On 23 January 1974 on the

Berwyn Mountains The Berwyn range (Welsh: ''Y Berwyn'' or ''Mynydd y Berwyn'') is an isolated and sparsely populated area of moorland in the northeast of Wales, roughly bounded by Llangollen in the northeast, Corwen in the northwest, Bala in the southwest, and ...

in Llandrillo,

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, lights and noises were observed that were alleged to be related to a

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

sighting on

Cadair Berwyn Cadair Berwyn or Cader Berwyn is a mountain summit in north-east Wales with a height of above sea level. It is the highest point in the Berwyn range, the highest in North East Wales and the highest significant summit in Wales o ...

and

Cadair Bronwen Cadair Bronwen is a mountain in North Wales and forms part of the Berwyn range. To the south are the higher Berwyn summits, including Cadair Berwyn. To the north lies Moel yr Henfaes and Moel Fferna, which top the north end of the Berwyn range ...

. Scientific evidence indicated that the event was generated by an earthquakeMusson, R.M.W., 2006. The enigmatic Bala earthquake of 1974
Astronomy & Geophysics, vol 47 no 5, pp 11–15
/ref> combined with sightings of a bright meteor widely observed over Wales and northern England at the time.McBeath, A., 2006. Meteor, not shower, over Bala

/ref>

History

On the evening of 23 January 1974, residents of the Berwyn Mountains area in northern Wales reported a loud noise and a bright light in the sky. When

UFOlogists This is a list of notable people who are Ufology, ufologists (UFO researchers). Argentina * Juan Posadas, (1912–1981), Trotskyist theorist who blended together Trotskyism and Ufology. Posadas' version of Trotskyism is regarded as its ...

claimed that a UFO crashed and the British Government covered up the military's recovery of a crashed spaceship, some tabloid newspapers jokingly labelled it "The Roswelsh Incident". Scientific evidence indicates the event was generated by an earthquake combined with sightings of a bright meteor widely observed over Wales and Northern England at the time. Declassified Ministry of Defence documents also suggest the incident was caused by the combined effects of an earthquake and a meteor. The Institute of Geological Sciences (now British Geological Survey) reported that a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was felt at 8:38 p.m. that night over a wide area of northern Wales and as far as

Formby Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "Fo ...

in England - 13 miles north of Liverpool. It was not immediately identified as an earthquake, hence the police investigation. However, the magnitude of the shock was such that had it been due to an aircraft crash, the resulting crater would have been large enough to be easily visible. The unusual lights reported may have been simply the meteor, but may also have included the phenomenon known as earthquake light.

In popular culture

The incident was the subject of a segment on BBC1's ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...

'' on 2 March 2021. A 2017 episode of ''

Ancient Aliens ''Ancient Aliens'' is an American television series that explores the pseudohistorical and pseudoarchaeological ancient astronauts hypothesis, past human- extraterrestrial contact, UFOs, government conspiracies and related pseudoscientific topi ...

'' speculated that a UFO crashed at Berwyn and its wreckage was likely taken to Rudloe Manor.Ancient Aliens Associates Berwyn Mountain UFO incident
with Rudloe Manor

References

External links

MOD response to this incidentListing National Archive records AIR 2/18873 and AIR 2/18874 relating to this eventRichard D. Hall documentary including local exploration and interviews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berwyn Mountain Ufo Incident 1974 in Wales Conspiracy theories in the United Kingdom UFO sightings in Wales January 1974 events in the United Kingdom

History

In popular culture

See also

References

External links