Background to the so-called Welsh Roswell
The Berwyn Mountains incident happened on January 23, 1974, and was triggered by sightings of lights in the sky, and a tremor. Officials quickly descended on the area as people living in and around the villages of Llandderfel and Llandrillo, near Corwen, tried to make sense of what had happened
Reports of the time said the villagers ran from their houses, fearing a second tremor, and then they saw a blaze of light on the mountainside. Some say they saw an egg-shaped craft on the ground with a pulsating orange and red glow.
Police and military officials were called in but only ever released the briefest of information [see below]. Then, in May 2008, a number of Welsh UFO sightings were made public [Find out more via BBC News Wales], but nothing further was issued about the Berwyn incident which has been given an incident number by the MoD [ref Air 2/19083]. Some of that data gleaned from the files in The National Archives states:-
Berwyn - witness accounts
- Gwynedd Police Constabulary Major Incident Log - explosion - 21.10pm PC receiving 999 calls of UFO.
- A witness who saw an object on the hillside said in a statement: 'Saw bright red light, like coal fire red. Large perfect circle. Like a big bonfire. Could see lights above and to the right and white lights moving to bottom. Light changed colour to yellowish white and back again.'
- A message in a police log said: 'There's been a large explosion in the area and there is a large fire in the mountainside. I am speaking from ... and can see the fire where I am.'
- Telex message to chief constable Gwynedd constabulary. 22.00pm approx 23/1/74: Saw bright green lights, object with tail - travelling west. Saw about Bangor direction - dropped down.
- At approx 10pm on 23/1/74: Saw a circular light in the sky at an estimated height of 1,500 feet. This object exploded and pieces fell to the ground. Mr ... estimates the pieces would have fallen into the sea between Rhyl and Liverpool.
The story refused to go away and was back into the headlines in July 2008 when TV's Channel 5 launched a new series, Britain's Closest Encounters, in which its opening programme focussed on Berwyn - and a new witness.
Retired gamekeeper Geraint Edwards, of Llandderfel, was reported in the Daily Mail newspaper, as seeing a UFO a couple of weeks later in the same area:
"It was definitely a flying saucer. It was a pity I didn't have a camera because it was there for at least 10 minutes, just hovering. We were on the way down to play darts when something caught our eye in the south-east, so we stopped.
'It looked like a rugger ball, but the ends of it were more pointy. When it took off, it just went like lightning on the same line as it hovered. I wrote it down in my diary. It was 6.45pm on the Friday night. If we were coming back from the pub, people would be saying, 'They've had one or two.' But we were going TO the pub."
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Scott - Conwy UFO Group
Just sent in a detailed account of the Berwyn Mountain UFO Incident to this site, but I'm expecting it to be deleted or heavily edited. Anyone interested in this event and who wants to know the real story behind the Channel 5 coverage of it should access the Conwy UFO Group website. Sorry, I'm not allowed to put URLs in the text. I was filmed for the prog' on Berwyn, but the commissioning editor refused to include it. Also edited out were other pro UFO people and the same too in other programmes. A full copy of this posting plus the previous submitted will be posted on the CUFOG website for readers to compare the level of editing if such takes place.
Fri Jul 25 08:04:22 2008
Mark, Oswestry
I have an uncle and a cousin who both saw a large moonlike disc coming down towards Cader Bronwen, near Llandrillo. The security was tightened up around the Berwyn Mountains, and the M.O.D took something away on a lorry. I was only 3 years old at the time. But this has always fascinated me since I was told about this. I believe we are being studied by far superior alien races. We are only a small ripple amongst other ripples beyond our universe.
Wed Jul 23 09:14:05 2008
A Writer, UK
Whether this is real or not, it's real enough for me. This event helps reduce the amount of years in my novel and puts it in the correct place. Genius!
Tue Jul 15 08:24:32 2008
Kenny Jones, Chester
I saw Channel 5 and watched it the other night. It was very good. The second sighting could have been a UFO rescue ship but by the time it arrived the military had already taken the craft and its occupants to Porton Down. I wonder if any serviceman would today come forward and tell us the truth of what really happened.
Fri Jul 4 08:29:34 2008
Ted Evans, Bala
What a load of inaccurate journalism published about the nurse and the UFO in Llandrillo. She has NOT moved abroad.She was NOT escorted from the mountain by police or army officials. Is it any wonder she will not speak to the Press these days? Let alone take part in a TV programme which gives air time to so called experts who have mis-quoted / twisted any conversations they may or may not have had with the nurse. They also call it editing!
Fri Jul 4 08:21:28 2008
KT, GLENCOE
In the mid 1980s I was holidaying on a farm with my family about a mile from Llandrillo. The farm was called Tysia Dinam. The Berwyn mountains are right on the doorstep. It was dark outside (probably 8/9pm) and we all (my 2 sisters & parents) saw a bright white light hovering above the mountain in front of us which had a line of trees on the top. It didn't move very much, slightly to the left and right, then hoverered again for ages. Then all of a sudden it flew straight up into the air, and was gone. It has intrigued me ever since and we all wonder what it could have been. I would be interested to find out more and investigate further if I could! I belive it was some kind of UFO.
Fri Jul 4 07:59:18 2008
Chris, Oswestry
I remember this incident - I was in Gobowen at the time. The loud bang I thought was a lorry coming off the A5 and hitting a house. The ice in a glass of coca cola rattled noisily as the room shook. Everyone went outside asking "What was that?" A few days later I received a card from Edinburgh Geological Survey asking for all / any information regarding the 'impact / earthquake'. I haven't heard anything about it since then until yesterday's Channel 5 programme [Britain's Closest Encounters]. It brings it back very clearly.
Thu Jul 3 08:52:16 2008
Chrisd
Hello folks and s'mae - just thought I would pass it on that when I move down to the mid-Wales / Shropshire from the north of England area I intend to do some research on this intriguing incident. The incident deserves far more attention than has been done in the past {or that we know of?} - yet I still would like to investigate and collate as much info as possible. Anyone else interested in this incident that would like to take part or simply help with eye witness accounts?
Thu Jun 12 08:12:00 2008
Becky
We lived in Corwen for many years. We have heard of a nurse or a midwife being called to the mountain for some other reason or other, but apparantly she was denied access to the mountainside as she offered her help as she saw the flash herself and thought she would be of assistance if anyone was hurt. We would like to hear a bit more on this please.
Mon Apr 21 08:48:20 2008
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