NORTHERN UFO NEWS

Magazine Overview

Title: NORTHERN UFO NEWS
Issue: 57
Date: February 1979
Publisher: NORTHERN UFO NETWORK (NUFON)
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English

This issue of NORTHERN UFO NEWS, the newsletter of the Northern UFO Network (NUFON), serves as a comprehensive update on UFO activity primarily in Northern Britain. Edited by Jenny Randles and Paul Whetnall, the publication emphasizes the importance of a coordinated network for investigating and understanding UFO phenomena, suggesting that individual sightings are merely 'one piece of the jigsaw'. The newsletter aims to keep readers informed by providing detailed reports, correlating regional sightings, and facilitating international data exchange through organizations like CONTACT.

Editorial: "One piece of the jigsaw"

The editorial, penned by Bernard Delair (CONTACT UK), highlights NUFON's role in informing the public about UFO activity in Northern Britain. It stresses that while many reports receive an assigned identification, viewing these in isolation limits understanding. By connecting regional sightings, NUFON and its international partners like CONTACT can potentially piece together a larger picture, offering corroboration or explanations. The editorial references possible correlations from the November 1978 issue (No. 54), linking UK sightings with events in Canada, USA, Nova Scotia, and Ontario, as well as a 'Sasquatch'-like creature sighting near a UFO report. It also notes a potential coincidence in place names (Pole Hill, Chingford) and discusses a red ball sighting in Wales that mirrored phenomena in Belgium and Switzerland. The issue also mentions a 'UFO blizzard' in the Americas coinciding with a balloon sighting in Matlock, and meteor reports coinciding with sightings of blue/green spheres globally.

The editorial connects these observations to ideas proposed by Ken Philips, suggesting a correlation between transient local phenomena (UFO sightings) and large-scale energy releases on a global basis. This leads to the concept of identifying 'Ufocals' – areas with frequent UFO events – while emphasizing the need for a global perspective.

NUFON Lecture Programme

Details are provided for a NUFON lecture programme scheduled for February 24th, 1979, at the Crewe Civic Centre Library. The event includes an open forum, a presentation on the 'Llanercymedd Landings' CE3 case from Anglesey, a talk by Jenny Randles on 'Repeater Witnesses', and an illustrated presentation by Peter Warrington on 'UFOs, sightings and perception'.

News Round-Up

This section, contributed by David Rees, welcomes readers to the first issue of 1979 and notes that the magazine will be five years old in May. It solicits reader comments on the previous month's 'Northern Ufology'. Several other UFO publications and organizations are mentioned:

• UFO INSIGHT: FUFOR published its first issue, described as a good read.
• UFOIN: The second issue is out, and Mark Tyrell is seeking contributions. UFOSIS plans an exhibition in Birmingham.
• PROTEUS: Mark Pritchard is editing this magazine for BUFORA RIC and UFOIN.
• CHRYSIS 79: CHRYSIS hopes to include related phenomena, with an upcoming article on leylines and their relation to UFOs.
• PULSE/PULSAR: PULSE plans to relaunch its magazine later in the year and is seeking advertisers.
• NLUFOIG: A new group, North Lanes UFO Investigation Group, meets in Morecambe and Lancaster.
• BUFORA: A conference is planned for August 26/27 at the Mount Royal Hotel, Marble Arch, London, with Dr. J. Allen Hynek as the guest speaker.

Tom Lind, an American researcher, is seeking British UFO publications for a major catalogue.

Notable deaths are announced: Gavin Gibbons, involved in the Roestenberg case and author of books on UFOs in the 1950s, and Jacques Bergier, author of 'Morning of the Magicians'.

Midlands UFOLOG: Graham Hall of HAPI is collaborating with NUFON to launch a four-page monthly newsletter in March, intended to complement NUN by covering cases from the East Midlands.

UFOS AND THE HOUSE OF LORDS: A debate took place in the House of Lords on January 18, 1979, concerning UFOs. Fourteen speakers participated, mostly favouring a government study, but no progress was made due to a lack of funds. The Aetherius Society is mentioned as having provided research for the speakers and is circulating a petition for the release of secret UFO information.

December 31st 'UFO': A significant event occurred on New Year's Eve with numerous UFO reports. A large, cylindrical, silver object with blue windows and an orange/pink trail was seen by many witnesses across the North and Midlands between 6:45 pm and 7:30 pm. It flew parallel and silently for up to 10 minutes. The official explanation was the re-entry of COSMOS 1068's booster rocket, which the publication is monitoring.

Low Definition Activity

This section lists 23 cases of 'Low Definition Activity' from 1976-1979, characterized by brief sightings of lights or indistinct objects. The majority are evaluated as 'Insuff data' (12 cases), followed by 'Meteor' (2), 'Aircraft' (5), 'Star' (3), and 'Balloon' (2). One case is marked as 'Unknown'. The most common types of phenomena reported are lights (LITS) of various colors and durations.

Medium Definition Activity

This section details 35 cases of 'Medium Definition Activity' from 1947-1979. These reports involve more defined shapes such as cigars, spheres, balls, cones, arches, and ovals. The evaluations include 'Insuff data' (12), 'Meteor' (5), 'Aircraft' (3), 'Balloon' (2), 'Moon' (1), 'Optical Reflection' (1), and 'Unknown' (11, representing 31% of the cases). Notable reports include:

• Winter 1947: A man and wife in Coventry saw a red oval approach their house fast, hover, and then accelerate upwards vertically.
• Unknown 1962: A woman in West Bromwich saw a large, metallic egg-shaped object with a green haze and a red light hovering at 40 degrees elevation.
• August 16, 1971: An elderly couple in Church Stretton saw a flat 'plate' with a dome, hovering silently before shooting away.
• August 1976: An 18-year-old in Chesterton saw a yellowy light rise from woods, which resolved into a flat-bottomed oval with yellow lights and pulsating white beams.

Close Encounter One Activity

This section presents four 'Close Encounter' reports:

• August 1974: Mrs Elsie Stewart in Prenton saw a glowing 'cage' or 'balloon' object, approximately 9-10 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide, hover for at least five minutes before rapidly moving off.
• October 1975: A young mother in Offerton saw a dome with a flat bottom and multiple 'windows' crawl along rooftops before flipping over and disappearing.
• September 26, 1976: A young woman in Irlam reported seeing two bright searchlights rise from trees, revealing a flat-bottomed disc with yellow windows. She experienced a psycho-physiological sensation of being singled out.
• May 1978: In Lymm, Cheshire, a witness saw three vivid green balls separate by 100 diameters fly across the sky and wink out, experiencing a sensation of acute pressure that vanished abruptly. The witness has a background of precognitive events and was an RAF pilot.

The issue contains a total of 62 cases, with 16 (25.5%) classified as unknowns. The distribution of cases covers numerous counties across Northern Britain.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the detailed cataloging and analysis of UFO sightings, the importance of networking and international cooperation for understanding UFO phenomena, and the exploration of various types of aerial phenomena, from brief lights to more complex close encounters. The editorial stance clearly advocates for a systematic, coordinated approach to UFO research, emphasizing that isolated incidents are less informative than correlated data. The publication positions itself as a vital hub for this information exchange within Northern Britain and beyond, highlighting the need to look beyond simple identifications to understand the broader context of UFO events.