We made it! Welcome to the final and fourth part of our Rendlesham Forest investigation.
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Part 1
Ready? Let's dive in.
Evidence: Statements from Radar Operators
In July 2015, during a speech he gave about the Rendlesham incident, Lt. Colonel Halt announced that he had statements from radar operators in the area. The radar operators were based at both RAF Bentwaters and the nearby Wattisham airfield.
"At Wattisham, they picked up what they called a 'bogie' and lost it near Rendlesham Forest," Halt said. "Whatever was there was clearly under intelligent control."
John Hanson, a prominent UFO researcher and former police detective, found Halt's story convincing. He concluded that Halt was a reliable witness, and that there was "a concerted effort to hide the truth.
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I have confirmation that (Bentwaters radar operators)... saw the object go across their 60 mile (96km) scope in two or three seconds, thousands of miles an hour, he came back across their scope again, stopped near the water tower, they watched it and observed it go into the forest where we were.
Lt. Colonel Halt // July 2015
At the time, the government had suggested that the patrolmen saw lights coming from the lighthouse located nearby, and must have misinterpreted them to be coming from an alien ship.
Since the radar operators saw an object fly across their screen at the same time and location the patrolmen observed the strange lights, there's no way the lights could have come from the lighthouse.
A Visit from The Men in Black
In late December 1980, Vince Thurkettle, a forestry worker, was chopping wood in his yard. A car pulled up unexpectedly, and two men in suits stepped out.
"Good morning. Do you mind if we ask you some questions?"
Thurkettle's visitors didn't identify themselves. They continued with:
"Did you leave the house at all [last night]? Did you see anything?"
Thurkettle was confused, and asked for clarification.
"Oh, there's a report of some red lights in the forest... We're just checking."
Thurkettle goes on to say that they "politely but firmly" asked him about twenty questions. He thought they were journalists. All of the sudden, they said:
"Oh well, fair enough. There's probably nothing in it."
He said that he bought a newspaper every day for the next few days, just in case there was something about the strange lights. Nothing showed up. It was only after this strange visit that Thurkettle started hearing strange reports of a UFO sighting in the forest.
Three years later, a story made headline news in the UK and quickly blew up around the world. The memo written by Lt. Colonel Halt had been released.
The UK government said they did not know about the incident until Halt's memo on January 13, 1981.
Thurkettle's statements show differently.
The Men in Black had visited his house in late December 1980. But they were claiming they had no knowledge of the event until mid-January 1981? Thurkettle says "someone must have told them before."
It's been a long journey, but we've finally completed our deep dive into the Rendlesham Forest events. Want to learn more? There's a documentary coming soon:
Capel Green
An independent, feature-length film debuting in mid-September 2022. Written and directed by Dion M. Johnson.
