On 8 August 1968 the following letter from a Mr A.E. Whiteland, of Saxmundham, Suffolk was published in the Daily Mirror:
My mother has often told the following story over the years and, as she is eighty-four, I would like to find out for her who these mystery men were and what they were doing.
This is the story. It was about the middle of World War One and on a weekday. Mother was living at Aldeburgh, Suffolk. She had gone upstairs just before dinner, opened the casement window and looked out to see who might be on the road.
Having looked up and down and noticed there was no one in sight, she was about to step back when something urged her to look again.
A little above the level of the house eight to twelve men appeared on what seemed to be a round platform with a handrail around it. This they were gripping tightly.
She could see them so clearly. They were wearing blue uniforms and little round hats, not unlike sailors'. She heard no sound from the machine as it came off the marshes. It turned a bit and went over the railway yard to disappear behind some houses.
Have you any explanation for this?
To this the letters editor added the comment: Sorry, friend, can't oblige. Sounds a bit of a hovercrafty tale to us!
On 17 August two letters appeared in the Daily Mirror suggesting that what was seen was an observation car lowered from an airship, although Mrs Whiteland had not reported seeing or hearing an airship.
ZEP MEN LIVED IN SUSPENSE
The recent letter about the mysterious appearance of several men on a platform above the rooftops of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, in the First World War, brought forth several explanations.
The most likely is the following, from Mr. H. MOWTHORPE, of Hunmanby, Yorks: At that time, Zeppelins were operating over England and some carried an "observation basket" which could be lowered by cable when the airship was flying through cloud cover.
A Captain Leyman made several night raids on Calais with an observer, von Gemmingen, hanging in a little observation carriage far below the Zep, just above the rooftops.
The Zep's engines would be just ticking over so as not to be detected. The observer had a telephone into which he would whisper instructions about releasing the bombs.
Thanks, gents. It must have looked very odd from the ground - Kaiser Bill's boys apparently hanging from sky-hooks!
In the following correspondence I have tried to reproduce the letters, in easily readable form, but without editing them to correct grammar, spelling, etc. People were much more likely to communicate by letter than by telephone in the 1960s than they do now, and they often did not have the time to correct and rewrite.
CARL GROVE'S CORRESPONDENCE
At that time, Carl Grove was actively interested in UFO reports and he wrote to Mr Whiteland with a list of questions. His letter, dated 14 August 1968 and Mr Whiteland's reply, dated 19 August 1968, are as follows:
Dear Mr Whiteland,
I saw your letter published in the Daily Mirror of Thursday, 8 August, and, as I am very interested in such reports, I have asked "Live Letters" to kindly send this on to you.
I wonder if you might send me a somewhat more detailed account of the incident, and if your mother might answer the following questions and provide additional information with regard to these points:
1. Would you please provide a drawing/drawings of the object, with as much detail as possible, and showing its size. [Note: showing size by comparison with a common object such as a car.]
2. Would you please provide a drawing/drawings of one of the men.
3. Would you please provide a rough sketch map of the area, indicating your mother's position and the object's flight path, etc. (+ scale.)
4. Did the men appear quite normal in facial appearance? And in size?
5. How fast was the object moving, as compared with a car or a man?
6. How high was the object above the ground?
7. Were the men doing anything? What were they looking at?
8. What was it that "urged" your mother to look again out of the window?
9. What were your mother's feelings as she watched the object?
10. About how long was it visible? At what time was it first seen?
11. What did your mother think it might be? What was it made of?
12. Did anyone else in the area see anything unusual during World War One? (Or in that general period.)
13. Lastly, any other information relating to the sighting of the object or to anything taking place at that time that was at all out of the ordinary would be much appreciated.
I realise that answering these questions will not be too easy, and I hope I haven't caused you or your mother great inconvenience. Any other information relating to points I have not covered will be very helpful.
Yours sincerely,
C. Grove
Mr Whiteland replied in a letter dated 19 August 1968:
Saxmundham, Suffolk, 19/8/68
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your letter via "Daily Mirror", and I will give you as much of the details as I can. My Mother has answered your questions as I put them to her.
1. Drawing enclosed. 2/4 Drawing of a man, "they were ordinary men." Had they beards or moustaches I asked. "I was looking at them and not thinking about their faces so much." What about the uniform, was it like a tunic tight up to the neck or not. "I'm not sure, there they were but somehow it might not have been a dark blue uniform, a little bit lighter (grey I said) yes maybe a bit grey in it. The hats were pulled on like a sailor, with no rim just a band and soft top.
5. "It might have been going as fast as a man can run," when asked how quickly it moved.
6. 30 ft not much more as she said "it seems to be just higher than the telegraph wires and when it turned and went towards the station yard, I did think it would hit the shed roof or side (this was the cart shed ground floor and first floor with the top of ridge 25 ft or so above road level).
7. The men were looking straight out as all were clustered around the platform, and "could well have been looking for anything".
8. Mother had made the beds up and dusted the front bedroom she was in, had looked out, seen no one and was on the point of going downstairs. "It was one of those things you look again, hoping just to see someone or something moving", no one was either side as they were out at work, and there had been no one to talk to apart from the younger sister than myself , who Mother thinks I had gone to school with my older sisters. At that time as she said I went off to school at 3½ years (I was born 1910). She don't quite know what made her take another look, but there it was coming along from the marshes on her right, straight along the road "not wobbling" and then right in front of her it turned sharp right and went between the back of the Railway Hotel and the cart shed with a room above it (about 20 ft - 25 ft between), over the top of the other cart shed mentioned over the railway which had on the railings of the station platform a large printed sign about 8' long, blue background with white letters ALDEBURGH. This may have been spotted by them and that is why they turned off so sharp instead of going along the road. There was a camp for soldiers about 300 yds further along, with trees around it, this might also have been the reason.
9. "Had no real feelings, was more thinking about how could it move without an engine as no sound was heard, I looked up in the sky to see if anything was holding it up. - Couldn't see anyone kneeling between the men to work it, and watched it go for a long while."
10. "Oh! about three or four minutes, maybe longer, it seemed a good while but it went straight away from me into the distance till the trees or houses hid it." "This was about 12 A.M. and a bright day," what time of the year "I don't know must have been around summer time I know it was a nice day and bright. I can see them now, how they came along and turned straight for here." (Mother has lived in this same house, about 59 years).
11. "Thought it was something to do with Zeppelins, but as no rope or anything was to be seen or heard, was quite puzzled." Did mention it to my Father when he came home that night and next day to a neighbour, both said that the Germans were supposed to have people looking round from Zeppelins, and as no one else ever spoke or mentioned anything it was only talked of when different happenings were read over the times, that Mother would tell of what she did see.
12/13. "Never did hear of anything like it or know of other people seeing it, or anything else around here." There were plenty of soldiers about, why didn't one of them see it, "I don't know why perhaps they didn't believe them."
A Mr Graham wrote to me, and said his Mother did live at Aldringham Fen, about 1½ miles (North) and did see around this time during the War, "an airship lower an observation device which was suspended some hundreds of feet below it." His address is ----------, Ramsbury, Wilts.
Also a Mr Winslow of South Lambeth, WC8, gave an interesting story about the platforms suspended beneath the baskets carried by airships, how they carried several men for accurate placing of the small bombs in use at that time and he with others did bury a crew at Harrow Billericay*, and some came down in the County of Hertfordshire.
Now I'm not much good at drawing so you will have to excuse my sketches but I think you can understand what I want to say.
Hoping this will be of use to you,
Yours sincerely, A.E. Whiteland
The reference to 'Harrow Billericay' probably refers to two separate incidents On 3 September 1916, Capt. W. Leefe Robinson, VC, brought down the Schutte-Lanz airship SL11 at Cuffley, near Potters Bar. He came from Harrow, and he died there in 1918, a victim of the great influenza epidemic of that year. A pub in Harrow is named in his honour. On 24 September 1916 the Zeppelin L32 was shot down near Billericay, Essex.
Carl Grove wrote to Mr Graham:
Mr Graham, Ramsbury, Wilts
Dear Mr Graham,
Mr Whiteland of Saxmundham passed me your address and told me that you had written to him saying that your mother saw a Zeppelin lower an observation device near Aldeburgh sometime during the first world war. I would be extremely grateful for any information relating to this event - with regard to the size, shape etc of the device, and to the number of men on it.
I am very interested in Mrs Whiteland's observation, and of course all possibilities must be considered in evaluating it.
Yours sincerely, C. Grove
* With drawing, if this at all possible. I'm sorry to bother you in this way, and I'd very much appreciate your comments. - C.G.
He received the following reply:
Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire
25 VIII 68
Dear Mr Grove
Thank you for your letter. I am afraid I cannot help you with your enquiries about the Zeppelin.
I only know that my mother told me that she saw some sort of device suspended beneath the airship. If she told me any details I certainly do not remember them - it is 50 years ago!
May I suggest getting in touch with the German Embassy, Air Attaché, who might help.
Yours sincerely, G.G. Graham
Carl Grove replied promptly to Mr Whiteland's letter, as he was determined to resolve the airship question. In a letter dated 20 August 1968, he wrote:
Pinner. Middx., 20 Aug.1968
Dear Mr Whiteland,
Thank you very much for your kind reply to my letter, and for the interesting information about your mother's observation.
Several people have now suggested that the object was an observation platform lowered from an airship. I wonder if your mother might care to comment on the idea: was it a very cloudy day, and would your mother have seen an airship had there been one connected with the object? This is, of course, the vital question.
I am sending details of the report to an authority on aviation history who is also interested in such incidents. I shall also get in touch with Mr Graham, whose address you gave me. From what you have already told me I am doubtful that the "airship" answer is the correct one, but of course it is essential to double check in such cases. I hope your mother will not mind being bothered again in this way!
I shall let you know if I hear anything relevant
Yours sincerely, C. Grove
P.S. Thank you again for the letter and the very detailed and helpful map. -- C.G.
Mr Whiteland replied in a letter dated 22 August 1968:
Saxmundham, Suffolk, 22/8/68
Dear Mr Grove,
Having read your letter of the 20th, and thank you for writing in answer to my letter. I think it will be very interesting to find out if my mother was seeing close up, one of those platforms that have been mentioned, and no one else can be alive or set down on paper, etc; such a happening in this time.
Now to your query over sky condition, Mother told me that it was "a bright day" and did look right up in the sky to see if "anything was supporting the men and platform" but could not see anything at all and also looked up when they had gone from sight in the trees - houses, amount of cloud (cannot say). Now a cable or rope to support a weight like this, 8-12 men plus the platform would be at least about 1¼ in, or more which ever was used. This could not be overlooked, and each time I've questioned about the rope the answer is definitely no rope at all. This was the fact, that made me write to the "Mirror" after all this long while, as it puzzled my way of thinking things out what kept it up.
Had there been an airship, it should have been in advance of the object as one can only drag anything supported by a line in the direction you are going. Also there is the method that these men had to control their platform, how could they do a right handed 90° turn, which Mother saw before her eyes.
If I can help with any more questions you like to raise in the future, then do drop me a line. When I wrote to the "Daily Mirror", I did in fact expect a reply direct from them as the general knowledge they have gathered in over the years, I felt sure would have given me the answer. But it seems as though they were at a loss to come out with a clear reply covering this non-supported platform with the persons on it.
By the way, the Zeppelin that Mr Graham wrote to me in his letter did meet its end at 3 A.M. in the morning, and that it was a bright moonlight night. (checked up) So the one with a dangling rope and basket was at another time, that his mother did see.
Yours sincerely, A.E. Whiteland
CONTINUE TO PART TWO
