British National Archives - UFO Files (Declassified in July)

In July a number of 'UFO-Files' were declassified at the British National Archive in Kew, London. This was mentioned in a number of articles (i.e. here: www.dailymail.co.uk...) and also in Season 12 episode 3 of Ancient Aliens on Rudloe Manor this year - where it was questioned why they had not been released yet.

To gain access to these files you need to register with The National Archives in advance www.nationalarchives.gov.uk... - give them identification, a photograph and request in advance the files you wish to view. Once registered, you will be then be taken to locked room, separate from the main reading rooms so that they can observe you through a one-way-mirror, whilst you are reading the 'UFO-Files'.

Sitting down with the files, questions arise was to why these files were secret so long - if the government does not believe there is anything in it.
It struck me that they must have spent a large amount of tax payers money in funding this department. The government states that this department is now closed, but news articles a couple of weeks later reported that these reports are now kept with the Civil Aviation Authority, who are denying public access to the most recent reports. www.dailymail.co.uk...

Noteworthy in the most recent file dump was that these were the sightings from people they deemed credible (either a police or service people, yet one was kept by an 'ordinary person' who was described as 'non-drinking and non-whoring' so there must have been something about that report which was important to keep. There was also a request from the Italian government for a meeting, and a sighting with additional information collected by radar in Cyprus. Attached are copies of some of the reports. Also of note was a big section following what Nick Pope was doing with regard to the release of his book charting his time working for the department. One thing that I took from this, was to have another read of his book - as when he left, the powers that be were particularly interested in what might be said.


UFO incident 19.10.82 caught on radar in Cyprus. A film was made according to this document, but this was not in the file.










The handwritten letter by a 'former military intelligence officer'



















I'm having problems ensuring these are embedded properly so that everyone can see them easily & that they are in the right order.
so if there are any admins about, please can you have a go at fixing it for me. I'm sorry for the people who look at the images before then and are trying to put them into correct order!

The hand written letter from a former military intelligence officer is quite interesting - especially where it says:

"I am quite certain when records are kept of UFO sightings in this country, incident is a better word because of its serious threat to things which interest the security services of the government" "physical assault by beings humanoid, blood being taken, sexual advances being made, semen taken and ovum from women & people left to die".

Any clues on who this might be?

There were also letters from Michael Portillo in his capacity as MP at the time in the 1980's to the department and also some letters from someone in the House of Lords - who may be interesting allies in seeking the truth from these people.

Also of note, is that in one 'UFO-FIle' there were photocopies of pages from 'The Book of Enoch' with a bit on page 35 underline where it states:
'and there were in all two hundred who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon' - with a hand-written note saying "200 visitors from space at Mount Hermon".

I hope some of these are of interest & perhaps information within them are pieces to puzzles that other members have been thinking about.
I will try & title each image when I have more time. There are more that I can upload.

The hand written letter from a former military intelligence officer is quite interesting - especially where it says:

"I am quite certain when records are kept of UFO sightings in this country, incident is a better word because of its serious threat to things which interest the security services of the government" "physical assault by beings humanoid, blood being taken, sexual advances being made, semen taken and ovum from women & people left to die".

Any clues on who this might be?

Can you provide a link to the exact document (or set of docs) that you're referring to, please?

I'd like to take a look at this. I've a few candidates in mind, but need to see it with my own eyes to go any further than speculation.

ETA: Ignore this, I had missed the bit in your post where you pointed it out. Will have a shufti.

a reply to: Loopdaloop

Superb thread. Thanks for the info OP.

I couldnt make out much of the hand written letter, but found the described sightings exceptionally interesting.

So many questions.

a reply to: Loopdaloop

Got it. It's Admiral of the Fleet, Peter (Lord) Hill-Norton. The stuff about the 1952 posting to South China is a bit mysterious, I can't locate records placing him there at that time, but the rest of it is a really good fit. (FWIW his memory may have been playing him up when he wrote this letter - he underwent lengthy postings in the 'far east' during the 1960s).

The clinching detail is on the last page. The letter is dated "1982" and the letter-writer states: "I was attached to NATO in recent years." Hill-Norton was Chairman of the NATO Military Committee between 1974 and 1977.

In his own lifetime, Lord Hill-Norton was famous for being one of the 'grand old men' of British ufology, and so he was already in the final pick of candidates for this letter. The NATO detail seals the deal.

What I can't figure out is why the National Archives have redacted his signature. Hill-Norton has been dead for years, so there are no privacy concerns being engaged.

The whole "there's nothing to the phenomena" would be easier
to believe if you didn't have to jump through 600 hoops or wait
years for " nothing ".

Here's an (undated) sample of Hill-Norton's handwriting for comparison.

As usual with handwriting, there is very seldom an unmistakable match. And the NA letter appears to be a formal communique, so quite controlled, whereas the sample I've just linked to is a friendly note, so more relaxed. But the formation and style of lettering in each is a convincing fit. Each is from someone who was taught penmanship in the interwar years.

There are various points of identification (such as the fly-away crossbars on each lower case letter "t"), but I think the "money shot" is the "Yours sincerely" at the end of each letter.

The "Y" on the undated note (linked in this post) is quite a bit more abrupt than the slightly-looped "Y" in the NA letter, but otherwise you can see they are the same hand. There's even that punctilious comma after "sincerely".

Firstly, thank you to the moderator for making the photos more easily visible.
I'll try & organise some of the other paper work better so they flow better when I upload them. I tried formatting the photos using the source in the original post, however they are not appearing so have reverted to img. Please can admin or ArMaP help again.

originally posted by: audubon
Here's an (undated) sample of Hill-Norton's handwriting for comparison.

As usual with handwriting, there is very seldom an unmistakable match. And the NA letter appears to be a formal communique, so quite controlled, whereas the sample I've just linked to is a friendly note, so more relaxed. But the formation and style of lettering in each is a convincing fit. Each is from someone who was taught penmanship in the interwar years.

There are various points of identification (such as the fly-away crossbars on each lower case letter "t"), but I think the "money shot" is the "Yours sincerely" at the end of each letter.

The "Y" on the undated note (linked in this post) is quite a bit more abrupt than the slightly-looped "Y" in the NA letter, but otherwise you can see they are the same hand. There's even that punctilious comma after "sincerely".

I think that's a really good match with the handwriting, one is certainly more formal than the other but it looks similar.
I did see Lord Hill-Norton's name pop up in other areas (please see the new links) so it is interesting why they blocked out that particular letter and what it meant for him handwriting in a personal capacity, as opposed to getting some of his staff to do it.
Perhaps it was done to back up his 'official' communication.

Links to images of the documents mentioning Hill-Norton.

originally posted by: CreationBro
a reply to: Loopdaloop

Superb thread. Thanks for the info OP.

I couldnt make out much of the hand written letter, but found the described sightings exceptionally interesting.

So many questions.

I'll try & find some time to translate! it took me a while to tune into the way it was written too!

This comment will probably be removed because its off topic, but I have no other way to ask, because I cant start a thread. Can anyone explain why when I click "new thread", it just shows a blank page? Been visiting this site for a while, just made an account today, but I cant start a new thread, so the account is pointless.

a reply to: InterstellarSloth

Make a few posts and you'll be good to go.

Kudos for the effort put in to visit Kew and get the information out there.

This is no reflection on yourself at all. But I feel these document releases are full of chaff to distract most people from bothering to read them through and to fool us into believing that everything is under control and mundane. There are very few reports from 'official military' investigations into UFO reports.

As an example going back to a 20 year old case. There are MoD documents available and questions were even asked in Parliament. There were two sonic booms over the Peak District and Sheffield area of the UK back in 1997 (something banned over urban conurbations in the UK). Many people reported what seemed to be an aircraft crashing into the moorland in the area. Some even claimed a triangular craft was seen chased by RAF fighters.

Despite the two sonic booms 14 mins apart, which were recorded independently by Leeds University on the evening in question, the RAF denied having anything to do with them. Which means that something else caused the 'boom'. A bolide meteor was ruled out. Which leaves a supersonic aircraft or something else. So if it wasn't RAF then who caused the boom?

The conclusion was :

"..We don’t discount there may be unexplained phenomena in the sky, but we are not funded to investigate them. We would admit the fact if we had chased a UFO. There were no intercept missions that night. There is no cover-up. We don’t know what caused the sightings and the sonic booms and the whole thing remains a mystery to us. We don’t know what went on and there will always be people who seize on mysteries like this to make claims about cover-ups"

I would have liked to have seen a full report from the RAF on why UK airspace appears to have been compromised If they denied involvement. But it doesn't appear in the files.

I am not saying that our government are covering up aliens but they aren't giving us a full picture either.

I think you're spot on Mirageman.

The UFO incident in Cyprus dated 19.10.82 & copied above is a prime example.
This incident was caught on radar & it states they had film & 10x10 prints were made.
Yet these were not in the file. Nor was there any follow-up documented.

Within the files, there was also page after page of reports/sightings of 'UFOs' using the A-P reporting system.
All of them have that stamp on them that can be seen above which says "Seen by Director", yet again no follow up.
What was the role of the director when viewing these reports. Who was the director?
(Perhaps I need to re-read Nick Pope's book for this information). Where did this information go.

It appeared that these files were left until recently to be declassified because of the 'credibility' of the witness to the events documented, being police, military etc. Which begs the question, if your witness's are deemed so credible that you have concerns (which might be interesting to speculate upon) about releasing these to the general public... what happened next?

From some of the documents, the UFO-File admin person left notes that they had contacted various agencies to see if there were any other explanations for what had been witnessed (as there was a feedback report from a military agency that I can't recall off the top of my head at the moment). Yet sometimes, military evidence was ruled out and they had radar.

This must have certainly gone somewhere - otherwise what was the point in the whole escapade of recording & investigating.
What was the point in the secrecy until now. Why are these files only viewable via going in person & sitting in a special locked room with a 1-way mirror. Why haven't they been digitalised like other files & made accessible to the public that way.

It's why I was wondering if I've missed something here & will upload more of these reports / letters as I get the time.
There must be a clue somewhere, which other people may notice better than me!

It's so funny to see these similar documents. I was stationed at HQLONDIST in the 1980's, in Horse Guards Offices on Whitehall, my role was handling Classified material and COMCEN messages, up to and including TOP SECRET documents in the Crypto office. Brings back so many memories. I also handled routine UFO reports for my sins.

originally posted by: privatepilotuk
It's so funny to see these similar documents. I was stationed at HQLONDIST in the 1980's, in Horse Guards Offices on Whitehall, my role was handling Classified material and COMCEN messages, up to and including TOP SECRET documents in the Crypto office. Brings back so many memories. I also handled routine UFO reports for my sins.

What was the procedure? What type of people were interested in these reports and what was done with them?

originally posted by: Loopdaloop

originally posted by: privatepilotuk
It's so funny to see these similar documents. I was stationed at HQLONDIST in the 1980's, in Horse Guards Offices on Whitehall, my role was handling Classified material and COMCEN messages, up to and including TOP SECRET documents in the Crypto office. Brings back so many memories. I also handled routine UFO reports for my sins.

What was the procedure? What type of people were interested in these reports and what was done with them?

Nothing that interesting. UFO Reports were in a prescribed special format with headings and how they were laid out. They were quite common. Most were passed to Secretariat (Air Staff) for review. It's the desk Nick Pope was at later in the 1990's. COSMIC TOP SECRET is nothing to do with UFO or Secret Space Programs, it is a NATO Classification for TS (Top Secret). My main handling was for COSMIC TOP SECRET ATOMAL (CTSA), which was the Nuclear / Atomic information. Can't disclosure anything as I'm signed up for life under Official Secrets Act.

I understand from Giorgio Tsouklas's instagram that the first episode of the new season of Ancient Aliens will be covering these files. I look forward to seeing their thoughts on them. I still have lots of images of them still.