Alien Assault in Dechmont Woods, Scotland? : Revisiting the Bob Taylor UFO Encounter

This is the story of the only UFO case to have ever been the subject of a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom. It is, to this day, one of the most intriguing UFO encounters reported across the British Isles. It involves a strange daylight encounter with a semi-transparent dome shaped ‘object’, an attack on the witness rendering him unconscious, physical evidence on the ground and an investigation by the police.

Many have offered a prosaic explanation to the story but none of those explanations provide an exact fit to what happened to Bob Taylor one early November morning back in 1979. Nor does it follow the pattern of your regular UFO encounter.

In fact the story is more like an episode of the Twilight Zone.

So with the benefit of 4 decades of hindsight let’s look back at what happened and the explanations that have been proffered to date.

 
The Encounter

In 1979, Bob Taylor was a 61 year old forestry worker employed by Livingston Development Corporation in Scotland. Livingston is around 20 miles west of Edinburgh.

On November 9th 1979, between 10:00 and 10:30 am Bob Taylor parked his council truck up at the side of a road just a mile from his home and close to the the M8 motorway. He was there to examine the progress of some saplings in the woods. Being unable to access the area by truck, Taylor and his dog made their way into the forest on foot. They took one of the forest paths that lead up the side of woods called Dechmont Law (or ‘Deer Hill’).

About a quarter mile or so from his where he’d parked up, Taylor noticed a large, circular, spheroid object . He estimated it as being approximately 20’ (or 6m) in diameter. He was mesmerized for a while watching it hovering above the forest floor.



This was not your regular flying saucer depicted in popular culture. The object had a narrow rim running along its circumference with stems topped with what seemed to be propellers. The surface of the object looked as if it was constructed from a dark metallic material which appeared transparent in places. Taylor later described the surface of the object as having rough texture similar to that of sandpaper and suggested that by having transparent areas on its surface, the object was attempting to camouflage itself with its surroundings.



As Taylor got closer to the object two smaller spheres dropped out of it. They appeared to be made from the same material ,were similar in colour, and began to roll towards him. Taylor described the smaller spheres as having appendages and similar to World War II sea mines in appearance. As the small objects moved towards him, Taylor remembered them making a "plopping" noise as these appendages made contact with the ground.

The small spheres manoeuvred around Taylor and, using their appendages, attached themselves to each side of his trousers just underneath his pockets. Taylor said at this point, he heard a hissing noise coming from the small objects and he began to choke due from the strong acrid smell being secreted by them. He described this smell as like "burning brake linings" which caused him to cough. By now, Taylor was aware he was being dragged by the smaller spheres along the ground towards the larger object. He eventually fell forwards onto his face and lost consciousness.

Police estimated that Taylor regained consciousness around 20 mins later to discover the object had disappeared. His trousers were torn, he had a raging thirst, a headache and his legs were aching. He also had a sore throat and a strange bitter taste in his mouth.

Taylor was having trouble trying to speak and could not get to his feet. He then crawled along the ground and managed to stagger the rest of the distance back to where he had parked his truck. On reaching the truck he attempted to call for help on the truck's two way radio, but struggled due to his loss of voice. Taylor then attempted to get back home in the truck, but accidentally ditched it in mud while trying to drive home. Due to his vehicle being stuck, Taylor staggered the rest of the way back home. Some sources state the truck did not start*.

His wife was quite distressed by Bob Taylor’s condition when he arrived home. He was covered in mud and his clothes were ripped and torn. Although dazed, Bob managed to tell his wife that he’d seen a spaceship. She thought that he’d had an accident knocking him delirious and decided to telephone the police. But Taylor would only agree she should inform his boss Malcolm Drummond and also the family doctor Gordon Adams.

Both men arrived at the Taylor’s home where he slowly told the story of seeing a ‘spaceship’. Both Drummond and Adams knew Bob well and considered him as a sound rational man . He was certainly not prone to fantasising and telling tall tales. He did not appear to have any signs of head injury, his blood pressure was normal and there was no sign of neurological damage. He was showing signs of shock and there was also a graze under his chin and cuts on his legs.

However Dr. Adams convinced Taylor to get checked out at hospital whilst Malcolm Drummond gathered a few other forestry workers together and headed out to the ‘scene of the crime’ to check for anything that might corroborate Bob’s story.

Arriving at Bangour hospital Bob Taylor was growing tired of waiting hours to see another doctor for an X-Ray as he had a family trip south of the border planned for next day. So he discharged himself without going through a full examination and x-ray.

Meanwhile out in the forest, Malcolm Drummond and his associates had found around 40 holes exposing fresh earth in the grass. The holes were approx 4” wide and 4” deep. There were also what appeared to be track marks made by the likes of a bulldozer in the area.



Above Pictures of the markings found in the grass at the site

continues below >>>

The Police Investigation

Livingston Police were informed of the incident and immediately cordoned off the area whilst they investigated. The matter was treated seriously as a physical assault by person or persons unknown despite the rather bizarre circumstances.

Photographs of the tracks were taken and detectives were totally baffled as the tracks were only in one grassy area. The ground was soft but no signs of the tracks having come from somewhere or having gone anywhere could be discovered. If a vehicle had caused the tracks there was no evidence of the same tracks leading into the clearing.


Police even tried to identify if an object could have been flown in there. But their investigations proved negative. This was a rare daylight incident and the M8 motorway is only around 100 yards away from the clearing where the incident took place. However police noted that any object in the clearing could not have been seen by motorists because of the trees.

Taylor’s supervisor Malcolm Drummond noted:

"There is no doubt in my mind that these marks were made by a perfectly solid, heavier-than-air object. They had been made by some machine which had come vertically downward... I don't believe in anything from outer space. The only conclusion that I can come to is that it must have been a man-made object... some sort of secret machine belonging to one of the government departments."

Detective Sergeant Ian Wark, assigned as part of the CID (Central Investigation Dept) to the case, admitted that he thought the story was crazy. However on examining the holes and the weird caterpillar tracks he was rapidly intrigued and puzzled at the same time.

He checked all the forestry equipment used in the area; none of it had tracks matching. There was no evidence of helicopter traffic in the region that particular day, or even the day before. A search of the area around the clearing was also carried out in order to see if there were signs of a mobile crane or lifting machinery that might have been used to lower something into the ground, but again nothing was found.

The police reports stated:

"The marks indicated an object of several tons had stood there but no information has been gained to explain them."

After the investigation Wark was in no doubt. He said:

"In my opinion, Mr Taylor genuinely reported what he saw, or believed that he had seen."

Taylor’s trousers were also examined as part of the evidence. Police scientist L. Knibb considered the markings on his trousers. He concluded they were not made by any forest debris, sharp stones sticks, barbed wire fencing but by a strong mechanical pull upwards. He felt the holes were made by a broad attachment and not simply by catching them on a nail.



Damage to left and right sides of Taylor’s trousers


So What Happened?


Taylor was always cited as being a man of good character, honest and reliable. He never asked for payment for telling his version of events and up until his death at the age of 89 in 2007, still defended what he had seen on Dechmont Law. Bob Taylor was left with no answer as to what had happened to him that day.


So what did Bob Taylor actually see?

There are a number of theories that have sprouted up in the 4 decades that have passed.

 

Ball Lightning, Epilepsy and Venus

One of the first theories to come out was from Steuart Campbell who put about the theory that suggested that Bob Taylor had seen black ball lightning in the woods. Taylor had also been suffering an epileptic fit at the same time. He claimed that workers had been laying cables in the area and the marks in the clearing were caused by them storing ladders there. No one ever admitted to it although Campbell maintained that the Water Authority workers he’d tracked down were lying to him.

Seven years later he changed his theory from black ball lightning to a mirage of Venus above Dechmont Law. This mirage (which was a mere pin prick of light according to Campbell) then triggered an epileptic seizure in Bob Taylor!

It was later discovered he’d been suffering from severe headaches a year or so earlier. Although he’d received medication from his doctor the cause of the headaches remained unknown.

However Campbell’s theories feel like a force fit to explain away the incident as something ordinary because he can’t actually explain it away as something ordinary.

It was the CIA

One theory is that the encounter was a staged event, using the Hughes prototypical craft. This craft was supposedly established and tested in the British Isles in the 1960s and 1970s.



The rest of that story is here.

See : ufocon.blogspot.co.uk...

Although there is not much to it. If it was a real craft then it evaded everyone but Bob Taylor that day. No one else saw a thing.

Belladonna, Dr. Who and TV Workers on Strike

Not as preposterous as it sounds. This theory revolves around Bob Taylor coming into contact with Belladonna whilst in the woods. The effects of ingesting Belladonna causing hallucinations, extreme thirst, disorientation and blurred vision.

It also suggests that his sighting of the ‘strange spacecraft’ came from watching Dr. Who in late October 1979. There was an ITV technicians strike in the UK during the time. This would leave TV viewers in the UK the option of watching either BBC1 or BBC2. (Yes back in the day there were only 3 TV channels!).

There are some problems with this theory as it assumes Bob Taylor not only ingested Belladonna but had also seen the Dr. Who TV show “City of Death”. His daughter argues that as a gardener and forestry worker for most of his life he would be fully aware of the dangers of the plant.

The full explanation is here : anomalousculture.blogspot.co.uk...

It was a Water Storage Tank and Chemical Poisoning

A local investigator, Phil Fenton, proposed this theory a few years ago. He postulates that Taylor suffered a mini-stroke and was also exposed to harmful chemicals which left him confused and disoriented.



This theory also has problems as it moves the location of the incident to the other side of the M8 motorway from the clearing where Bob Taylor reported seeing the UFO.

Full details : Dechmont Law UFO (pdf)

It Was What it Was

The alternative is, that whatever Bob Taylor claims to have seen on that November 1979 day, he really did see it......

Just saw this story on one of Destination America's UFO shows. Interesting stuff, thanks for the extra details

Great read. I am wondering what happened to the dog. If I read it correct, he and the dog walked together.

Regards,

Bally

a reply to: bally001

From all accounts the dog was still at the scene as he came around. Pity we couldn't ask the dog any questions!

I would deduce from this story that Bob Taylor saw an actual craft not originating from planet earth, and the intelligence involved feared him enough to cause it to take these actions against him, or to learn more about him. It obviously let him go without too much harm, so it wasn't overly bad. It was obviously quite sophisticated and employed some very strange devices to carry out some sort of mission. It might have not expected to see anyone else there hiding in the forest like it was, and reacted defensively to Taylor's approach to it.

a reply to: mirageman

i read the link accounts and nothing mentioned about the dog other than it being a setter. I posed this question as there were theories he suffered from chemical poisoning and perhaps a stroke.

I was wondering if the dog had suffered any ill effects or injuries or perhaps taken off. Nothing in the press interview.

Regards,

Bally

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
I would deduce from this story that Bob Taylor saw an actual craft not originating from planet earth, and the intelligence involved feared him enough to cause it to take these actions against him, or to learn more about him. It obviously let him go without too much harm, so it wasn't overly bad. It was obviously quite sophisticated and employed some very strange devices to carry out some sort of mission. It might have not expected to see anyone else there hiding in the forest like it was, and reacted defensively to Taylor's approach to it.

That possibility remains. But with it being a single witness UO case, and the fact that it occurred at around 10:30 in the morning just 100 yards or so from Scotland's busiest motorway it's rather odd no one else saw something similar.

a reply to: bally001

To be honest the story focuses on Bob Taylor and few sources mention his dog at all. However there seems to be have been no ill effects recorded. If there were then I have never seen them.

originally posted by: mirageman

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
I would deduce from this story that Bob Taylor saw an actual craft not originating from planet earth, and the intelligence involved feared him enough to cause it to take these actions against him, or to learn more about him. It obviously let him go without too much harm, so it wasn't overly bad. It was obviously quite sophisticated and employed some very strange devices to carry out some sort of mission. It might have not expected to see anyone else there hiding in the forest like it was, and reacted defensively to Taylor's approach to it.

That possibility remains. But with it being a single witness UO case, and the fact that it occurred at around 10:30 in the morning just 100 yards or so from Scotland's busiest motorway it's rather odd no one else saw something similar.

Hi MM,

According to what I heard about this case awhile ago, this craft that he saw appeared to "fade in" as if it was materializing from somewhere else, to where it ended up, and exited the same way. And that fits with the investigation noting that a very heavy object had been there and left behind big markings of such, but those marks didn't leave the forest, had no visible means of entering or exiting the forest in any notable expected linear fashion, and so it would be logical from that to think it used some other way to enter and exit the area without leaving the possibility for anyone too have seen it anyways.

That and the fact that Taylor was highly trusted and known to be a serious individual is enough to sensibly conclude he saw and experienced something inexplicable that day, and he suffered for getting too close as well.

a reply to: NoCorruptionAllowed


An atypical UFO experience to be sure. We need not be surprised. This young upstart planet has been visited by many different beings and craft since we burst the atom. While the greys are the typical minions we get acquainted with, and their ships are those more or less typical of UFO lore, the other beings that travel the galaxy are also interested in us and some may help themselves to specimens of choice if they desire.

a reply to: mirageman

What a wonderful post and great read. Thank you for the thorough post.

a reply to: mirageman

Finally, one I haven't heard of! Interesting stuff and great post!

a reply to: mirageman

This is one of my favourite cases because it has that fractal aspect of being representative of dozens of other reports. At the heart, there's a good witness with favourable supporting testimony from local GP and police. The physical traces add to the mystery and also to the differing interpretations. On the outside of that we see the usual ufological wildlife in terms of different breeds of skeptics and an intrepid debunker. Mingling in with them are the 57 varieties of 'believer' citing visiting aliens, ETH and ideas like time-travellers. The variety of people and ideas always seems similar doesn't it?

There's a very good doco that you may have missed due to its title - The West Lothian Question.



With no definitive explanations likely to appear, it's probably best to weigh up what's there and put them in some sort of order of probability. I'm going off recall here and paraphrasing the explanations:

* Is it likely a a craft from some other planet would park up in a woodland? Not so much. That isn't saying it's 'impossible' and, no, we can't presume to guess the intentions of unknowns (before someone points that out!).

* Could it have been a projected illusion from a mirage of Saturn and a passing cloud? I think the previous explanation is more likely than that. We're looking for reasonable explanations, right? This one is along the lines of saying a bolt fell off a passing 747 and gave Taylor a fit. Just because it's 'possible' doesn't make it less absurd.

* Did he trip over with his mouth open and ingest deadly nightshade or other psycho-active agent? Who can say? It's not an explanation I like, but I guess it *could* happen. His pupils should have still been dilated when the doctor saw him

* Did he have a mini-stroke (TIA)? Again, it's possible but they don't tend to have narrative hallucinations accompanying them. In today's world, an MRI quickly identifies 'bruises' on the brain and doctors/nurses can actually count how many TIAs the patient has had. Maybe we missed an opportunity there? He didn't have a brain scan so who knows? It would have been fantastic if we had this encounter report and a link to TIAs.

There's often an apparitional quality in these close encounter reports and that's where my heart usually takes me. So I wonder if the reports reflect the limits of the percipient's ability to imagine? Bob Taylor wasn't a well-read man and wasn't saturated in popular culture - he was a decent guy who used his time on practical matters. Is it possible the mine-like attackers represented imagery from his psyche? Is that why his encounter included practical, functional objects? Who can say? All we can do is speculate.

ETA - I just read the UFOCon link. They were great days with Paul Kimball, Bruce Duensing, Nick Redfern and all the regulars being hosted by the excellent Rich Reynolds. It was possibly a heyday for the resurgence of the field and it's since waned significantly. Rich is still posting fascinating, controversial articles and most of the guys from 2011 have tailed off or passed on (RIP Bruce).

a reply to: NoCorruptionAllowed

According to what I heard about this case awhile ago, this craft that he saw appeared to "fade in" as if it was materializing from somewhere else, to where it ended up, and exited the same way.

I haven't a direct quote to hand but that's basically what Taylor described. As if the craft was semi-transparent and attempting to blend with it's surroundings.

As for the track marks; we don't know when they were made. They might have been there before Taylor's encounter. But why did they only appear in the clearing?

The explanations offered up still leave a lot to be desired. Bob Taylor's descriptions of his experience and the objects he saw are also atypical of your regular close encounter.

I think this is a genuinely unexplained case.

ETA : I just noticed that I forgot to post the references in the OP. I'll post those links later on today.

a reply to: Kandinsky

A nice summary there my friend. It's also one of my favourite cases because it comes from the golden age of British Ufology (i.e mid 1970s to early 1980s). That's just my opinion. But we had a wealth of interesting events around that time, Berwyn, Broadhaven, The Lords Debate, Adamski, Alan Godfrey, Rendlesham etc. as well.

Will it ever be solved? I doubt it now. The fun is in the speculation.

Very interesting UFO case and seems genuine to me, I used to live in UpHall not far from the site and 15min away from Livingston centre, I've witnessed many strange flying objects around that area plus many strange markings in field's near by, there's Edinburgh airport not far from the UFO case and by my old house, so was easy to identify what objects are in the sky at all times, (unless is UFO) so i thinks he knows what he seen is probably true, thanks for posting this thread op.

a reply to: mirageman

The 'golden age' appeals to me too. There's an aspect that's often overlooked too. It's the sense that whatever triggered the numerous variety of sightings no longer does. People are as crazy as ever and we're still saturated in sci-fi and alien iconography. Our militaries are still testing incredible aircraft and our skies are increasingly full of official and hobbyist drones.

Yeah, I know a few people will have the solution to the nth degree of certainty. For me, I haven't met an explanation for the dip that really satisfies. I get the feeling you have similar impressions

a reply to: mirageman

It was the CIA One theory is that the encounter was a staged event, using the Hughes prototypical craft. This craft was supposedly established and tested in the British Isles in the 1960s and 1970s.

Operating in the wrong country? It would only be established, if anywhere, in the US. Not the CIA would or could operate in the UK.

a reply to: Kandinsky

Here is another theory for your consideration:

Why the Golden Age of UFOs Ended