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RAF soldier John Warren came across a green glowing figure and a strange object in Norfolk in May 1943. The still-unexplained event highlights pre-1947 UFO sightings in Britain, says guest writer PHILIP MANTLE
The term “flying saucer” entered popular culture in 1947 when Kenneth Arnold witnessed a formation of objects over the Cascade Mountains in the US. As a result, the modern era of UFO sightings began with Kenneth Arnold.
Most if not all UFO researchers know that there were sightings of Kenneth Arnold before 1947 and here is one from 1943 during World War II.
It’s not just any UFO sighting, but it’s what we would call a close encounter, with a fair degree of strangeness.
Mr Warren served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was stationed at a small air base near the village of Ludham, just a few miles from Norwich in Norfolk. Mr. Warren was responsible for arming the two squadrons of aircraft stationed at the base, as well as the anti-aircraft defense.
One evening in May 1943, Mr. Warren returned to base quite late, having attended a dance in a local village about 12 miles away from the base. He had missed the last train, so he had no choice but to walk the twelve kilometers back to base. Once he left the village, there was nothing but open fields before him.
What did John Warren see?
After walking for several miles, and just on the edge of the village of Ludham, Mr Warren noticed a ‘green glow’ in the road ahead.
As he got closer to this strange glow, he noticed that it was coming from a ‘man’ standing by the side of the road. This man had a strange kind of ‘diver’s helmet’ on his head and an oblong thing on his chest.
The green glow came from this thing on his chest and fanned up into the man’s face. The man had a peculiar ‘grin’ on his face and this expression never changed. The man never moved or acknowledged Mr. Warren’s presence. Behind the man was a hedge or fence that bordered the field. In this field stood an object that had the shape of a ‘bubble tent’. Next to it were two more figures that appeared to be wearing some kind of white ‘boiler suit’ and were moving towards the left side of this object.
Mr. Warren was very frightened by this sight and walked past the strange man on the side of the road and never looked back. At no point did this man move or talk on the side of the road, he just stood there with a grin on his face and the green glow from his chest shining in his face.
Mr. Warren returned to base and went to bed, still amazed and scared by what he had seen. His first reaction, in wartime, was that the Germans were invading, but if that were the case they would certainly have killed him. Not long after getting into bed, a friend climbed in through the window (Mr. Warren had locked the door) and he too was in an anxious state and suggested he had encountered the same thing, although he did not go into detail wanted to step.
Mr Warren was so shocked by the event that he stayed away from the area in question for more than two weeks. When he visited the area, he couldn’t find anything that could explain what he had seen.
Philip Mantle interviews Mr. Warren in 1987
I interviewed Mr Warren personally in August 1987 at his home in West Yorkshire. He still remembered the event with great clarity and told me that he was still very amazed by the whole event. He was demobilized in 1947 and had reached the rank of Leading Aircraftman.
I have a fully typed written transcript of my interview with Mr. Warren on file. Mr. Warren contacted me after seeing me in a local newspaper in the area. I experienced him as a down-to-earth, sensible and reliable witness.
He had previously reported his encounter in 1966 and was contacted by the British UFO Research Association (Yorkshire Branch) in 1973 and a copy of their letter can be found here.
I speculated with Mr. Warren as to whether he could have misidentified some sort of military test or maneuver, but he was confident that this was not the case. He had seen many things during his service in the RAF during the Second World War, but nothing like this event in May 1943.
When I interviewed John Warren at his home in West Yorkshire, he was then retired and his memory was as sharp as a pin. There was no hesitation in remembering and retelling this incident and you could still see the bewilderment in his eyes as he described it to me.
As far as I’m concerned, this is another classic case that has never seen the light of day until now. How many such incidents remain undiscovered? Thousands I think. But at least Mr. Warren’s meeting is now available for your distribution.
About Philip Mantel
PHILIP MANTLE is a long-standing UFO researcher and author from Great Britain. He was previously director of research for the British UFO Research Association and the MUFON representative for England. He is the founder of Flying Disk Press and can be reached at www.flyingdiskpress.com or email: [email protected]
The new book, UFO landings in Britainby Philip Mantle, is available now on Amazon.
