By: Marcus Lowth
February 21, 2017

An incident that first saw the light of day on the BBC’s Newsround – a children’s news and current affairs show – the Broad Haven UFO sightings soon progressed on to the national news. Even international news stations took an interest in the incident for a time.

When the story finally did reach the masses, it was just the tip of the iceberg of a rash of sightings and incidents that would engulf Wales and other parts of the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. Bright, shiny crafts landing in fields, both in the middle of the night and broad daylight! Not to mention various reports of silver-attired humanoid figures, “faceless” no less!

Broad Haven pupils display their drawings of the UFO.

Now, almost four decades later the incident is still one of the most mysterious on record. As are the flurry of sightings and theories that followed. Claims of underwater alien bases and alien-human hybrids have become talking points. As has the fact that these sightings continue today. And many of these have taken place within a 20-mile radius of each other. Within this radius, several military bases reside.

As files become available years after the event, it appears the military has more interest than they made out publicly.

The “School” Incident

The Broad Haven School UFO Incident of 1977 is one of many that would bring the eyes of UFO researchers, and indeed the eyes of the Ministry of Defence, [1] bearing down on the area.

In total, on 4th February 1977, 14 children would report seeing a UFO land in broad daylight in a field across from their school. Six of them even claimed to have seen a humanoid figure in a “silverish suit” emerge from the craft. Also noted were “odd long ears!”

They described a silver, cigar-shaped object that landed shortly after lunchtime, just before the children began their afternoon classes. Some witnesses reported an orange-green light that sat on a dome on top of the craft.

Two hours later, at 3:30 pm, the object was still there. It eventually rose from the ground and hovered overhead. It was of a similar size to a double-decker bus according to reports. After hovering for several minutes, it disappeared behind the trees and out of sight.

Another drawing from a pupil.

Another drawing from a pupil showing the space craft.

Collection of drawings from various pupils.

A drawing from one of the children. 

A teacher at the school (who wished to remain anonymous) reported she also had seen something strange that day. A “shiny oval-shaped object with a slight dome” in the field where the children said they saw it. She also heard a distinct humming sound as the object rose above the trees.

Further reports would also come in from parents who claimed their children had witnessed something strange. According to David L. Richards, for example, at just before 5 pm on the day of the sighting, UFO investigator, Randall Jones Pugh would take a report from a lady claiming her son and several of his friends had witnessed a UFO on the ground near the school.

The boy in question, David Davis, was interviewed by Pugh around an hour later, and even took the investigator to the location where he had seen the strange object. By the time they arrived at the location, though, the rainy weather had washed away whatever imprints that might have been made.

Pugh, however, believed the boy’s account, noting how frightened he had been in the hours following the incident. Furthermore, several of his schoolmates corroborated his version of events. One of them, David George, even claimed that he had seen an occupant of the craft dressed in a “silver suit” seemingly looking down at the field as if studying it. This is perhaps an interesting detail in that there were many sightings of apparent extraterrestrials in silver suits the previous year in England and Wales. Might the visitors to Broadhaven school in February 1977 be the same as those witnessed by many in 1976?

By the following day, initial inspections of the area showed rain had washed away any markings from the ground. Interestingly, however, there was substantial damage down to a telegraph pole. It was bent at an angle and stood where the children claimed they saw the object hovering.

Given the amount of news coverage the incident received – including national newspaper and television news programs – the headteacher of the school, Ralph Llewellyn, issued a public statement on the incident. He would state that he had spoken to each of the children individually and ultimately did not “disbelieve they saw something they had never seen before”, adding that it was not his belief that children of such a young age are “capable of a sustained, sophisticated hoax”. Following this statement, Llewellyn refused any further interviews with the media. His single statement, though, spoke volumes. What the children had witnessed was real.

A video looks at the incident at Broad Haven School in a little more detail. Close Encounters UFO: Broad Haven UFO sightings marked 40 years on YouTube.

Story details at

http://www.ufoinsight.com/ufos/close-encounters/broad-haven-school-ufo-incident

ufoinsight.com

Close Encounters UFO: Broad Haven UFO sightings marked 40 years on