Former UFO hunter claims Government phone-tappers forced the closure of his own organization, the Unidentified Flying Object Information Bureau, was forced to close due to government phone tapping.
In the late 1960s, Brian Leathley-Andrew documented tales of a multitude of odd craft. According to press clippings from the period, the truth was clearly out there — and lurking in the sky over the West Midlands.
However, Brian – who now refers to himself as Lord Brian Leathley-Andrew – feels that his work made dark characters in the halls of power nervous.
They were worried that he’d stumbled into evil technologies being researched in hidden locations, he believes. The former electrical engineer, now 71 and residing in Bedworth, Warwickshire, claims that “society is being observed by the Department of Them.” Greetings, System X.
“Clearly, I had issues with phone tapping, brutally gross phone tapping.” The click was audible.
“In retrospect, there were far too many people staring.”
Brian has turned his back on the UFO bureau for more than 50 years, and his interest in Close Encounters has waned.
“I’m retired these days,” he acknowledges. “I can’t seem to find the time to tie my shoelaces.”
Brian Leathley- Andrew’s
Nonetheless, he is confident of the veracity of some of the sightings, despite the fact that his work has been hampered by hoaxers on occasion.
He also insists that Big Brother was watching — and listening in. His personal security, and possibly his life, he claims, were jeopardized.
“There were a number of people who took the mickey,” he acknowledges. “A UFO photograph was submitted to me by a guy.
“It was the lid of the identical hand cream that my wife used. The jar was there in front of me on the table.”
Brian’s bureau’s work continues on in the yellowed archives of our sister publication, The Coventry Telegraph, more than a half-century later.
Brian publicly confessed he was terrified on December 3, 1968. He announced the organization’s collapse under the banner headline “Worried UFO Man Gives Up.”
Brian claimed in the shocking article:
– He had been seen by a guy with a blazing orange face; – His phone went out every time he tried to discuss UFOs; – He got a phone message from someone who spoke “strange English.”
“I’ve given up on this issue and shredded all the papers,” he told the Telegraph. “There have been events that have alarmed and scared me and my wife.”
Brian’s alarm went off as he was servicing his mother’s automobile.
“All of a sudden, I observed a man standing by the next-door garage,” he told the newspaper. “No one had ever gone there before.
“His face was bright orange. As I stared, the visage transformed into that of an elderly guy in front of my eyes. He then turned around and went away.
“In conventional terms, you couldn’t describe the first face. It had eyes, a nose, and a mouth – but not in the shape we identify with the human figure.”
Soon later, a planned visit to a fellow UFO enthusiast in Stoke was mysteriously canceled.
“All the lights in the home immediately dimmed, as if a massive electrical load had been thrown into the circuit,” he explained.
“Normally, this would happen once in a while, but it continued happening.” This is really rare.
“It all began two days after I opened my bureau. I’d want to officially caution any adolescent hobbyists that this is not something to take lightly.”
According to the claims, Brian was in the right position at the right time to see extraterrestrial activity. The Coventry Telegraph ran page after page of sightings at the time.
And he wasn’t the only one suffering from ET fever. He believes the rush of sightings corresponded with government experimental studies. He pointed out that the Rolls Royce facility was nearby.
On a regular basis, Coventry residents – including municipal police officers – were subjected to close confrontations.
The dramatic reports are best characterized as “of their period.” To be honest, several of the Coventry Telegraph reporters appear to have approached the subject with a sly grin on their face.
As an example…
“UFO Became A Mother” (September 28, 1968): “A flying saucer that gave birth above Willenhall has been reported to Mr. Brian Leathley-Unidentified Andrew’s Flying Object Information Centre.”
“An eyewitness called Mr. Leathley-Andrew to say that the mother UFO was a massive sphere-like object spotted in 1953.” Sparks emitted from the UFO’s underbelly, giving birth to a little spherical. People in a bus wait at Willenhall traffic island witnessed the event.”
There’s more…
“Flying Saucers Aren’t a Load of Tripe,” September 24, 1968: Mr. Wilf Grunau told Nuneaton Rotary Club that “flying saucers were the greatest enigma of our time and should not be disregarded as a bunch of tripe.”
“Mr. Grunau is the managing director of Anson Motor Carriage Company, which has operations in Solihull and Nuneaton.” He said that humans have been witnessing weird phenomena in the sky from the dawn of recorded history. Mr. Grunau stated that he had made two sightings above Coventry using binoculars. ‘As a result, I believe in UFOs,’ he stated. All I can say is that UFOs must be flown by aliens from other worlds, or they are a natural phenomenon in our environment.”
And there’s more…
“Saucer Over City, Say Women” (March 31, 1969): “Two Coventry women believe a flying saucer may have passed over the city over the weekend after being awakened by an ‘unearthly’ high-pitched whine followed by a blazing light.”
“‘I’ve gone through all the options, and it is the only answer I can think of,’ said Patricia Hughes, 28.”
‘Do not be overly skeptical of UFOs.’
Back in the 1960s and early 1970s, members of the police force were less hesitant to confess they had observed UFOs.
After all, the entire country was a secret believer.
Four cops told their account to the Coventry Telegraph on February 24, 1971.
It stated: “PC ‘We were attending a job in Lythall’s Lane at 6.15 am when we all observed a weird thing in the sky,’ claimed Brian Hewitt of B sub-division.
“‘It wasn’t a meteorite or anything of the kind. There were three solitary white lights in the sky over Nuneaton, traveling in a widespread westward towards Birmingham. They then proceeded to the north.
“‘They were roughly two miles up, and the lights did not belong to the same object because they were so far apart.” They looked to be forming a line.
“‘They were also traveling at a remarkable speed since an aircraft flying at, say, 600mph would appear to be moving extremely slowly at that height.”
“‘I’m not sure what they could have been.” I don’t believe in flying saucers or anything like that, and I’ve tried to think about it rationally. I checked with air traffic control at Birmingham Airport, and the first plane to land there was after we saw those lights. ‘I don’t know what to say.'”
The police even issued a request for UFO sightings, such as the extent of the space fever.
“Don’t be too cynical about UFOs,” Warwickshire police sergeant Mike Davies told the Telegraph on January 4, 1972.
“I request that those to whom sightings are reported to pay attention to what is said. They can then conclude what the thing was not and hypothesize on what it was. I think there is something beyond our knowledge and technological capabilities.
“There is a propensity to pick a few statements and then create a broad assertion about what an item was.” People are often too quick to disregard the matter.”
“I have yet to be convinced that the government is not withholding some information concerning UFOs,” the officer stated.
“However, suppose there was a declaration that we were being invaded by people from another planet. What do you think the public’s reaction would be?”
