News and reviews

Letter to the Prime Minister here.

Introduction from the New Chairman of BUFORA

My name is John Wickham and I would like to introduce myself to everyone...

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with the UFO phenomenon, and, over the years, I have observed many unidentified objects, but only one of these remains unidentified. During the late evening of 31st March 1989, I was one of several lucky people to witness a UFO which landed in a field adjacent to the M25 on the borders of Hertfordshire/London. I was astounded and excited to see this brightly-lit, saucer-shaped object land in the field on my left-hand side, as I was driving my car on the M25, and somewhat puzzled that this did not cause an accident with other drivers, who must have seen it too. I later established that at the time of the incident no accidents had been reported on this stretch of the M25 and that this was actually a hot air balloon, shaped like a flying saucer (code named Project Wedgewood), designed to be an elaborate April Fool’s Day stunt, which was originally intended to land in Hyde Park, London, early on 1st April. However, it was blown way off course by strong winds and the pilot turned out to be none other than Richard Branson!

I originally became a member of BUFORA in 1998 and in 2001 I followed up an advertisement in a BUFORA publication requesting a volunteer for the role of Treasurer. I realised few members would be rushing to take on this role and was proven to be correct! I had known John Spencer, a serving BUFORA Council member, for a few years and John proposed me for the position and I officially began as BUFORA Treasurer on 1st January 2002 in addition to becoming a BUFORA Council member and have been in this role for over eight years.
I am also an Accredited Investigator (AI) with the BUFORA NIC (National Investigations Committee) and in this role follow up and investigate sighting reports that are perceived to be unidentified objects/lights in the sky. After thorough investigation a majority of these reports do turn out to have a perfectly rational explanation and therefore become identified flying objects (IFOs). There are many objects in the sky, environmentally, atmospherically, technologically and astronomically, that can look very strange at times to members of the public as they are not always aware of what can be observed and misidentified in our skies...the list is endless!

I am frequently asked if I believe in UFOs: this question does not actually make sense. Let me explain why: if objects and lights in the sky cannot be identified by the observer, then, by default, they become ‘unidentified’ – a true UFO. For example, when I am near an airport at night and see many aircraft navigation lights ascending and descending, I may not actually see the body of the planes themselves because it would be dark. In addition to this, the navigation lights may somewhat obscure my view of the objects, so the aircraft would literally become unidentified flying objects (UFOs).

My interest in the UFO subject takes me to some conferences outside of the UK and in February of this year (2010), I visited the Military base at Groom Lake, Nevada, known as Area 51. I also attended the International UFO Congress in Laughlin, Nevada, USA the following week and last month visited friends in Utah, USA where I was asked to speak with some members from MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) and share thoughts and opinions relating to ufology in the UK and USA.

Being involved in this subject has allowed me the opportunity to make some lifelong friends, whom I value and appreciate very much and I am looking forward to the challenging role of Chairman and to working very closely with all of my colleagues in BUFORA.

John Wickham
BUFORA Chairman
1st July 2010

Chairman's update 3rd April 2010

It has been a very good start to the year, with the completion of the magazine archives, now on sale via our own dedicated eBay shop. There are many special reports and research booklets on the DVD and sales have already been very encouraging.

The full version of the Vehicle Interference report will be linked to our eBay shop shortly. Extensive presentation improvements have included new artwork with collaborative updating by Dave Sankey, in conjunction with Geoff Falla.

This is a much more expansive report than the summary extracts previously found on our research pages and is a very useful addition to anyone studying the physical and related effects of the UFO phenomenon. The report is an extensive view of incidents involving not just ground based vehicles but also aerial incidents too.

A forthcoming National Investigations Committee meeting is scheduled for the summer, keep watching for updates for a specific date in the forthcoming investigations diary, which will appear in the the announcements side bar. This is not just for council members, but is specifically for all BUFORA investigators in training or accredited.

There is now a regular news and updates listing established delivered by email by our Information Coordinator, Erica Williams. Please use the contact page to be added to the list and just title your email “BUFORA SUBSCRIBER LIST” and you will be added into the next update.

The new website layout has been selected and template design selected, which will be uploaded shortly by our Science Coordinator, Richard Conway.

In addition, Richard has designed a new sighting report form which can be completed online available soon, which will speed up the turnaround response to all future reports for those preferring this feature. This will not replace the paper version, for those still wishing to complete this by post.

You can see more activity on the site in recent months, thanks to Erica Williams posting of events, articles and links. I recommend the Swindon UFO Research page, which although regionally based for this area, has a great deal of general material on this subject. There are interviews, articles and also recorded interviews with researchers and they are part of the organisational team for the Warminster based Weird conference series.

John Wickham, our treasurer, has recently been to the UFO congress in the USA and two articles will be available shortly, via the announcements side bar on the front web page.

It has generally been a mixed reception to the recent MOD file releases in the U.K. The MOD desk is now closed to calls from the general public. Although the general MOD conclusion is that there is no tangible proof of extraterrestrial activity in the U.K. there would have still been scope for the desk to explain and reassure the public on unusual known military activity and easily explained UFO’s that BUFORA itself receives also (Sky Lanterns, Planets, Satellites, Planes etc.)

The last 50 years of research in the British Isles has seen a growth in understanding of many verifiable or probable forms of atmospheric and physical phenomena, which the public may call in to identify initially as a UFO. Despite orbital satellites in abundance in our atmosphere in addition to radar, there are still reports of aerial and ground sightings which defy conventional description. In so many cases, it has not been possible for the military to investigate due to the cut off line of “No defence significance” a huge majority of many reported cases remained unresolved, as seen by the file releases about to reach their final release cycle at the National Archives.

Once the Vehicle Interference Report is posted for sale to this site, the next one to watch for will be a digital version of our former chairman’s own book, “ A Different Sky” by Tony Eccles. Tony has kindly donated this electronic version for sale by BUFORA and this shall join the VIR and our magazine and research archives.

Matt Lyons
Chairman
April 3rd 2010

NEWS 03/03/10

Another batch of files releases by the MoD.
Channel 4 have the full list of documents in their fifth release, more here.
National Archives link.

NEWS 02/02/10

News from the Chairman, Matt Lyons February 2010:
Hello and welcome to the latest news and updates from BUFORA.
Firstly, you may have observed some changes to the contacts page and details.
Our most recent chairman, Tony Eccles, had experienced a prolonged overlap of personal commitments and pressures on his time which were not present at the time he took the chairman’s position. Tony will let us know when things have settled down again and can return to active research and participation. We have missed his input and experience and hope he can return to BUFORA in the future.
Initially, on an interim temporary basis, I was appointed as interim chairman, but I have now been Chairman since January 2010. I’ve been interested in the UFO phenomenon before my teens and progressed to Accredited Investigator with BUFORA last year, under the excellent tutoring of Heather Dixon, our Investigations Coordinator. In my time as Research Coordinator, I have completed the archives of all the magazines. We now have a new Research Coordinator with my moving to the Chairman post, Dave Sankey.
Dave Sankey has been an active supporter of BUFORA as investigator and researcher for many years, also having received the BUFORA Investigator of the Year award. Dave’s research includes countless documents and articles acquired over many years of highly motivated research. You may have also seen some of his art work in television, web and magazines connected with UFO study and he also illustrates for other media too which you can observe at www.davidsankey.com.
The BUFORA magazine and publication archive 1959-2005 is now due for sale and will be appearing on the website very shortly. There will be a link to an eBay shop for us following on, to assist in easy and convenient purchases. Thanks go to all those that helped bridge the small gaps in our archive and also to Dave Sankey for the artwork and final stage production on the DVD and cases. They provide a comprehensive read of the vast majority of everything we have produced in paper format covering a vast subject range in research and investigation. The archives show how the subject has developed in this time and they have been scanned in Adobe Acrobat format. For all readers and researchers, we have chosen this format so that you can speedily search through the magazines, conferences, news files and research booklets using key word searches.
There is also a new research paper thanks to Geoff Falla, who has recently produced the updated and revised DVD of the Vehicle Interference Report. Geoff’s newest article is the Landing Reports for the UK and Ireland. This is accessible on the Research page posted on 4th February 2010. It gives a catalogue of prominent landing cases in the UK & Ireland and is an excellent research compliment to the Vehicle Interference Report.
We have introduced a new central number for telephone enquiries that represents the national operation of BUFORA and this has been complimented by a P O Box number on the contacts page for the same reason.
The BUFORA Council has met recently and I wish to also welcome another new member to our team, Erica Williams. Erica will be joining us as Information Coordinator from January 2010 and this role broadly covers UFO information and BUFORA publicity.
The BUFORA audio archive is the next in line to be completed by our Associate Researcher, Matt Williams. If anyone has a spare reel to reel tape player in working order they could lend or donate to us to assist in the processing of this type of recording format, please drop me a line via the contacts page.
The 1,500 plus UFO reports that BUFORA holds are being data entered to form a comprehensive report classification log by our treasurer, John Wickham. When completed, this will give a rapid searchable access to reports for all researchers and general enquiries.
A special thanks to Tony Hill, who has kept our website in order over the years. Running it has passed to our Science Coordinator, Richard Conway, who is also progressing well in the setting up of the new website. It has been decided to wait until the pages are all extensively and fully designed before activating this, instead of in progressive segments.
A big thank you goes to Judy Jaafar in her highly efficient and excellent running of the BUFORA operation and head office as Secretary until January 2010. Judy is progressing into studies which encompass paranormal and anomalous research fields of investigation with Robert Rosamund.
After his time as chairman, Rob remains with us as an Accredited Investigator, with his excellent photographic skills. See his article “Personal Voyages” for one of his many solutions to a photographic enquiry. Judy and Rob have taken BUFORA through the difficult era of a complete restructure of the organisation and they have been proven right in the move towards a web based organisation. We are now able to post research and investigation reports as they happen without the pressure of magazine subscriptions. The time taken up in membership subscriptions, paperwork and the cycle of fluctuating subscriber numbers is now long gone. Now meetings comprise of planning research and investigation projects, instead of the past abundance of whole council meetings based around just keeping the organisation running. A big thank you goes to this tireless and dedicated duo from us all at BUFORA.
Heather Dixon reports that some forthcoming investigators are close to successfully completing the BUFORA Investigator Training Course, with some new applicants commencing shortly. Watch this space for the next investigations diary in due course. If you have ever considered what it takes to become a fully accredited investigator, then please take a look at the investigations diaries and also the course summary itself. It’s only £30 to currently enroll for the complete course and it provides a fascinating progressive understanding of the rich diversity of the way the UFO phenomenon is investigated.

NEWS 14/02/10

Check out the beginners guide booklist to getting acquainted with ufology through astronomy here (Excel) compiled by Erica Williams

NEWS 28/11/09

Chairman’s statement No.1

Hi, I’m the new Chairman of the British UFO Research Association. A little about myself; I joined BUFORA in 1993 and became an investigator for the Merseyside region in 1994; I spent 8 years looking into sightings and interviewing witnesses, which finally culminated in a small regional study publication in 2003. As well as my interest in UFOs I also spent time looking into hauntings, poltergeists and Electronic Voice Phenomena.

As a youngster I had always had an interest in unexplained events and in 1988 witnessed my own sighting, an event that was to change my life for good. I obviously became a keen supporter of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis (an acceptance that the Earth is being visited by an alien intelligence) but after several years developed a healthy scepticism about UFOs. My personal discovery was that ufology was telling me more about people than any interacting alien intelligence. I currently work as a museum curator with a deep interest in folklore, belief systems and the cultural aspects of ufology.

Earlier this year I took over from Rob Rosamond and I must congratulate him for doing such a fabulous job keeping BUFORA from doing what many other organisations have done in recent years: folding. So what have we been doing in BUFORA? That’s a very good question, as I wouldn’t want you to think that we’ve become defunct, as people in some quarters seem to be suggesting. We sat down together and had a good think about the organisation and its future. If it were to continue into 21st century then it needed some serious restructuring. We did this despite heavy criticism. It wasn’t an easy decision to make but it was necessary one. Rob led us through some tough times and I applaud his endeavour.

So what does the future hold for us? BUFORA has some amazing people at its helm and we decided to look at our assets. Did you know that we have approximately fifteen thousand cases in our archive? Some of this material has been included in a number of ufological publications but much of it has yet to be explored. We realised that we should make as much of this information as possible available to the public.

Ideally, case reports will be scanned and digitally archived, and in preparation for this we are creating an indexed data base. Confidential witness details will be redacted.

We also decided to change our website. It looks a little dated and text heavy and we needed to improve content display and facilitate navigation for our visitors. Therefore, our esteemed science officer is working extremely hard (if only you knew how hard) on its development and getting it ready for next year. This is an amazing piece of work so I can honestly say that we’ve been focusing our energy on something worthwhile.

Some of you may say that there isn’t a need to keep an organisation like BUFORA going especially as information about UFOs can be found on many sites online and because email and web conferencing makes it so easy for people to communicate with each other around the world. Yes, that may be so but dependency on the web for accurate information is flawed, for how does one discern fact from fiction? How does one differentiate between information relating to serious research from that which is disseminated by the pseudo-religious believers and outrageous conspiracy theorists that exist in ufology? How does the online visitor find the assurance and support they may need if they have been experiencing the unusual? The ease by which people can make online connections does not necessarily provide the means to locate trustworthy individuals, nor inspire confidence and possible resolution. Unfortunately, most of what a visitor will find on the net is a promotion of fear, fiction and vested interests.

An organisation like BUFORA can actually help point people in the right direction. We have played a strong role in the development of ufology in the UK. If you think of some of the big names in the subject, you would discover that many were, at some point in time, a part of BUFORA. We also try and help people comprehend their sometimes disturbing experiences and it isn’t all done using the web. Sometimes the most important aspect of our work is the necessity of human contact with a cup of tea and a biscuit, the very thing the Internet cannot offer.

BUFORA could also have spent endless hours engaging in ufological debate with our colleagues but this wasn’t a good investment of our precious time, time we prefer to give to witnesses. Perhaps we’ll do this at a more appropriate time when information is being freely shared between researchers. Currently our headquarters remains busy with enquiries and reported sightings (yes, numbers remain fairly low). Our investigator training programme continues and we are in the early stages of producing new content for the website. So 2010 is going to be an exciting year for BUFORA because it will be a year when, hopefully, if all goes according to plan, we will be able to get back to producing good research, share investigation data, engage with our many colleagues worldwide and encourage great debate with the public. That’s our plan, and it’s a solid one because BUFORA is here for today and the future.

More from the chairman soon,

Tony Eccles