The Rendlesham Forest incident is perhaps the most important UFO event to have ever occurred, it was witnessed by many USAF personnel from RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge in Suffolk, December 1980. Read more here, or navigate to the Rendlesham section of the site where you can find dozens of in depth pages relating to the case.

“A good web site, you took a very complicated case and layed it out for everyone to look at for themselves. No spin, just let the people make up their own minds on this. I like the fact you did not try to sensationalize this event like so many others, which left as is, is sensational by itself.“
- James W. Penniston, Ret. USAF, witness.

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March 2008 - A Roundup Of The Month

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The History Channel's new series, "UFO Hunters" features Bill Birnes of UFO Magazine (US), Pat Uskert, Dr. Ted Acworth (ex-NASA) and Jeff Tomlinson. The group usually focuses on one particular element of UFOlogy, ‘reverse engineering’ for example. This leads them to investigate a wide range of related cases, however the short length of the episodes (about 45 minutes) restricts the depth of their investigations – often complicated but crucial parts of the cases are not mentioned.

An internet search reveals a mixed bag of opinions, with some viewers complaining that the team’s investigations generally return inconclusive results, and that their investigations are not thorough enough. Others praise the show for offering UFO novices a large range of cases to investigate and form their own opinions on.

In my opinion the series has done little for UFOlogy, however it has thrown up a few pieces of new information. In my opinion the fifth episode - “Military Vs UFOs” – proved the best up to now, it focused on one of the most compelling UFO cases – the Rendlesham forest incident. It initially aired on 27 February 2008. The documentary can be found on Youtube. Links at end of this entry.

The story was recounted with the help of Colonel Charles Halt, who was the deputy base commander at the time and also witnessed the UFOs. However, it was not a standard rehash of the case – the additional information provided by Vince Thurkettle and Charles Halt could be of great importance to the Rendlesham case.

Halt spoke of a new witness: someone who was fortunate enough to be in the control tower at RAF Woodbridge, during the UFO incident and who saw it all.

In November 2007, Charles Halt received several emails from a security guard, who was posted in observation tower: “He has given me quite a bit of correspondence, and he verifies the fact that on that night he was in the tower, he actually saw beams coming down into the weapons storage area, simultaneously while we saw it near our feet in the field.”

“One thing you have to keep in mind is that the trees are much higher now. We had a 360 panorama from up here before. We would have never let the trees grow this high for security reasons. From here the tower operator had a fantastic view of everything, from miles around.”

Unfortunately Halt notes, “[The new witness] doesn’t really want to come forward”. A portion from one of the emails was shown on screen, but only reveals how the witness was surprised to not hear about the UFO on the BBC news during the aftermath of the incident.

Another important piece of information was revealed by Vince Thurkettle. Those of you familiar with the Rendlesham case will recognize Vince for being the first to come up with the lighthouse theory. He is skeptical of the case, but what he revealed suggests that something far stranger than a lighthouse was to blame – someone was taking this case very seriously.

Vince claims, that only a few days after the incident took place, he was at the forest chopping wood when a black car pulled up, “two young Englishmen got out, say 25 years old, in suits. They came to talk to me and what they were asking was […] 'we've heard of red lights being seen in the forest'. They said 'were you out last night?', I said 'No', they said, ‘did you see anything?’, ‘do you know anyone [who did]?’ and I said "No". And then they just closed the conversation down and went.
Vince later discovered the two men had interviewed “everyone in the area”.

The fact is, Colonel Halt had not even written his memo to the British Ministry of Defence. How could they have possibly known? RAF Bentwaters must have informed them directly, unless they were not from the MoD.
Colonel Halt had some more to say. He said he did not know who questioned Vince, but he said “the airmen involved were questioned under very mysterious circumstances, by people they did not recognize and some of them were British”.

Also, he made a very important point about the landing sites: “a day or two after the incident, someone in the Security Police Squadron, I’m sure, went out and created one if not two false sites. And they put a lot of sticks in the ground around it." When asked why, Halt responded, "to mislead people perhaps, I don't know."

Finally, in an effort to put the lighthouse theory to rest the team spoke to Keith Seaman, the lighthouse keeper: "If we look at the lighthouse behind us, we can see it has a big piece of metal behind it, pointing in the direction of Rendlesham...
"Albeit the intensity of the light was greater then in 1980 than it is now, the light still would not have shone directly through the trees."
Knowing the area well myself, I can attest that Keith is correct, only the ‘UFO hunters’ blew his statement out of proportion. They took it to mean that the lighthouse is ‘not visible’ from Rendlesham forest what-so-ever – I know for a fact it is.
It may not “sweep through the trees”, but it is visible to some extent.
While I do not support the lighthouse theory as a whole, I think it is simply unfair to dismiss the theory for an reason that is simply invalid. I appreciate that the team have a short time to produce each episode but this misunderstanding could put the ‘UFO hunters’ in a bad light.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZUkBjwiBm4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ0H3l5R4F4
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g7_f-r2FFg
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNBQ0R1ZLAI
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8UWggKaZvQ

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The latest episode of UFO Hunters was also interesting. This focused on ‘UFO Vortexes’ – places where UFOs are regularly sighted. It was initially aired on 26 March 2008.  The team’s theories regarding ley lines, dowsing and Earth’s energy were thought-provoking, but were soon forgotten as the team traveled to yet another location. The team produced checklist to determine whether an area was a ‘UFO vortex’.

1. Sacred – the site is considered sacred or hallowed, and is marked with ancient monuments.
2. Energy – there is an energy field in the area that differs from the surrounding countryside.
3. History – there is long term and ongoing history of UFO sightings or other anomalous experiences.
4. Military – there is always a military presence nearby.

The ‘UFO hunters’ traveled from the USA to Stone Henge, a famous ancient monument in Wiltshire, England.  The area is strongly associated with crop circles.
I enjoyed this section of the show, but on the other hand was surprised that while in England they did not visit Rendlesham forest.
To me, it seems like a logical step to take, especially as the Rendlesham area fits the UFO hunter’s four criteria perfectly.

1. Firstly Sutton Hoo, an Anglo-Saxon cemetery is only a few miles from Rendlesham forest, the area is complete with numerous burial mounds. There are the remains of a settlement-type area in Rendlesham forest too, apparently.
   Larry Warren, among others, claims that witchcraft and druidism was practiced in Rendlesham forest.
2. I find the second criteria rather strange, It’s hardly something one can measure. Anyway, there are rumors of cars failing in the area, unusual humming sounds and animals acting strangely. All unsupported rumor, but some may turn out to be true nevertheless.
3. Absolutely. UFOs have been seen in the Rendlesham area for years. Take the 1980 incident for example and the 1956 incident at Bentwaters. Some reports date back to the time when Rendlesham forest was farming land – before RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge had been built.
4. The easiest of them all – there was once a strong military presence in the Rendlesham area. Rendlesham forest separates RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge. Keep in mind the past military presence at Orford Ness too.

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Virgin Media recently produced a list of Britain’s top ten UFO hotspots. I assume their data is from the MoD’s recently released UFO reports. Based on the number of UFO reports, Suffolk ranks in at #6, while West Yorkshire takes the #1 position.

Read more here: http://www.virginmedia.com/digital/science/ufo.php

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In a recent article, entitled “Inside Britain’s Weirdest, Wildest Wood”, Nick Redfern looks at the possibility that Rendlesham forest and the surrounding area is home to ‘unidentified scary creatures’.  The article was published in issue 14 (March) of Beyond Magazine. The article features stories of mysterious black dogs with eyes “glowing red as burning coals.” These strange creatures have been reported all round the Norfolk and Suffolk coastline. They are firmly associated with ghosts and the paranormal.

Big cats also make an appearance in the article. I feel there is a link between big cat reports and the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, where owners released their animals into the wild under pressure. Jimmy Freeman, who witnessed a large black cat nearby Rendlesham forest around 1977, is quoted saying “If I live to be 100, I will tell the same: Rendlesham forest has big cats.”

Also reported was a gigantic creature ‘easily 10ft in length’ with legs similar to those of a lion, they have been named ‘shug monkey’. The witness likened it to an ape, a dog and a lion.

The alleged ghosts of RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge are also mentioned; “East End Charlie” in particular, allegedly a Luftwaffe pilot shot down and burned by the locals. He is said to have burned hand prints onto the bonnet of a fire truck.

Redfern concludes, as I do, that Rendlesham forest is a “strange place”.
Pick up a copy of Beyond Magazine, which I can recommend, and Nick Redfern’s book “Memoirs of a Monster Hunter” if cryptozoology interests you.

http://tinyurl.com/2trc9g
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Nick Pope has issued an update regarding the MoD’s release of their UFO files. The files were last mentioned a few months ago, but now Nick says the first documents should emerge ‘spring 2008’, but says ‘there is a reluctance to name an exact timescale’.  There are a total of 160 files, they date from the 1970s to the present day. Nick says that there may be “some new documents on big cases such as the Rendlesham Forest incident.”
Nick admits that the files “don’t contain a smoking gun’ but adds they are of ‘great historical interest.’

On the 26 December 1980 sometime after midnight, a two-man patrol at RAF Woodbridge spotted a cluster of unusual lights hovering in the sky. The lights dropped down into the tall trees of the nearby Rendlesham forest. The startled airmen contacted the bases' Central Security Control and requested permission to leave the base to investigate a possible aircraft crash. Others joined them in the mission, including a Technical Sergeant specializing in aircraft accidents.

After a few hours, the dazed and frightened men returned claiming to have had a close encounter with nothing less than a UFO. One of the men had even managed to touch the UFO and photograph it. Statements were taken and little more was said.

A night later the bizarre lights were spotted again, the deputy base commander (Lt Col Halt) was alerted this time and decided to put an end to the 'UFO nonsense'. He gathered together a group of people - some from RAF Bentwaters - who went in search of the UFO. They discovered raised levels of radiation, some strange indentations on the ground and damage to the trees where the UFO had been seen earlier. Later on they encountered a red pulsing object which navigated between the trees. It appeared to be dripping what looked like 'molten metal'. After sending the forest's animals into a frenzy, the object silently exploded and separated into smaller bright lights. The lights which had broken off the original object shot off into the sky and began to beam 'pencil-thin' beams of light down onto the ground, some reportedly aimed at the bases' weapon storage area. The Lt Colonel was left baffled and totally convinced.

Other witnesses claim that the UFO returned for a third and final night. Apparently it landed in a nearby field and was confronted by the men present. A few witnesses have even claimed that the craft's occupants were seen and were involved in a silent face-off with the wing commander!

That was an extremely short summary, there's so much more to this intriguing case. The Rendlesham Forest Incident has sparked over four major television documentaries, at least five books devoted to the case have been released in recent years and it has received endless coverage in UFO/paranormal documentaries. Rendlesham forest quickly became a mecca for UFO enthusiasts and researchers alike.

The witnesses can be considered credible, just as pilots and policemen are in the world of UFOs. Dozens of witnesses coupled with intriguing evidence makes the Rendlesham forest Incident the most important UFO incident to have ever occurred in the United Kingdom. Over the years many new and important witnesses have come forward, each adding their own piece of the puzzle.

This website has been mentioned on radio programmes and in paranormal magazines for its coverage of the Rendlesham forest case and has been approved by a first-hand witness. It currently contains the most information regarding the incident on the internet. I have been managing this site since late 2005, from a location not far from Rendlesham forest itself, with the help of forum members and visitors.