NICK REDFERN: Crop Circles and Official Secrets

In early 1941, Sir David Petrie was appointed Director General of the Security Service. MI5, and was given substantial resources to restructure the organization, whose origins date back to 1909. As a result, MI5 became one of the most efficient agencies of the War. After the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, it was learned that all of the Nazi agents targeted against Britain had been successfully identified, and in some cases recruited as double-agents, by MI5 – something that contributed to the success of the Allied Forces landing in Normandy on D-Day on 6 June 1944. 

A number of files pertaining to the wartime activities of MI5 have been declassified and are now available for public inspection at the National Archive, Kew, England. One deals with MI5 investigations of what are intriguingly described as “markings on the ground.” With hindsight, today, those markings may have been nothing less than Crop Circles!

According to the report: “This account is not concerned with the activities of fifth columnists such as sabotage, capturing airfields and key points, and harassing the defending army, but in the methods used in communicating to each other and to the enemy. Reports from Poland, Holland, France and Belgium showed that they used ground markings for the guidance of bombers and paratroops (and of lights by night).”

Read on...

MATT WILLIAMS SENT US THESE...

Interesting formation to get to as its smack bang on the edge of Salisbury Danger Area and it lies inside a Military Air Traffic Zone for Boscombe Down airfield.

I notice what appears to a basket type lay in the middle of the formation and this is quite a new thing as it is in rapeseed, which has never had basket lay as far as I am aware.

PAUL HARESNAPE: Weird Winkleigh 3

A pair of Firedrake dragons, Top Secret Black military aircraft, JFK’s brother, frequent UFO sightings (including a dramatic Close Encounter on a former RAF airfield), crop circles, alien big cats, witchcraft, spectral black dogs, a pub haunted by two ghosts, the discovery of a strange tunnel...Winkleigh in North Devon, England, is an intriguingly Fortean place!

In this, our third and final foray into weird Winkleigh, we lift the lid on a variety of Fortean goings-on that all add weight to my belief that the village is a diverse and active ‘window’ for Fortean activity.

The Kings Arms public house in Winkleigh was built as a coaching inn to serve travellers on the ancient turnpike route between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Today it is one of two thriving pubs in the village and still retains its traditional thatched roof as well as, it would seem, two of its former residents:

‘"George been playing up lately?'' asks the chap in the tweed cap. ''Nah, but Cecilia was going some the other week,'' says his drinking companion.’ [A]

Known the landlords and locals as George and Cecelia, these two ghosts seem rather keen to remind staff and customers alike of their presence. George it seems is rather adverse to change in what must have been his former business or local and will register his displeasure by dropping breakables such as crockery and bottles in slow motion [!]. Cecelia is a mischievous little girl who apparently likes to hang on the aprons of waiting staff and knock over pots and pans to gain attention. [B]

But the intrigue doesn’t stop with George and Cecilia. One of the pub’s dining rooms, sited in what was formerly a courtyard, incorporates a glass-capped, presumably spring-fed well. Or so people thought until a team from the local Cave & Mine Exploration Group decided in 2002 to undertake a full survey of the ancient feature. They successfully drained what was found to be a 30-foot deep stone-lined shaft and were astonished to discover two 5-foot high tunnels, one leading towards the North West and the other in the direction of the church.

Silver and even gold deposits have been found elsewhere in Devon and it has thus been theorised that some enterprising villagers were engaged in surreptitiously mining for such precious - but highly taxable - metals! [C] However, I cannot help but think that as Winkleigh is home to a pair of legendary dragons, and, given the association between dragons and vast hordes of treasure - mightn’t they have been tunnelling for a rather different reason?

I grew up in the village of Witheridge, about 10 miles to the East of Winkleigh. It was whilst at primary school in the late 70s that I first heard of the ‘alien’ big cats the local farmers were sighting on Knowstone and Witheridge moors (both a few miles to the NE, towards Exmoor). The creatures were variously described as puma, lynx and leopard-like by rural folk who certainly knew their foxes from their badgers (!). A large number of sheep were being killed and the farming community had taken it upon themselves to track down - and no doubt eradicate - the elusive creatures. However, the killings continued and by 1983 the story was picked up by the press, who would dub these far-ranging cats ‘The Beast(s) of Exmoor.’

It was at this time that a resident of our village had a close encounter with a large puma-like cat whilst driving the school minibus. This sighting made headlines in the local and regional press:

‘I could have touched it...It came out of the woods in front of me. It had a long tail, a puma-like head, pricked ears and a grey-body’. [D]

As Mrs Yendell had been my next door neighbour for a number of years I can at least vouch for her integrity!

The Government of the day drafted in Devon-based Royal Marines; however, not only did the creatures avoid capture but sightings were being reported of large cats of varying descriptions the length and breadth of Britain. In the years since, there have been literally thousands of big cat sightings in Britain, with Devon consistently at or near the top of the sightings table, although like all Forteana, they have proven to be rather camera shy.

The authorities continued to deny the existence of these big cats right up until January of this year when - under the Freedom of Information Act - The Forestry Commission admitted that their own rangers had, on two separate occasions, watched big cats through night-viewing equipment whilst undertaking deer population surveys in the Forest of Dean, Gloucester, England. [E]

Moving closer to home, the North Devon Journal reported on 15th January 1999 that:

‘Newquay Zoo managing director and big cat expert Mike Thomas said a puma, with a territory of up to 40 miles and no den, would survive "brilliantly" in North Devon because of its landscape - a mixture of rocky, wooded and open spaces. "The climate is perfect for them," he said. "Their main diet would be smaller prey, such as mice, voles, rabbits and birds. There have also been some reports of cats attacking lambs." He said this sighting could be a second, third or even fourth generation puma which would have been born into the North Devon climate.’

No surprise, then, that there have been many big cat sightings in the countryside around Winkleigh over the years. Too numerous to list here, I would recommend the excellent website http://www.bigcatsinbritain.org/ and an ordnance survey map of the area to those wishing to learn more.

Local legend has it that a spectral black dog haunts the A3072 between Copplestone and North Tawton, to the south of Winkleigh and an area of former Roman occupation. This spectral beast has also been associated with the village of Morchard Bishop to the East of Copplestone [F] Details are elusive and it is a story that I personally would like to investigate further.
Finally, please forgive me for including this final Fortean legend as it belongs to the village of Colebrook, some 10 miles to the SE of Winkleigh. However, it is to my mind the most intriguing and elusive paranormal tale to come out of these parts. In the steep-sided lanes around Colebrook a phantom monkey is said to lurk. This creature apparently has red fur and attacks people! [G] Again, details are elusive but anyone who has read Man-Monkey by Nick Redfern will surely see an eerie parallel here....

Well, I hope you have enjoyed our third and final visit to weird Winkleigh. Personally, I can’t wait for the warmer weather so that I can pack up my tent and spend a long weekend at Cadbury Hill on the look-out for dragons, UFOs et al. If any readers of this blog have any further information on the phenomena we have covered, or know of any other weird happenings in the general area of Mid/North Devon, I would be delighted to hear from them: paulharesnape@yahoo.co.uk


[A] The Daily Telegraph: 14th March 2008
[B] http://www.jackiefreemanphotography.com/
[C] Ibid.
[D] Express & Echo: 29th March 1985
[E] The Daily Telegraph: 7th January 2009
[F] Weird Devon. Downes, Freeman, Inglis. Bossiney Books.
[G] Ibid.

CFZ PEOPLE: MATT WILLIAMS WRITES

It is very sad that the Crop Circle Connector chose to close their forum recently after it is claimed that a few individuals had been abusing the site and there were not enough moderators to handle the looking after of such a site.

It is with this in mind that I have decided to let everyone know there is a new forum created now where you can chat and leave messages. It also has an unlimited ability to handle uploading of photos of the crop circles.

Hopefully this will create a good new community for people to chat openly about the subject.

Please pass on this to all you know to come and visit the forum.

http://www.cropcirclechat.com/


Matthew

POLICE: WHEN CROP CIRCLES ATTACK

For years there have been stories of shadowy armed police or troops involved with crop circles. For example, in The Rising of the Moon, the book I wrote with Nigel Wright ten years back, I wrote of such rumours, but now we have received this extraordinary photograph. However, whoa there young conspiracy buffs, `cos this ain't what it looks like it could have been.

A person on a crop circle forum (sent to me via Matty W) writes: At long last I have seen some Police out in force over our local crop circles; in fact Her Maj's finest armed response team came bounding over my farm, with helicopter hovering, to find me. All because of this:

Crop Circle at Cannings Cross, Near Allington, Wiltshire, reported 10th July 2009

Once I persuaded the nice Mr Policeman that I wasn't a threat I was able to point out that it wasn't on my land, and as for reports that someone is "employed to keep people off it with a shotgun" I didn't know anything but thought it more likely he was there to keep the rooks off the corn (they love to start stripping a field from the damaged edges of a circle) because no one would be silly enough to try and keep vandals off their land with a shotgun, would they?

http://www.anenglishmanscastle.com/archives/007579.html

Sad News: Paul Vigay dead

We have just received the following email from Matthew Williams: "It was today whilst away from home I heard about the sad death of Paul Vigay who may it appears to have commited suicide.

I must say I was very saddened and shocked to hear of this loss as Paul seemed to be a very lively and happy person every time I met him. I always remember him giggling or smiling and he was again another very courteus fellow who we could agree on many subject matters of the paranormal.

He was also friendly towards circlemakers and had a sensible approach to the subject.

I remember many a night on Knapp Hill when Paul Vigay would turn up and start swapping info on circle energy detectors with Steve Clementson. We were careful to try and hide our circlemaking activities from Paul and many other but we always suspected that Paul was on to us such was his eye for observation".

I only met the guy once, but he seemed a nice bloke, and from the copious messages of condolence on his website, it seems certain that he will be sorely missed.

COLUMNIST TIM MATTHEWS: Round And Round In Circles

Tim Matthews is one of my best friends, and also - coincidentally - one of the most controversial figures in contemporary forteana. He has been involved with the CFZ for nearly a decade now, raising eyebrows wherever he goes.

It takes two months of practice to move from making your first half-decent crop circle, perhaps a 30ft creation that can be made in 15-20 minutes, and something rather more spectacular. I know this because I have done it. Most people who make crop circles do so because they are told, by an increasingly isolated minority of desperados and New Age whackos, that they “cannot be made” at night with a small team of up to four individuals working together. Of course they can and always have been but it amazes me to discover, when for example speaking with work colleagues, how they just don’t get it, at least not to begin with.

If you say to them, “remember at school when you used to make nice patterns with a compass and pencil?” they go “ooooh yes” or “it was easy” and it is as if some amazing revelation has just taken place. Take them outside into the large light industrial area outside with a stick and show them how to mark out a circle using a bit of rope and one of them standing in the middle of the circle and they seem impressed. Tell them that to flatten wheat and make pretty aesthetically pleasing patterns all you need is a four foot stomper board, and that you push the wheat or barley down in the middle for the best results, and they seem to get it.

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and once crop circles became widely known as a phenomenon from 1980 onwards many teams stepped into the corn to see if they could out do each other in terms of creativity. Although for obvious geometric reasons circles form the backbone of crop art - because it is art and has nothing to do with aliens, a higher intelligence or anything of the sort - triangles, squares and other simple shapes can be combined to impress even the most unhappy observer. Because circle makers opt to put formations near ancient historical and religious sites, or where they have dowsed to see if “natural earth energies” are present all sorts of pseudo religious nonsense is added to what is a simple creative-artistic process. What is more, small number of circle makers see themselves as agents of a higher power just to confuse things further.

The thrill is, of course, not to be caught and to produce a formation that pleases the senses. You, the potential circle maker, are also doing English tourism a massive favour. I remember phoning the former head of south west tourism for an interview many years ago (1999) asking for an interview about the impact of crop circles and he was of the view that crop formations were good for business. Anything to get people into Wiltshire, Hampshire and surrounding counties….

And what harm is done? Let’s just put it like this. Farmers like to moan and groan about crop circles but in some cases they profit from it. They can lower the cutters on their machinery to harvest crops affected by the circle making evil doers and, with prices for crops at an historical low, who’s losing out? The answer is simple. Nobody. You could potentially make more money by charging tourists to trample in the field to examine a crop formation up close than you will for the crop! Some farmers, where crop formations regularly appear, do indeed have a working relationship with some of the better known circle makers. An open secret, as it’s known.

If you really want to wind up the believers, fresh from a Glastonbury bookshop or of Sacred Geometrical Delusion, then why not drop some iron filings near the centre of a formation, paint balloons silver and let them off near your formation or arrange for “anomalous lights” to be seen locally. Even better, sit in a well know circle enthusiasts pub, listen to the conversation for information about the latest “projected formations” no doubt “channelled” by Miss Mystic Of Gurutania and fresh ideas will abound. I remember once talking to a circle maker who’d been for a drink with the local head honcho of a UK CSETI group (the ones that think you can shine torches at supposed UFOs and communicate with them, or that you can hold hands in a circle and wait for the aliens to land nearby). The Big Cheese told him that members of his “meditation group” had “channelled information” indicating that a huge formation would be put down in a nearby field within days. Lo and behold, my friend and his mate, after a few pints, went off into the field with his stomper boards and produced the desired result. Cause and effect! Simple!

Of course, getting used to working at night is not easy at first. Your eyes have to adjust; no wonder you often see strange things out of the corner of your eye (occasionally claimed as Paranormal phenomena). True, there is nothing like being in the fields of England at night. You want peace? You’ve got it! Circle making provides you with the most remarkable feeling of one-ness and, upon completion of your formation (nearly always conveniently located in a natural amphitheatre from where the tourists and croppies can observe), a remarkable feeling of satisfaction. You might not be good at your job but you’re good at this! Now you have a calling and it is in and amongst the sacred sites of England on a beautiful summer’s night.

If you haven’t tried it I suggest you do. Yes, it’s technically illegal so sensible caveats apply but only one man has been thus far prosecuted (our good friend and circle making hero Matthew Williams) and you will quite possibly “find” yourself whilst being amazingly creative. The highlight of the season 2009 might be a series of carefully sculpted Cryptids. The all-new physical graffiti this green and pleasant land…