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UFO spotted on Hampstead Heath
Tan Parsons
UNIDENTIFIED flying objects over Hampstead Heath were among the spooky sightings reported in files released by the Ministry of Defence this week.
A form addressed to Air Staff 2a, MoD, focuses on an 'airship' spotted near Kenwood on July 15, 1993, although certain parts of the form including the name and address of the witness have been blanked out.
It reads: "Dear (blank), Here we go again with yet another report. I was driving past Kenwood, Hampstead at about 7.30pm on the evening in question and saw the (blank) airship. I saw it again a couple of hours later from my bedroom window and noted that the gas bag was lit from the interior but the (blank) logo was plainly visible. Now whether this was what (blank) was observing I can't really say but it is a distinct possibility."
The cryptic note is a document taken from 14 files of sightings, letters and parliamentary questions pertaining to possible UFOs spanning from 1981 to 1996.
These files are the fourth instalment in a three-year project by the MoD and the National Archives to open up such records to a worldwide audience.
Observers have greeted the latest information with a mixture of scepticism and exuberance.
Last year Hampstead eccentric and UFO believer 'Rainbow' George Weiss lost a bet with William Hill bookmakers that aliens would appear at either the opening or closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. He was pretty sure the latest MoD files would not prove to contain anything conclusive.
He said: "I believe that governments know about the existence of alien intelligences and I'm pretty sure we'll all know in the not too distant future. Hampstead Heath will certainly be of interest to aliens - it's always held magic for me. I call it the Magic Mountain and I'm sure it will be visited by them in the near future."
Roy Lake, who is chairman of London UFO Studies, and who used to live in Jamestown Road in Camden Town, was also sceptical about how much the new files will actually reveal.
He said: "As far as I'm concerned they will only give you the stuff they want you to see. They're still holding a lot back."
Meanwhile Heath and Hampstead Society member Michael Hammerson said he could think of one or two developers he would like aliens to abduct from the area, but so far UFOs were not on the society's agenda.
He added: "As far as I'm aware none of the blobs that have appeared on the Hampstead Photographic Society's works have been questioned."
The authors who compiled the MoD's latest publication noted, in a somewhat spoilsport fashion, that many of the UFO reports were filed in 1996, the year of Will Smith's heroics in the Independence Day movie and the growing popularity of television show The X-Files.
The files are available to download for free for one month from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ufos.
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