England is an exotic land of mystery. The English eat parts of animals I’d never consider putting in my mouth. Some of their groceries are named specifically after genitalia and their secret agents are continually impregnating the women of the world. Americans prefer broken beer bottles at the bar; they prefer top hats and pistols at dawn. Yet, our two countries have something in common: UFO enthusiasts seize on the flimsiest evidence and hold it up as proof that space monsters from beyond the moon are visiting the earth.
Take, for instance the “British Roswell,” wherein a handful of military policemen spotted lights coming from a forest outside an airbase. It is, apparently, one of the “premier cases” of the UFO field, and it’s got some enormous holes in it.
It all began Dec. 26, 1980. Early in the morning five men guarding the Royal Air Force base at Woodbrige, bordering the Rendlesham forest, spotted lights that they originally thought belonged to a downed aircraft and went out to investigate.
There were a number of lights: red, blue and white, and they seemed to be flashing on and off. The five men went into the woods with radio equipment to stay in contact with headquarters; however, they began having problems (which the UFO enthusiast will quickly attribute to radiation from a flying saucer) so they set up a relay with one man staying at their vehicle.