to Halt's story and, ironically, Warren's. Bustinza is the only witness aside from Warren who describes a world-changing, Spielbergian alien contact scenario on the third night, and is unlikely to speak about it again.

I think Bustinza could clear up this 'East Gate' story once and for all - if only he could escape the shadow of Warren who, as a somewhat overpowering co-guest on the 2015 radio show, seemed to overtly lead him towards HIS wild story whilst Bustinza was busy confirming he'd accompanied Burroughs towards a blue light that 'bathed' Burroughs in the field upon Halt's return (a mysterious undocumented incident with no end story, yet instigated by Halt). The listener is simply left with a headache. Similarly, Bustinza's 1984 interview was overtly led by Larry Fawcett, too.

In the end, in answer to Mirrorman's main thread: No, we can't seem to let this story be...

PS: No need to chip in here, MM - you have enough on your plate, mate.

a reply to: ConfusedBrit

We've discussed this all before.


www.abovetopsecret.com...

And here

www.abovetopsecret.com...

If ever enough pieces of the jigsaw get revealed we might be able to work it all out. After nearly 40 years I am no longer confident that's going to happen.


PS did you go all 1980s Human League at some point?

In the end, in answer to Mirrorman's main thread: No, we can't seem to let this story be...

a reply to: mirageman

Every time i see that image it takes me back to that night of 24th December 1980.

Weird.

originally posted by: mirageman



PS did you go all 1980s Human League at some point?

LOL!

Sorry, MIRAGEman - I went all Human League when I should have gone all Big Country! ;




Edit: just noticed this thread began in 2011.

Oh well, at least I threw in that dodgy 'burning fertiliser' Telegraph story.