Date: 1977
Location: Winchester, Hampshire, UK
Message: I was walking home from Winchester back to my village, which at the time was Stockbridge, Hampshire. The year was 1977; there is a place known locally as the 'the downs' about mile and half northeast of Stockbridge.
It was a clear but cold night and as I was approaching the downs I saw a very bright orange glow.
I knew the army air core flew in that area but this was way too bright and quiet to be any helicopter. As I neared the Stockbridge-side, the light rose into the air; there was no noise as you would expect from a low flying helicopter.
I admit I was scared, but at the same time I felt drawn to know what it was. As I got closer, the light changed to an almost blinding white and blue brilliance.
I was not close enough to see the full size of the object but what I did see is that it was not a helicopter! This thing moved way too fast and it looked much bigger as well.
The unidentified rose vertically then moved fast, heading in a westerly direction over the downs then out of sight.
I did not speak about this until my mother came home from bingo one Friday night a few weeks later. She and some of her friends were driving back to Stockbridge from Winchester when they spoke about also having encountered a bright orange glow.
My mother said it was low flying and moving extremely fast; and that
is when I told her what I had observed. We both knew if we had said
anything to anyone else we would not have been believed or told it was
the army flying late.
To this day I don't know what I saw but I do know for a fact that it was not a helicopter or any sort of plane.
'Dermot'
