January 21st 2024.
Back in 1974, a curious event took place in the rugged mountains of Wales, which came to be known as the Welsh Roswell. It was a chilly January evening, and the small village of Llandderfel was suddenly shaken by a loud rumbling, causing people to rush out into the streets in confusion. As they looked up at the dark hills, they saw strange lights darting across the sky. It was a disorienting and eerie sight that left many wondering what was happening.
The local police were inundated with calls from panicked residents reporting some kind of explosion. In the midst of it all, Pat Evans, a nurse, was watching television in her home when she felt a jolt and heard a loud noise. Fearing that an aircraft had crashed, she quickly drove up the winding roads towards the mountains, with mist rolling in around her.
As she and others reached the top, they were met with a surreal scene. Pat later told the press that they saw a huge orange ball sitting on the mountain, emitting a strange glow. Meanwhile, 25 miles away in the village of Betws-y-Coed, Ken Houghton witnessed something equally bizarre. He saw sheet lightning behind a cloud, followed by a sphere descending onto the hills.
The incident quickly gained attention, with the Leicester Daily Mercury reporting on the mysterious events of January 23, 1974. The RAF even sent out a search and rescue team to investigate, but the rugged terrain and darkness made it impossible to conduct a thorough ground search.
In the weeks that followed, scientists, police officers, and curious villagers flocked to the Berwyn mountains, a sparsely populated area popular with hikers. The prevailing theory was that a meteor had crashed into the hills, but despite extensive searches, no evidence was ever found. Or so we were told.
Now, 50 years later, on another cold January night, the Berwyn Arms pub in the village of Glyndyfrdwy is abuzz with chatter and laughter. As drinks flow, the events of that fateful night in 1974 are brought up, sparking a mix of amusement and intrigue among the locals and tourists. Some joke about "little green men," while others whisper about a government cover-up. But for most, it's just a distant memory, except for 73-year-old Gareth Jones, who was 24 at the time and still can't be sure what really happened.
Gareth recalls how the incident caused a stir in the community, with farmers being told to stay away from the area. He also remembers hearing about a big round patch on the hillside that some claimed to have seen burning. Meanwhile, at G.R Evans Butchers in the nearby town of Corwen, owner Arwel Hughes recalls hearing the story as a child and now takes it with a pinch of salt, seeing it as a fun local legend.
But for his colleague, Susan Evans, strange sightings in the area were not uncommon, even outside of January 24, 1974. She shares how her uncle, who was a police officer, claimed to have seen a UFO while on patrol in the years after the Berwyn incident.
As they discuss the possibility of aliens in North Wales, their conversation catches the attention of a nearby shopper, Elwen Roberts. She recalls the excitement that swept through her school in the nearby village of Betws Gwerfil Goch when news of the incident broke. As a 12-year-old at the time, she and her classmates were initially scared by the talk of "little green men" and Martians, but were eventually told that it had been an earthquake.
When asked if she believes the incident could have been supernatural in nature, Elwen hesitates before answering with a "you never know." After all, the official explanation for the strange occurrences that night was that an earthquake had coincided with a meteor shower. But not everyone is convinced, as UFO enthusiasts continue to claim that it was a cover-up for an alien spacecraft crash.
One such enthusiast is Andy Roberts, who was a science-fiction obsessed teenager at the time of the incident and is now a well-known UFO expert. He shares how the release of the popular TV show The X-Files in the 1990s sparked a renewed interest in UFOs and aliens, with many referencing the Berwyn incident as a government cover-up. Rumors of alien bodies being loaded onto trucks and the army preventing access to the mountain only added to the mystery.
The incident was soon dubbed "Roswelsh," a nod to the infamous Roswell incident in New Mexico in 1947. Whether it was a meteor or something more otherworldly, the events of that January evening in 1974 continue to intrigue and puzzle people to this day. As the years go by, the truth behind the Welsh Roswell remains shrouded in mystery.
In the small village of Llandderfel, located in rural Wales, an event occurred on the evening of January 23, 1974 that would forever be remembered as the Welsh Roswell. It was a night like any other, until a strange rumbling noise began to grow louder and louder, causing ornaments to rattle, walls to shake, and lights to flicker. Curious villagers flooded the streets, gazing up at the dark hills where they witnessed peculiar lights dancing across the sky.
The chaos continued as panicked residents flooded the police switchboards, reporting some sort of explosion. One witness, Pat Evans, was even jolted from her seat as she watched television, convinced that an aircraft had crashed. She quickly jumped into her car and raced up the winding B4391 road, shrouded in mist, to get a closer look. "We drove a fair way along the mountain road," she later recalled to the press. "To our left, we could see a huge orange ball sitting on the mountain. It was glowing."
Meanwhile, 25 miles away in the village of Betws-y-Coed, Ken Houghton also witnessed a bizarre occurrence on the hillside. He reported seeing "sheet lightning behind a cloud" before a "sphere came down" onto the hills. The media quickly caught wind of the strange events, with the Leicester Daily Mercury detailing the "mystery" on Thursday, January 24, 1974.
The situation only escalated when an RAF search and rescue team was dispatched to investigate the incident. However, due to the treacherous terrain and darkness, the ground search was called off. In the following weeks, the Berwyn mountains became a hub of activity as scientists, police officers, and curious villagers flocked to the area, eager to uncover the truth behind what had happened that fateful night.
Speculation ran wild, with some believing that a meteor had crashed into the hills while others suspected something more otherworldly. But despite the extensive search efforts, nothing was ever found. Many were left wondering if the whole thing had been a hoax or a government cover-up.
Fast forward 50 years to another cold January night, and the Berwyn Arms in the village of Glyndyfrdwy is buzzing with activity. The pub, situated on the A5 road that winds through the surrounding mountains, is a popular spot for locals and tourists alike. As the drinks flow, the events of January 23, 1974 are brought up, causing laughter and reminiscing among the patrons.
Some joke about "little green men," while others speak of a "total cover-up." However, for 73-year-old Gareth Jones, who was 24 at the time of the incident, the memories are not as lighthearted. "It was a really big thing," he tells Metro. "I was a coalman and knew all the farmers at the time. They weren't allowed to go anywhere near where it happened. They spoke of seeing something burning in a big round patch on the hillside."
In the nearby town of Corwen, at G.R Evans Butchers, owner Arwel Hughes recalls hearing about the incident as a child and now takes it with a grain of salt. "It was always a bit of fun, really," he says. "I can't believe it's nearly been 50 years." His colleague, Susan Evans, chimes in, mentioning that UFO sightings in the area were not uncommon, even outside of the 1974 incident. She shares a family story of her uncle, a police officer, who claimed to have seen a UFO while on patrol a few years after the Berwyn incident.
As the group discusses the possibility of aliens in North Wales, their conversation attracts the attention of Elwen Roberts, a shopper from a nearby village. She recalls the excitement that spread through her school when the incident occurred. "A lot of people from here were interviewed about it for television and the papers," she says. "I was 12 at the time and at school in Bala, so it was very exciting for us. In school, everyone just thought 'oh my god' to begin with. We asked each other if we had felt the rumbles or seen anything that night. I think we got a little scared at first with all the talk about little green men or Martians. Then we were told it had been an earthquake."
When asked if she believes the incident could have been supernatural, Elwen hesitates before answering, "You never know, do you?" The official explanation for the commotion in the Berwyn mountains was that it was an earthquake that coincided with a meteor shower passing over the region. This explanation was backed by academics from Edinburgh University and Keele University, who measured the earth tremors and tracked the meteor's path.
However, even 50 years later, not everyone is convinced. Ufologists around the world maintain that the explosion was caused by an alien spacecraft crash-landing into the mountainside. According to these theorists, the wreckage was quickly whisked away to a "research base" in Porton Down, Wiltshire. These claims have been denied by the Ministry of Defence and scientists.
One such UFO expert, Andy Roberts, was a science-fiction obsessed teenager in Yorkshire on the night of January 23, 1974. Today, he is an authority on contemporary folklore and former editor of UFO Brigantia. "After the X-Files was released in the 1990s, ufology became very popular in Britain," he explains. "People would reference the Berwyn incident, claiming it had been a UFO crash covered up by the government. There were all these rumors from villagers about seeing alien bodies being loaded onto trucks or the Army stopping people from going near the mountain."
The Berwyn mountains incident quickly became known as "Roswelsh," a nod to the mysterious events that occurred in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. Despite the passing of time and official explanations, the Welsh Roswell remains a subject of fascination and debate. As for the locals, it's a story that will continue to be passed down through generations, some believing it to be just a bit of fun, while others remain convinced that something otherworldly occurred on that cold January night.
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