UFO's Over Calderdale

Although there have been reports of UFO's (Unidentified Flying Objects) throughout recorded history, We were only able to accurately trace fairly recent sightings occurring over Calderdale.

• According to Paul Weatherhead (Author of the excellent book 'Weird Calderdale'), local legend has it that where Stoodley Pike now stands that there were once some cairns or standing stones in its place. According to local legend if one of the stones was moved then strange lights were seen to play around the hill. This legend appears to be at least predate the 18th century. This would appear to be the earliest known mention of unidentified flying objects over Calderdale, unless you know different.

• 1978 - In April, six policemen reported seeing a bright light in the sky over Brighouse. A short time later, three people in Luddendenfoot reported seeing a 'silvery object' in the sky.

• 1978 - Several sightings were reported of UFO's above Illingworth, Luddenden, Mixenden, Norland, Mount Tabor and Rishworth.

• 1980 - In June, a number of UFO and orange fireball sightings near Wakefield were linked to the discovery of the body of Mr. Zygunt Jan Adamski on a Todmorden coal tip. Many suspected that he had been abducted and tortured by aliens as a result.

  Mr. Adamski was a miner born in Poland but had been a British citizen since World War II and had lived at Tingley, near Wakefield, with his invalid wife, Lottie. He disappeared from near his home at approximately 3.30pm on the 6th of June after he had gone out to buy some potatoes. Nobody saw him alive again.

  On the afternoon of the 11th of June his body was discovered on a coal tip in Todmorden. No footprints were found to indicate that anyone had climbed the two metre tall coal heap.

  Two Police officers (including PC Alan Godfrey) arrived at the scene and suspected murder. Mr. Adamski was missing his wallet, watch and shirt but the rest of his clothes were intact. He was clean as though he had had a shower. He had several burn marks on the neck, shoulders and back of the head where the skin had been burnt off. What had caused the burns (suspected to be some sort of corrosive) was never identified. The burns were estimated to have occurred two days before his death. There were traces of a greasy substance (possibly ointment) on the burns. This was also never identified. He had a day's growth of beard and had eaten well, although not on the day of his death. The body had been exposed to the pouring rain for at least a day.

  The autopsy revealed that he had apparently died between 11:15 am and 1:15 pm on the day of his discovery and the body had layed on the coal tip for some three or four hours. Although the inquest returned a verdict of death by heart attack caused by a shock or fright, his killer was never found.

• 1980 - On the 28th of November PC Alan Godfrey was driving his patrol car in Todmorden when he saw what he believed to be a UFO.
  

  He reported: 'I was driving a police car at the time, and in the early hours of the morning I came across what I thought at that time was a bus that had slid across the road sideways. And when I approached the object - I got within twenty yards of it - and immediately came across what I now describe as a UFO. It was about 20 feet wide and fourteen feet high and was diamond shaped. It had a bank of windows in it and the bottom half was rotating. The police blue beacon was bouncing back of it, as were my headlights. It was hovering off the Ground about five feet. And it was very frightening - very frightening...'
  
  He apparently attempted to contact his headquarters by radio but was unable to so he decided to draw the object instead. His next conscious memory is of the UFO gone, he stood 100 yards further down the road, and his boots were split as though he had been dragged.

  He claimed that he was so deeply disturbed by the events that he was unsure what to do until the following evening when he heard some colleagues discussing strange lights in the sky. He subsequently confided in a colleague who was a member of a local UFO investigation society and he persuaded PC Godfrey to undergo a session of regressive hypnosis eight months after the event.

  Under hypnosis, he described a bright light which stopped the car engine and caused his radio and handset to be filled with sttaic. He then remembered a bright light as he lost consciousness. He then remembered being in a strange room, more like a house than a spaceship, there was a large black dog present. He was observed by a heavily bearded man in 'biblical' clothing who communicated with him telepathically. The man, who communicated that his name was Yosef, had several small robots assisting him - these were described as being 'the size of a five-year old lad' with 'a head shaped like a lamp'. Yosef 'asked' PC Godfrey a number of questions, said that Godfrey 'knew' him and was promised a further encounter later.

  PC Godfrey remained true to his version of events and later wrote a book about his experiences.

• 1981 - A number of local UFO sightings were reported.

• 1995 - A Calderdale couple and their niece and her boyfriend observed some flashing lights about a quarter of a mile away from their garden. They then remember something above them with a black door, high up with what seemed to be vapour across it. The door subsequently opened and a beam of light shot out. They then saw an object with lights in a triangular shape at the top and four lights on the bottom. The top lights were moving in the opposite direction to the lower lights. The object shot a beam of light out at a nearby house then disappeared to reappear further down the valley.

  During this time they experienced a warm sensation and a loss of sound then the objects vanished. The people claimed that they then experienced a sensation of time loss in that the events had started at 9:40 pm and a few seconds later it was 10:50 pm. None of the group had any knowledge of what had happened during the missing time.