1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: The following episode contains disturbing scenes of war. Parental discretion 2 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: is advised. It is late one January night in nineteen 3 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: seventy eight on the outskirts of the village of Mitchett 4 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: in the south of England. Two fifteen year old boys 5 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: Ron Hills and Ian Hoole are running home through the cold, 6 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: windy darkness when Ron senses something moving through the clouds 7 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: above them. Turning a corner at the sound of a 8 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: low hum, he stops and looks up to see a large, 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: oblong shape cruising through the sky, lighting up the clouds 10 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,000 Speaker 1: that it goes, with two white beams of light at 11 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: the front and two red lights that pulsed on and 12 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:57,280 Speaker 1: off underneath. Ian, catching up to Ron moments later, stops 13 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: suddenly by his side and looks up in awe as 14 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:04,320 Speaker 1: the shape continues on overhead toward a small farm holding 15 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,840 Speaker 1: to their left, illuminating the top of a nearby forest 16 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,959 Speaker 1: as it passed. Then a strange feeling came over Ian, 17 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: as if he might burst into tears at any moment. 18 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: Ron felt it too. The boys looked to each other 19 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: and without saying a word, shot off again towards home, 20 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: keeping one eye on the strange object as they went. 21 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: It's gone, said Ron, stopping for a moment to catch 22 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: his breath. No it hasn't, look said Ian, pointing to 23 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: a light in the distance, just visible between two houses. 24 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: Then they heard that ominous hum again, getting louder and louder. 25 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: The thing was coming back toward them. Hurry, shouted Ian, 26 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: as they shot off once more toward Ian's home on 27 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: the Limward Drive estate. Turning into the road, they realized 28 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: with horror that the thing was now right above them, 29 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: glowing with a misty orange light, as if it were 30 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:12,119 Speaker 1: beginning to heat up. Ian screamed for his mother as 31 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,639 Speaker 1: the boys sprinted toward the front door. When she opened 32 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: it moments later, she found them shaking and white and 33 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: looking fearfully to the sky. It was chasing us, said Ian, 34 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: close to tears. What was she asked with some alarm, 35 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,840 Speaker 1: But when they turned to find it, the thing had gone. 36 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: You're listening to, unexplained, and I'm Richard McClean smith. It 37 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: was a year later when the Fisher family were driving 38 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: home to the village of Blackwood in the south of Scotland. 39 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: A light drizzle had begun to fall, pattering against the 40 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: windscreen like gentle attic as John kept the wheel steady. 41 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: In the back, kids Roger and Audrey valiantly fought off 42 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 1: sleep while John's wife dozed in the passenger seat. John 43 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: looked up for a moment at the few stars he 44 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 1: could see blinking through the gaps in the cloud, then 45 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: turned his attention back to the road as they continued 46 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:27,080 Speaker 1: on toward Livingstone, a town eight miles west of Edinburgh. 47 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: It had just gone eleven pm when Roger pointed out 48 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: something peculiar in the distance, moving through the sky. Roger's 49 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: mother roused from sleep. Yes, what is that? She said. 50 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: John looked about, trying to see it too, but it 51 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: was just out of his view. What is it? He said. 52 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: It was hard to make out what it was exactly, 53 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: only that it appeared to be hovering about one hundred 54 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 1: and twenty feet off the ground, with an intense white 55 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: beam of lightoting out the front of it and four 56 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: red lights surrounding it. John looked about again, then finally 57 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: caught the faint sight of something far off to the left. 58 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: It's just the light from a crane, he said. But 59 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: it's moving, said Audrey. The Fishers continued to watch it 60 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: as it appeared to hover for a moment in the 61 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:35,839 Speaker 1: sky before disappearing completely from view. Ten months later, on 62 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: November ninth, nineteen seventy nine, sixty one year old Robert 63 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,039 Speaker 1: Taylor woke early in the morning and slipped quietly out 64 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: of bed, being careful not to wake his wife Mary. 65 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: The couple lived on Brumino Drive in Deans, on the 66 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: northern outskirts of Livingstone, barely a kilometer from where the 67 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,160 Speaker 1: Fishers had been passing when they saw that peculiar object 68 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: in the sky back in January. Wiping the sleep from 69 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: his eyes, Bob slipped on his overalls and headed out 70 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:10,480 Speaker 1: into the crisp dawn air, then hopped into his pickup 71 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:15,680 Speaker 1: truck and drove off to work. Robert or Bob Taylor 72 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: was born in nineteen eighteen close to pit Lockery in 73 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: the Highlands of Scotland, the third youngest of fourteen children. 74 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: Having been infused with the love of the great outdoors 75 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: from an early age, he would often neglect to complete 76 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: the four mile walk to school, preferring instead to spend 77 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: the day ambling through local woods along the Sparkling River Tunnel. 78 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,359 Speaker 1: At the outbreak of the Second World War, at the 79 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: age of twenty one, he joined the Armored Fife and 80 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: fourth Yeomanry Division as a tank driver. It was a 81 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: job he described as being little different to driving a 82 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: big lorry, as long as you remembered to keep your head. 83 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,919 Speaker 1: Five years later, on June eleventh, at the age of 84 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: twenty six, Bob and his tank crew arrived in Normandy 85 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:09,479 Speaker 1: as part of the eleventh Armored Division. Over the next 86 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: ten months, the division pushed further into France and then 87 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,280 Speaker 1: up through Belgium and the Netherlands as they fought back 88 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,920 Speaker 1: the German armed forces, eventually making it as far as 89 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: Leebeck in the north of Germany in March nineteen forty five. 90 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 1: A few months previously, as the German Army continued to 91 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: be driven back from every direction, Heinrich Himmler, who was 92 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 1: in charge of running the German government's program of extermination 93 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:43,119 Speaker 1: and concentration camps, made a characteristically brutal decision, in part 94 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 1: due to his fear that his prisoners would fall into 95 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: the hands of the opposing forces, but also in an 96 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: attempt to hide what had been happening in his camps. 97 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 1: He ordered many of the outlying camps to be evacuated. 98 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: As a result, tens of thousands of prisoners were led 99 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: out on forced marches to internal camps, often walking for 100 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 1: miles in harsh freezing conditions, with many dying en route. 101 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 1: Bergen Belsen concentration camp in the north of Germany had 102 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 1: been built to house a few thousand inmates at most. 103 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: By the end of March nineteen forty five, this number 104 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 1: had swelled to sixty thousand as more and more prisoners 105 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: coming from as far away as Auschwitz, Neuen Gammer, and 106 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: Dora Mittelbau were forced inside it. With the Third Reich 107 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: on the brink of collapse, an agreement was made between 108 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: Heinrich Himmler and the advancing British and Canadian forces that 109 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: the German army would vacate bergen Belsen. On April fifteenth, 110 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,240 Speaker 1: Robert Taylor and what remained of the eleventh Armored Division 111 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 1: arrived at the camp to liberate it. What they found 112 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: there was as close to a vision of hell as 113 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: you were ever likely to find on earth. Emaciated figures 114 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: stared out of vacant eyes from behind the barbed wire 115 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: fencing as the soldiers approached, some in striped pajama like clothing, 116 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: others in nothing but rags and bare feet. The stench 117 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:31,120 Speaker 1: of excrement was heavy in the air. Inside thousands of corpses, 118 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: little more than skin stretched across bone in various states 119 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: of decay littered the ground. Many had been stripped of 120 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 1: their clothes and thrown on top of each other in 121 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 1: piles as much as five or six high. Some had 122 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:51,719 Speaker 1: turned green. As described at the time by the BBC's 123 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: Richard Dimbleby, who accompanied the soldiers into the camp, among 124 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: the living and the dead, you could not see which 125 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: was which. Living lay with their heads against the corpses, 126 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: and around them moved the awful, ghostly procession of emaciated, 127 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: aimless people with nothing to do and with no hope 128 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: of life, unable to move out of your way, unable 129 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:21,720 Speaker 1: to look at the terrible sights around them. Inside the 130 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 1: various huts that lined the camp where the tangled remains 131 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: of numerous others who died from starvation, lying in puddles 132 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: of urine and feces. Some of the bodies had been cannibalized, 133 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:42,080 Speaker 1: their flesh removed and internal organs knived out. Many women 134 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,280 Speaker 1: had given birth in the camp, two with sometimes as 135 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 1: many as seven babies being born. A day, a woman 136 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:52,960 Speaker 1: screamed out to a passing soldier to find milk for 137 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:57,080 Speaker 1: her newborn. As he drew near, she handed him something 138 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 1: bundled up in a filthy blanket, then and away in 139 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 1: a flood of tears. The soldier opened the blanket to 140 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 1: find the baby, long since dead inside it. It was 141 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 1: estimated that there were as many as thirteen thousand dead 142 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: among the sixty thousand living prisoners. Many more thousands would 143 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:23,600 Speaker 1: die in the following weeks from typhus, dysentery, and tuberculosis 144 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:27,720 Speaker 1: that was rife throughout the camp. It was an experience, 145 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:31,560 Speaker 1: like most people who were really there, that Robert Taylor 146 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 1: seldom talked about, but one that had acquainted him all 147 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 1: too closely with some of the coldest realities of the 148 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:50,559 Speaker 1: material world. After the war, Taylor found a job working 149 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 1: the roads for Perth City Council before eventually relocating to Livingstone, 150 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: where in nineteen seventy nine he was working as a 151 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:04,079 Speaker 1: foreman forester for the Livingstone Development Corporation. By all accounts, 152 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: he wasn't a man prone to exaggeration, and he cared 153 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,320 Speaker 1: little for much beyond his family and his work, save 154 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: for the odd pint of beer and a cigarette. Certainly, 155 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:18,720 Speaker 1: encounters of the strange were the furthest thing from his 156 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:22,160 Speaker 1: mind when he set off for work that chilly November day, 157 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:26,440 Speaker 1: but soon it would be all people would want to 158 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:32,079 Speaker 1: talk about. That morning, Taylor headed first to the Forestry 159 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 1: Commission's depot at Rosebank Nursery to pick up a crew 160 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:40,000 Speaker 1: to complete a quick job in nearby Belle's Quarry. But 161 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:44,559 Speaker 1: about the same time, local resident Graham Kennedy was heading 162 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: to work along the A eighty nine, just past the 163 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 1: village of Deckmont, about a mile north of Bob Taylor's 164 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,840 Speaker 1: home in Deans, when he saw a bright orange colored 165 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: object moving quickly toward him in the sky. Kennedy swerved 166 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,560 Speaker 1: car to get out the way, nearly colliding with another 167 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:09,079 Speaker 1: vehicle in the process. Moments later, only a few hundred 168 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:13,160 Speaker 1: meters away, nurse Anne McGregor, who worked at the nearby 169 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,920 Speaker 1: Banguwa Hospital, was just stepping off the bus when she 170 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: heard a hissing sound coming from somewhere to the south. 171 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,439 Speaker 1: Looking up, she saw a bright yellow light that appeared 172 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 1: to be descending into the Decmant Woods, a small area 173 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:31,839 Speaker 1: of woodland covering Deckmant Law, a low lying hill that 174 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: rose up between Deckmont Village and Dean's. About two hours later, 175 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: Bob returned home for breakfast after a quick stop off, 176 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: who said by to Mary once more, then whistled for 177 00:12:45,559 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: their red Irish setter Lara to accompany him out to 178 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:53,120 Speaker 1: the truck. The pair of them jumped in and drove 179 00:12:53,160 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 1: back out to work, heading for the decmant Woods. Most 180 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,560 Speaker 1: nights I share a bed with a pro Bowl quarterback, 181 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:09,960 Speaker 1: an Olympic swimmer, and a national soccer star. 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A few years previously, 199 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: Bob had been called out to decmant Law to help 200 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 1: search for a young girl who'd gone missing. The night 201 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:28,160 Speaker 1: had been especially wet and cold, making it all the 202 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 1: more vital that they found her as quickly as possible. 203 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 1: After hours of searching through the bitter weather, the girl 204 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: was eventually found under a tree, strangely warm and dry, 205 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 1: having claimed to have followed a sheep into the forest 206 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 1: before getting lost. As it happened that morning, Taylor, who 207 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 1: was responsible for the general management of the forest, was 208 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: also on the lookout for some sheep that had apparently 209 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 1: strayed into the area. Bob parked his truck at the 210 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: bottom of the hill, then continued on foot with Laura, 211 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:07,680 Speaker 1: bouncing happily beside him. Up above a pale sun shone 212 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 1: in the sky, as a few broken clouds began to gather. 213 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 1: As they headed on up the hill, Bob reveled in 214 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,720 Speaker 1: the relative silence, with little to be heard save for 215 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 1: the gentle crackle of frost breaking under foot and the 216 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:24,720 Speaker 1: rustling of the pines. As they neared the edge of 217 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 1: the woods. Slipping through the tree line, Laura bounded on 218 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: ahead as Bob kept an eye out for any sign 219 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:36,200 Speaker 1: of the sheep. He'd walked about half a mile when 220 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 1: he heard Laura barking frantically. Catching sight of her up ahead, 221 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:45,000 Speaker 1: Bob jogged after her down the slope toward a break 222 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:49,640 Speaker 1: in the trees. As Laura ran on ahead, he followed 223 00:15:49,640 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 1: her into the clearing. Bob's wife, Mary, was busy doing 224 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: the washing up when she looked out at the kitchen 225 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 1: window to see a pale and exhausted looking Bob staggering 226 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: toward the house. His face and clothes were caked with mud, 227 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 1: and his trousers badly ripped. Mary ran to the door 228 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:21,080 Speaker 1: and wrenched it open. What's happened? Did you have an accident? 229 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:25,920 Speaker 1: She asked in shock. I've been attacked, replied Bob stumbling 230 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: into the kitchen by who said Mary following close behind. 231 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,280 Speaker 1: Bob staggered to the sink, ran some water into a 232 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 1: glass and gulped it down, and took a moment to 233 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: gather his thoughts by a spaceship, he said, I'm sure 234 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: what to say. Mary told her husband to sit down, 235 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: then went upstairs to run him a bath. Having been 236 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:56,680 Speaker 1: summoned by Mary, Robert's boss, Malcolm Drummond, arrived at the 237 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: house a few minutes later to find Bob still in 238 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:05,399 Speaker 1: the bath in a deeply disorientated state. Concerned by his 239 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 1: nonsensical story about a spaceship attacking him in the forest, 240 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:13,640 Speaker 1: Drummond suggested they called their doctor immediately, thinking he might 241 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 1: be suffering from some kind of head injury. By the 242 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 1: time doctor Adams arrived fifteen minutes later, Bob was out 243 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,639 Speaker 1: of the bath and settled on the sofa. After having 244 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,480 Speaker 1: his blood pressure checked and nothing obvious found to be 245 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:32,360 Speaker 1: wrong with him, Bob gave them his version of events, 246 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:43,360 Speaker 1: as Taylor went on to explain, after stepping into the clearing, 247 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:47,119 Speaker 1: he was startled to find a large dome shaped object 248 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:49,920 Speaker 1: about thirty feet high sitting in the middle of it. 249 00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:54,160 Speaker 1: Around the object was a ring that he described as 250 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: being like the flange of a pipe that had small 251 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:01,680 Speaker 1: propeller like things sticking up from it. The object appeared 252 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:04,640 Speaker 1: to have no seams or joins on its surface, which 253 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,880 Speaker 1: was comprised of a rough gray colored material, with several 254 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,679 Speaker 1: dark spaces above the ring that he took to be 255 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:16,680 Speaker 1: windows that were all completely blacked out. As he continued 256 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: to stare at it in disbelief, it seemed almost to 257 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,920 Speaker 1: disappear right in front of him, becoming translucent, so much 258 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: so that at one point it was as though he 259 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 1: could see right through it to the trees beyond. The 260 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:34,400 Speaker 1: next thing he remembered, Laura began barking furiously as two 261 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:38,120 Speaker 1: metal spheres with spikes sticking out of them dropped out 262 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,200 Speaker 1: at the bottom of the object and headed straight toward him. 263 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: Before he could even move, they'd rolled up his leg 264 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,399 Speaker 1: and attached themselves to him. All of a sudden, he 265 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:52,439 Speaker 1: felt them pulling him down to the ground when he 266 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,040 Speaker 1: was overcome by a hideous, noxious smell, the coret at 267 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: the back of his throat, and then everything went black. 268 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:04,919 Speaker 1: He came round twenty minutes later to find the object 269 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:09,359 Speaker 1: and Lara had gone. Finding his legs too numb to 270 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:13,640 Speaker 1: move and feeling deeply nauseous, he eventually succeeded in crawling 271 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 1: back to the truck. He tried to use the radio, 272 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 1: but his throat was too dry to speak. In a panic, 273 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: he threw the car into gear and slammed on the 274 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:28,360 Speaker 1: accelerator pedal, only to drive straight into a ditch with 275 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: nothing left for it. He got back out and stumbled home. 276 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:43,200 Speaker 1: Drummond and doctor Adams looked to each other in confusion 277 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:47,680 Speaker 1: as Bob's story came to an end. Adams gave Bob 278 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: another look over and found two red marks like burns 279 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:54,359 Speaker 1: on his thighs, where he claimed the strange objects had 280 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:57,920 Speaker 1: attached themselves to him. There was also a graze under 281 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,400 Speaker 1: his chin, which Adams assumed was where he'd fallen onto 282 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:05,320 Speaker 1: the ground. Suspecting he may have had a heart attack 283 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,800 Speaker 1: or an epileptic fit, Adams suggested he go right away 284 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 1: to hospital to get a proper examination. A short time later, 285 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 1: Drummond and Adams headed out to the woods, where they 286 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,959 Speaker 1: found Bob's truck stuck in a ditch with the engine 287 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:25,280 Speaker 1: still running. Just like he'd explained, an unharmed Lara was 288 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:30,480 Speaker 1: also there, thankfully waiting by it. The pair then headed 289 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 1: out to inspect the clearing where the incident was alleged 290 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:38,680 Speaker 1: to have occurred, but found nothing untoward Down at the hospital. 291 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:42,479 Speaker 1: After waiting two hours to be seen, Bob grew bored 292 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:46,200 Speaker 1: and headed back home, where Drummond was waiting for him. 293 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 1: After telling Bob that he and doctor Adams had failed 294 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,160 Speaker 1: to find anything strange, Taylor demanded they head back there 295 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:57,680 Speaker 1: immediately so he could see for himself. With the pair 296 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 1: back up at the clearing, Bob called Drummond over to 297 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,720 Speaker 1: look at something he'd found on the ground, A clear 298 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:09,160 Speaker 1: pair of markings like caterpillar tracks, about ten feet long 299 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,480 Speaker 1: and seven feet apart, and dotted all around them were 300 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:18,120 Speaker 1: about forty holes in the ground, exposing fresh earth, almost 301 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: as though something spiky had been rolling about in the mud. 302 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: Drummond looked on in complete bewilderment, though they didn't look 303 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,800 Speaker 1: too dissimilar to the markings of some kind of heavy 304 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: forest machinery. They began and ended inside the clearing, with 305 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,840 Speaker 1: Mary concerned that Bob had been attacked by someone. She 306 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,200 Speaker 1: suggested he called the police to begin a formal investigation. 307 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,960 Speaker 1: That afternoon, d I McDonald, along with six colleagues from 308 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 1: the local constabulary, visited the scene and took photos of 309 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:03,120 Speaker 1: the peculiar markie. As they inspected the long grass, they 310 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,440 Speaker 1: also found two lines of impressions in the space where 311 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:10,879 Speaker 1: Bob claimed to have been dragged across the ground. The 312 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 1: following Thursday, Bob's clothes were given to forensic experts in 313 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:20,080 Speaker 1: Edinburgh for further examination. Both Bob's work trousers and the 314 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:23,199 Speaker 1: long John's he wore underneath them had been ripped on 315 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:28,240 Speaker 1: both sides, exactly mirroring the marks on Bob's legs. The 316 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: forensic scientists concluded that the rips had been caused by 317 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:38,360 Speaker 1: something pulling upwards with considerable force. The next day, as 318 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:42,119 Speaker 1: word of the strange encounter began to spread, two UFO 319 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: enthusiasts from the British UFO Research Association came up to 320 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 1: visit the site after running a guideer counter across the clearing. However, 321 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:56,200 Speaker 1: they found no evidence of radiation or any other anomalous readings. 322 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:02,200 Speaker 1: Over time, Bob would get picked up by numerous papers, 323 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: and though he was happy to pose for a few photographs, 324 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,359 Speaker 1: he was not the type to revel in his sudden 325 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:13,760 Speaker 1: moment of fame. The event remains the only apparent UFO 326 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:19,719 Speaker 1: incident in Britain to be officially investigated by the police. 327 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,800 Speaker 1: Though Robert Taylor was called on many times to recount 328 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: his peculiar tale, he never once deviated from the original 329 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:36,600 Speaker 1: narrative and remained convinced by it right up until his 330 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: death in two thousand and seven. In the months following 331 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: his account, more apparent UFO sightings were unearthed that were 332 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,719 Speaker 1: also said to have occurred in the same area around 333 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 1: the same time as the Taylor incident. One event from 334 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:56,159 Speaker 1: the night before, involving the sighting by school children of 335 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,720 Speaker 1: a strange object descending into the forest at Deer Hill, 336 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: just across the main road from where Taylor claimed he 337 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:08,200 Speaker 1: was attacked, was also reported to the police, and there 338 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:12,119 Speaker 1: was one final coda unearthed a few years later, according 339 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: to Malcolm Robinson, who wrote about it in his book 340 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:20,359 Speaker 1: The Decmant Woods UFOE Incident. A week or so after 341 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:24,399 Speaker 1: the incident, a ufologist named Alan Price was at a 342 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:28,159 Speaker 1: social event when a man approached him, having heard about 343 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:31,560 Speaker 1: his interest in U foes. The man was said to 344 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:34,399 Speaker 1: have been a former police officer who had also heard 345 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:39,159 Speaker 1: about Robert Taylor's strange encounter. It was all the more peculiar, 346 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 1: he said, since only a few days before it, a 347 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 1: former colleague had told him about another strange encounter that 348 00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:51,399 Speaker 1: also apparently occurred near the Decamant Woods. Just like Bob's story, 349 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: this too had begun with a dog being walked by 350 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 1: a young boy shooting off after an object was seen 351 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:03,040 Speaker 1: descending into the nearby countryside. The boy had then seen 352 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:06,480 Speaker 1: the object shoot off into the air, leaving no sign 353 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:11,320 Speaker 1: of the dog behind. The following morning, after the incident 354 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:15,320 Speaker 1: was reported to the police, an officer conducting a search 355 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:19,119 Speaker 1: of the area in question stumbled upon something buried in 356 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 1: the long grass. It was the ripped off hind leg 357 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:31,960 Speaker 1: of a dog. If you enjoy Unexplained and would like 358 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,880 Speaker 1: to help supporters, you can now do so via Patreon. 359 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:38,399 Speaker 1: To receive access to add three episodes, just go to 360 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:42,040 Speaker 1: patron dot com, forward Slash Unexplained Pod to sign up, 361 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:44,720 Speaker 1: or if you'd like to make a one time donation, 362 00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:48,960 Speaker 1: you can go to Unexplained podcast dot com Forward Slash Support. 363 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:53,200 Speaker 1: All donations, no matter how large or small, are greatly appreciated. 364 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:57,399 Speaker 1: Unexplained the book and audiobook featuring ten stories that have 365 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,399 Speaker 1: never before been covered on the show. Is now available 366 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:04,520 Speaker 1: to buy worldwide. You can purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, 367 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: and Waterstones, among other bookstores. All elements of Unexplained, including 368 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 1: the show's music, are produced by me Richard McClain smith. 369 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: Please subscribe and rate the show wherever you listen to podcasts, 370 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:18,960 Speaker 1: and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts 371 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 1: or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. 372 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: Perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like 373 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:27,720 Speaker 1: to share. You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast 374 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:32,640 Speaker 1: dot com, or Twitter at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at 375 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:36,480 Speaker 1: Facebook dot com, Forward slash Unexplained Podcast