MOD file DEFE 24/2032/1

.,.
1287 Unide11ti/ied [LORDS] Flying Objects 1288
[Lord Gainford.] and who have not yet disappeared from
receive every possible encouragement to the scene who could make valuable use
take part in many debates in the future. of their past experience in establishing
My main contribution to this debate is to centres in various districts throughout the
assure the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, of country-and I do not suggest that we
any support that I can give. If we are start opening up the old observer posts
going to have a study group in your in the countryside-to receive and analyse
Lordships' House I shall be glad to be a any reported sightings from the public.
volunteer to take part whenever I h:we the Such people with a sense of responsibility
opportunity. I also thank him and others could, with a little experience, sift the
for initiating this debate, and for the genuine reports from the false.
pleasure of having such a refreshing subject
to discuss in the midst of the present Suggesting that such an organisation
period of crices and strikes. be set up, particularly at times like these,
can naturally give rise to a protest about
I am the lOth person to speak in this the waste of public money; but volunteers
debate. I have noticed that so far none of who might be willing to work for a few
your Lordships have actually reporteJ a hours are quite prepared to do it for very
sighting, so here goes! I am going to stick small remuneration, if any at all. 1 have
my neck out, open my big mouth and mentioned the Civil Defence Service, and
trust I am not going to put my foot in it! I did not know whether or not I should
I saw a UFO a little while ago. It was on declare an interest, but I was a member of
31st December about 8 p.m. All right, it during the 'sixties ancl I was one of
my Lords, have a good laugh, it was many who were bitterly disappointed when
Hogmanay! Up in Argyll it was a New it had to go into abeyance. I recall
Year's Eve party and somebody said there particularly the conrradeship and the
was something funny f!yi11g across the sky. sense that we were doing a useful job for
Fifteen of us came out to have a look, the community.
including some children. They had been
drinking soft drinks anyway! The object If I hau the time and opportunity, I
was like a bright white ball with a iouch I should enjoy volunteering for working
of red followed by a white cone. In fact in a UFO information centre, if that
the whole object had the appearance of a ·1 might be a suggested name for the
small comet. It was heading eastwards organisation that would be required. I
and seemed rather low in the sky, passing I shall be interested to hear the surnmings
up in this debate. I can give no explana-
over the hills between Loch Sweyne and tion why there should be these phenomena
Loch Fyne. The position from which we
viewed it was outside the village of Tay- concentr::~ted within p2.rticularly the past
32 years as was confirmed by the nob1e
vallich in Argyllshire on the West coast Earl, Lord Clancarty, and these flying
of Scotland about the same latitude as saucers in the year 1947 \Vhen the phrase
Glasgow. was coined; but I would just accentuate
As the ball disappeared into the distance
it seemed to divide into two parts. It
may have been a comet or a meteorite,
but I should like to know what it really
was. It would have been very beneficial
if there had been some sort of centre to
which I could \Vrite or telephone to report
such an incident. No doubt setting up
such an organisation would be an invita-
tion to pranks, but for starting such a
centre I suggest that volunteers could
readily be found from the ranks of the
former Civil Defence Service and/or the
Royal Observer Corps. The Royal Ob-
server Corps still exists but it has literally,
if not metaphorically, gone underground
where it is preparing to report and advise
on nuclear fallout in the case of war.
But there are many who used to serve it
-~
what has been said before and add that
if they are man-made or some astronomical
feature, and provided there is no risk of
any security breach, then the public have
a righ.t to know about them.
9.20 p.m.
The Earl of HALSBURY: My Lords,
in common with everyone else who has
spoken, I should like to thank the noble
Earl, Lord Clancarty, for giving us an
opportunity to have, as it were, a scamper
over the course and exchange views on
this very interesting and controversial
topic. At the same time, I should like
to congratu1ate the noble Viscount O!l
his maiden speech, which was obviously
a very well thought out and well assemble
1289
set of co
for his fu
where 1 k
At the
the noble
like to tel
the sighti
them in
beginning
an angel.
the noble
who men
was the r
the noble
is perfec
guardian
bed. Na
a child, I
form with
This prese
initiating
gel me in
Having r
life and a
to deny t
was there
sufficient c
I have pu
if scientis
cannot ex
kind of
welcome
because it
it were, sti
out somet
The ne
of World
old, and
weJIC Zep,.
dark into
we lived
number o
I had see
Zeppelin
cigar-shap
looking •~
the pcrsp
· on to a
interpret i
telling m
I had see
The ne
very clos
Lord Da
Macbeth
graphic
really ar
interpret:
H.L. 3 Q