Free Conspiracy: History’s Greatest Plots, Collusions and Cover-Ups by Charlotte Greig Page B

UFO field, if not outside it.
    Ultimately, it seems that right up to this day nobody really knows what took place. Even the most persuasive theories that have been advanced appear to be full of loose ends. However, whether or not we believe that alien beings landed in the desert that day, what we do know is that there was a lot more to the incident than a burst weather balloon. And that is why, for the foreseeable future, UFO researchers and others will continue to ask: what really happened at Roswell?

T HE R ENDLESHAM A FFAIR
    In the early hours of Boxing Day, 1980, a strange incident occurred in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk. Close to the pine forest was an American Air Force Base, which suddenly began to track an unidentified craft on its radar. The base was immediately put on full alert, but after a while it became clear that the craft was not aggressive and that there was no real threat. However, a patrol was sent to the forest to investigate. After the patrol had reached the site by following a dark, narrow path the men saw bright beams of red and blue light shining from what appeared to be a metallic craft that had landed in the forest. Other craft hovered silently in the sky above.
    T RANCE-LIKE STATE
Base Commander Gordon Williams reported that he approached the craft on the ground and communicated with the creatures in it through sign language. Other witnesses told of watching the creatures repair their craft, which had become damaged when it crashed in the forest, and then take off in a huge burst of speed and light.
    After the craft had left, the airmen said that they had found themselves in a trance-like state so that general confusion prevailed. Local people also reported that their farm animals and domestic pets had become disorientated and panic-stricken, to the extent that they had been running out on to the roads and colliding with vehicles. There were also accounts that flickering blue and red lights played over the trees throughout the rest of the night. Some people even said that small creatures with domed heads had been seen wandering through the forest.
    E VIDENCE OF ALIENS
Because of the airmen's confused condition at the time, it was difficult to verify exactly what had happened. However, the indisputable fact was that a very strange occurrence had taken place in the forest, one that could not easily be explained. On the next day, forensic tests were carried out over the whole site and some odd facts emerged.
    Firstly, there were some marks on the ground where the landing legs of the craft were thought to have been. These gave out very high levels of radiation. Secondly, the treetops in the area had been damaged as though an aeroplane or other large object had crashed through them. And thirdly, a tape recording of the search had been made by an airman at the time and there were strange noises on it.
    To this day, why the radiation levels on the site went up and why the trees in the vicinity were damaged remains a mystery. However, some have disputed the veracity of this tape, claiming that it is a hoax. Since the incident, it has also been rumoured that a video recording of the whole event exists. It was supposedly made by one of the airmen who witnessed it from start to finish. Because this material was so sensitive, it is thought that the military confiscated it and that it then became classified information, never to be made public.
    Damaged trees in Rendlesham Forest, England, the site of alleged alien landings testified to by US service personnel. In fact, the 'hovering light' they saw was more likely to have been the local lighthouse.
    C ONSPIRACY THEORY ?
Many believe that the hushing up of the incident was a conspiracy by the United States military, who were attempting to cover up the fact that there had been a nuclear accident at Rendlesham. In order to avoid local panic, and to deflect criticism, the personnel at the air base pretended that some kind of alien landing had taken place. Other