Warminster

Warminster was the centre of a UFO flap during the 1960s and 70s and became a UFO Mecca for many years. UFO groups and interested people held many sky watches in the area. Specifically from Cradle Hill and Starr Hill.

10 August 1965
In one of the first recorded instances of the Warminster UFO flap, Terry Pell was driving a delivery truck to Copheap Lane. As he was coming to a bend in the road a crimson ball of light flew out from the side of a hill, hovered for a short time and then flew straight at him. He described the object as resembling a human eye. He braked sharply and his truck left the road, ending up in a ditch. He was not alone at the time of the sighting as his wife and his daughter were asleep in the back of the truck.

29th August 1965
Gordon Faulkner, (then 17) photographed a UFO from the town centre that was subsequently published by the popular press. This generated the huge amount of interest in UFO sightings over Warminster skies, culminating in huge organised sky watches from nearby Cley Hill. Later in 1994, Richard Hooton said that he and Faulkner had hoaxed the photo by using a cotton reel and a button. Gordon Faulkner denied the claim saying that he didn’t even know a Richard Hooton. The photo, which looked like a spinning top, was published in the Daily Mirror, after which there were many sightings of objects of various shapes and sizes.

There have been few sightings in recent years but the town is still remembered in the annals of UFO lore.

Directions: Reached from the A36.