Somewhere in the Skies - The Winchester Encounters

Episode Date: June 4, 2023

On episode 320 of SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES, we travel to the small city of Winchester, England, to hear the incredible story of Joyce Bowles. In November of 1976, she and a friend were on the road, heading home. But then they witnessed something in the sky that soon descended directly in front of them. The story Joyce would tell of what happened that night would makes its way across the airwaves of BBC news not long after. And this would only be the beginning of a series of close encounters by Joyce and several other witnesses in the surrounding areas of Winchester. Research conducted by Marcus Lowth. Learn more at: www.ufoinsight.com Order Ryan’s new book: https://a.co/d/4KNQnM4 Patreon: www.patreon.com/somewhereskies Website: www.somewhereintheskies.com YouTube Channel: CLICK HERE Book your Cameo video with Ryan at: https://bit.ly/3kwz3DO Official Store: CLICK HERE Buy Somewhere in the Skies coffee! Use promo code: SOMEWHERESKIES10 to get 10% off your order: https://bit.ly/3rmXuap Order Ryan’s older book: https://amzn.to/3PmydYC Email Ryan directly at: [e-mail] Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryansprague51 Twitter: @SomewhereSkies Instagram: @SomewhereSkiesPod Read Ryan’s Articles by CLICKING HERE Opening Theme Song, "Ephemeral Reign" by Per Kiilstofte Copyright © 2023 Ryan Sprague. All rights reserved. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/somewhere-in-the-skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey guys, Ryan here with a very exciting offer for you. Right now, you can get a seven-day free trial to our Patreon. You can sign up and get early access to the main show and bonus episodes and content for seven days, including our entire back catalog of bonus episodes. And then you can decide whether to join up or cancel after your seven-day free trial. I hope you'll consider the trial and consider becoming a Patreon subscriber today. To learn more and to get your seven-day free trial, visit patreon.com slash somewhere skies. In the mid-1970s, a small town in southern England would experience a wave

of UFO activity. But that was only the beginning, and one woman would find herself in the center of another worldly storm, one that would change her and others around her for decades to These are the Winchester encounters. This is somewhere in the skies with Ryan's bread. According to a report in the February 1977 edition of Flying Saucer Review, on the evening of November 14, 1976, at just before 9 p.m., 42-year-old Joyce Bowles, and her neighbor, 60-year-old Ted Pratt, or driving toward the nearby village of Chilkum.

As they were making their way along the road, they each spotted a strange orange light that appeared to be hovering at a relatively low altitude over one of the fields at the roadside. As they continued along the road, hedges and trees temporarily blocked their view, but the light soon became visible again. At this point, they came off the main road, turning left onto a quiet country lane. As the road was smaller, Joyce reduced to the road. her speed to somewhere between 20 to 25 miles per hour. Suddenly, with no warning, the car lurched to the right and the engine revved all on its own. As this was happening, the pair could feel some kind of heaviness in the atmosphere around them, as if some unknown force was pressing down.

When Joyce looked out the window, she could see that they were now on a patch of grass to the side of the road, Even more concerning, she was struggling considerably to maintain control over the vehicle. The next thing they could see rushing at them were trees. Ted reached for the steering wheel in order to assist Joyce in her attempts to avoid slamming into the trees. Then the car suddenly came to an abrupt stop against something that Ted described as an invisible barrier, which appeared to bend slightly before halting their progress. After taking a moment to bring themselves to their senses, Joyce and Ted turned their attention to the windshield.

There, in front of them, was a cigar-shaped object hovering. They could see what appeared to be a cockpit area where three humanoid figures, or at least the head and shoulders of them, appeared. They would recall that through the windows, as they veiled, The figures had the appearance as if they were sitting on a bus, one behind the other. They further recalled that the craft was now only very slightly above the ground, and there was a strange mist-like substance beneath it. Ted would further recall that it appeared to be four jets blowing out gases that were supporting the craft.

One of the figures, according to Joyce's recollections, left the object. and began walking toward their vehicle. At the same time, a strange kettle-like whistling began. The closer it got, she could see the figure was wearing what looked like a silver blue boiler suit that stretched up the neck that Ted recalled shimmered as if being shaken by the wind. Neither witness could recall the clothing having any buttons or seams. Before they realized it, the figure was a little bit of a little bit of the figure was a

the driver's side of their vehicle, as if it had simply materialized and stared in at them. The entity appeared almost entirely human, aside from its red eyes. Joyce estimated he was around six feet in height and had long, blonde, whitish hair and a full beard on his face. When Joyce looked behind the bearded man, back to the hovering craft, she could see three figures, all of which were now watching the scene before them. She turned her attention back to the figure, noting that he had a horrible look on his face. Interestingly, Ted would recall feeling completely the opposite, describing having feelings of peace and tranquility.

This bearded humanoid continued to look in at them with its red eyes. And then it turned its attention to the dashboard, before heading to the back of the vehicle. As the figure began to walk around the vehicle, it appeared to Joyce that Ted was going to get out of the car, forcing her to lean over and prevent him from doing so. It was at this point she happened to close her eyes for just a moment. When she opened them, both the hovering object

and the strange bearded figure were gone. Joyce and Ted took a moment to gather their thoughts. naturally. Then Joyce started the car and after putting it into first gear attempted to set off. Joyce and Ted arrived back home at 9.25 p.m. with Joyce immediately telling her husband of the bizarre encounter. In turn, he would contact the local BBC station to see if they had received any other reports. As a result of the conversation, Joyce would appear on the local BBC station. The the BBC's news show the following day. This is where we see the large orange light.

That's right, yes, we did. Yes, on their left. On the left here. Then it disappeared, and I am coming up to it now. It appeared again here. But it started harboring down below the back of these trees. The hedges here. We came on down the road for another quarter mile, maybe a bit more.

We turned sharp left to come into Chilkham Lane. It's a bad bend this, isn't it? Going down this lane, and we were doing about 20 mile an hour, maybe 20, 25 mile an hour. Done about 70 yards then, all of a sudden this car suddenly went crazy, and just left off the road to the right, and the engine started to rev. We hit the grass verge, which is a very wide grass verge, about 15 yards wide, and we were heading towards a high edge.

So I grabbed the steering wheel, as Mrs. Bowles was fighting with it, And suddenly the car straightened itself. We came down the grass road from about 10 to 15 yards, and we came to a stop. And it was the only we hit an invisible barrier, which it gave, because it didn't throw me forward into the seat, but it gave, and then brought us back to our abnormal stopping position. That was when we see...

Well, then the... Sorry, yes. That was when we see, what I shall say, a cigar-shaped object hovering in front of us. Inside were three figures. Yes, they had it like a cockpit in the cabin was in the front of the cigar-shaped thing and was lit up, but not glowingly lit up. It was a very easy light to look at.

It was hovering. It had either steam or vapor coming out like gas jets. Then I see one of these figures get out of this thing, this object, and it started walking across towards me. Yes, it was. Now, as it was walking across towards me, I heard a whistle. Which I didn't hear. It's like a whistling kettle starting to whistle. Now, he had on like a boiler soup, it was with a polar neck collar. He had a seam down on his right-hand side.

As he walked across, he'd come to my window. he put his arm on the roof of my car and looked in. Now he was a tall man roughly six foot one, six foot two. He had pink eyes which were very piercing. He had sideboards and a beard which met. He looked in at me, then he looked at Ted. After looking at Ted, he looked at my dashboard. And as he was looking at the dashboard, my car engine started up.

Now the car ignition keys was turned off And as the engine started up of my car My lights were my headlights were four times powerful And what I normally are Which was it was just like a glow of white I see a movement of this figure Oh by the way I grabbed Ted And I said no Ted don't get out, don't get out

Because he wanted to get out And I just literally wrap my body around Ted And then I opened one eye Because I'd had my eyes shut and I opened one eye and I said, look out, Ted, he's going around the back to you. I see a movement thinking he was going around the right all the way around my car.

Ted looked over his left hand and shoulder to have a look around to see if he was coming around. And my words were, don't open the door, Ted, don't open the door. But while Ted was looking round and me huddled to him with my eyes closed, the figure disappeared with the object. After starting, after it's gone, after a few seconds which seemed hours to us. I started, Ted said, well, let's go.

Oh, he asked me if he could drive. And I said, not lightly. It only meant because it meant me getting out of my car. I put it in first and started off, but we could not move. It was so as we were still hitting and an invisible barrier. Well, I put her back in neutral and waited for a few seconds, and then I started off again. And we went off perfectly normal.

in the car. On the Monday, when I got up, I had a rash on my face down my neck and along onto my shoulder. Which side? On the right hand side. It was all like blotchy. It could have been a nerve rash or it could have been where that gentleman was stood by my window. Incidentally, since this happening, I have had a telephone call from a person from London telling me on no account, am I to say anything to anyone about this what we've seen, because I should be having a government official come round to see me. And after all, this is England, and this is a free country, and I will speak and say what I want, which is the truth.

Physical effects would appear several days after the event, when Joyce discovered a strange rash on the right side of her head and shoulder. But even more concerning, she would receive an ominous phone call from a person claiming to be from the government who issued her a blunt warning not to speak of the encounter. A short time later, the man called again, once more issuing the same warning to her. Ultimately, Joyce ignored this warning and spoke of her encounter to the local and national press. The Daily Mail newspaper would even conduct its own investigation into the incident,

finding multiple other witnesses from the area who also claimed to have seen the same object that Joyce and Ted had reported. The subsequent encounters, however, would take an even stranger and more mysterious turn, and her story would become not just a local interest, but a national one. Around six weeks after the incident, at around 6.30 p.m. on December 30, 19. Joyce and Ted were making the same journey as they had that November evening. Not only would they witness an almost identical craft, but they would suddenly find themselves on board with the strange figures they had previously witnessed. A short time later, they both heard a whistling sound,

the same whistling sound they had noticed during their November encounter. The car began to rock and rattle, as if some of something. something else was controlling or manipulating it. Then things went blank. And the next thing they realized, they were standing outside the car. They weren't, however, on the road, but inside a strange room. As they looked around, they concluded they were inside the craft. Inside this room were three humanoid figures,

most likely the same figures they had seen during the first encounter. They were dressed in the same attire, only this time Joyce recalled that they were also wearing shiny silver boots. And now she was much closer and claimed the material of the clothing reminded her of tin foil. In the middle of the room was a large bottle-like structure that rose up from the floor. This was wide at the bottom of the structure and tapered off at the top. There were also strange black and yellow rings around the floor. this structure. Joyce recalled thinking that perhaps this structure could be some sort of propulsion for the craft. The humanoid would speak with the pair, using broken English but perfectly able to

make themselves understood. They would inform Joyce and Ted that they meant them no harm and that they had nothing to fear. The pair were shown all manners of devices and even star charts. Their memories of the rest of the encounter, however, were sketchy at best. They recalled being taken back to their car, but when they came to they were on the road that was unfamiliar to them at this point.

Perhaps interesting, while Joyce felt the sense of calm following the incident, Ted had an uneasy feeling, as if his memory was preventing him from recalling something ominous. Around five months later

in May of 1977, Joyce would find herself in the middle of another encounter. Hey guys, Ryan here. When I'm not making The Somewhere in the Sky's podcast, I am listening to podcasts. And one of my favorites since the very beginning has and continues to be the paranormal podcast with Jim Harold. Do you like conversations about UFOs, ghosts, cryptids, and the unexplained? The paranormal podcast, which launched in 2005, is the launch. longest running podcast of its type on the internet. The show harkens back to the best of paranormal

media over the years. Shows like In Search of and Unsolved Mysteries. My favorite aspect of the show is that every week, it's something completely different, which for someone who lives, breathes, and sleeps UFOs, it's so refreshing to learn about other mysterious topics as well. But don't get me wrong. Jim's interviews on the UFO topic are also top-notch. Whether you're a veteran UFO researcher or brand new to the topic, Jim's interviews always set the standard for objective and insightful conversations. He's interviewed everyone from Jacques Valet to the late great Stanton Friedman. And that is just the start. And for you superstitious listeners out there, I have been honored to be a guest on the paranormal podcast a whopping 13 times.

Luckily, I'll be coming back on soon to change that number. So please do me a personal favor and tune in to the paranormal podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to somewhere in the skies. As the Krispy Chicken Sandwich from 7-Eleven, people always call me loud. And I'm like, yeah, I know. I'm crispy. Did you expect me to whisper? If you want quiet, go eat some soup and reflect.

Like, I know I'm a handful. I'm bold, I'm juicy. Throw some pickles and barbecue sauce on me, and baby, I'm a whole meal. And with seven rewards, I'm just $4. Quiet? No. Krispy, saucy, and $4? Very.

Only at 711. Valley through 62326, participating stores only well supplies last the app for full terms. Again, she was driving, accompanied by a friend named Anne Strickland. As in previous encounters, they would witness a cigar-shaped object that glowed brilliantly. Joyce brought the vehicle to a stop, and the two women watched as the craft descended before one of the humanoid figures emerged and headed in their direction. As it approached, it held out its arms. At this point, the two women became frightened beyond belief.

Then the figure began speaking to them in English. but again, very broken. Rather interestingly, when asked what the figure said, later on, Joyce would recall that it said something to her, which she understood, but couldn't tell anyone what it was. Following this relaying of information, the figure turned around and walked back to the craft, which then ascended and disappeared.

Joyce would experience yet another encounter around a month later in June. As in the first two encounters, Joyce was driving with her neighbor, Ted Pratt. According to Ted, they would once more find themselves in front of the cigar-shaped craft. The humanoid figures were there again, each wearing a dull metallic suit. Once more, some kind of communication and relaying of information took place, with one of the figures issuing warnings of various war. as well as damage that humanity was doing to the planet.

And with that, the figures left and returned to the craft. After this incident, the sightings suddenly stopped. Investigations, however, would soon reveal further intriguing details about Joyce. It appeared that stretching back several years, she also experienced a lot of poltergeist-like encounters. Joyce would reveal that she had encountered strange psychic manifestations and other poltergeist-like activity since being a young child. Objects or ornaments would often move of their own accord

with several of these incidents witnessed by other members of her family. She would also often report seeing a strange white-robed lady. And again, other members of her family have also reported seeing this apparition, although only Joyce was ever able to make out any specific features. It would appear that a particularly interesting and unnerving series of events unfolded four years prior to her encounters of late 1976 and early 1977, when in 1972 she began to see several ghosts in her home, even going as far as to reach out to the local church to perform an exorcism.

two of which actually went ahead. She would recall to a BBC reporter that she had seen a lady who appeared like a nun in her bedroom, elaborating that this apparition was dressed all in black and was seemingly standing at the edge of her bed. What's more, she would see similar figures over several weeks, each of which bringing a sense of evil with it. Even in the nights leading up to the first UFO encounter in November of 1976,

Joyce recalled seeing a strange, shadowy figure at the top of the stairs in her home. Although she didn't think of it at the time, following the series of encounters, she began to contemplate whether this figure was, in fact, one of the humanoids from the craft. Investigators also uncovered several other sightings around the same time of the first encounter in November of 1976. One Mr. and Mrs. Haynes, for example, claimed that they had seen a silver-suited man near one of the local markets, only about seven miles from Joyce and Ted's encounter. There were also several other people who, while not seeing the occupant, did witness what

would appear to be the same object. Sandra Wheeler claimed that she had witnessed a glowing or job. that was hovering near Horton Heath, while one Maureen Loyley claimed that she had watched a very similar object for around 20 minutes from Winchester. Another sighting, very close to Winchester, was reported by Mr. and Mrs. Boise. They reported seeing two sons overhead.

The day before Joyce's first encounter, at around 7 p.m. on November 14th, in Southampton, one Mr. Baker, saw a huge orange disc moving across the sky while he made his way to a friend's house. A similar string of events would come to light several months later by UFO researcher Jenny Randalls. She would publish her findings in the August 1977 edition of Flying Saucer Review. According to the account at around 3.15 a.m. on March 9, 1977, 38-year-old Tony Grimshaw and his friend Jeff were driving back to the textile factory,

where they worked in Nelson, Lancashire, in England. As Tony guided his car along the road, Jeff suddenly noticed a strange light in the clouds ahead. He alerted Tony to it, asking him what he thought it was. The strange glow was seemingly directly over Pendle Hill, a location that also had a long history of legend and folklore. As they watched, the object suddenly dropped from the clouds and hovered for several moments. Then it began to move towards the men's vehicle.

Tony would later state that the object was moving relatively slow, around five miles per hour. The closer the object got, the more details the pair could make out, and they could clearly see that whatever it was, it was something very strange. They brought their vehicle to a stop, keeping the engine running but putting the handbrake on. Then they both stepped outside of the car.

The object was continuing in their direction. Tony stated in his report that the object appeared like a round ball of light. The strange object continued forward, in their direction, and then just stopped in front. Now, with the object directly ahead of them, they could see that it was shaped like a cigar with pointed ends that was colored shiny black against the dark black sky.

They would further state that the size of the object was huge, most likely larger than a double-decker bus. The two men stood there, continuing to take in as much detail as they could. They recalled seeing an array of lights on the underside. of the object, as well as peculiar structures on each end. There even appeared to be some kind of windows at what they assumed was the front of the object, although neither witness mentioned being able to see through the windows. Tony would recall that there appeared to be thousands of lights all moving in different directions, elaborating that it was as if you were looking at the exhaust of a car when it is red-hot

and that the red and orange stood out a lot, but that there were many colors including red, pink, green, blue, and black. They also noticed that as the object hovered overhead, the headlights on their car grew particularly faint, only barely glowing. The engine then suddenly cut out as if someone had ripped the wiring out. Eventually, the two men decided to get back inside the car and attempt to restart the engine. However, despite all of their best efforts,

the engine refused to turn over. Even the ignition light failed to come on when the key was inserted. After several minutes, the object began to move once more, passing directly over the two men. The witnesses also recalled that throughout the sighting, they could see a gray mist around the object.

This mist was around the object's edges and not surrounding it. As the object began to move away from them, they became aware of a low humming sound that they presumed came from the craft. Tony would elaborate that this sound was similar to listening to the tide coming in and out. As soon as the object headed off in the distance, the engine suddenly restarted, and the light suddenly lit up as bright as they could. They watched for a few moments as the object headed off into the distance and disappeared.

A few days after the sighting, the men would report this to the local news. It had been their hopes, specifically Tony, that by allowing the newspaper to report on their account, other witnesses might come forward. And several weeks later, a Manchester businessman did just that. According to his account, which he gave to a Manchester newspaper, this man was driving along the moors on the night in question, and claimed that he witnessed the exact same object. However, the newspaper neglected to print or even record the man's name or contact details,

meaning that UFO investigators could not locate the man to question him further. A rather negative aspect of the account hitting the newspapers was the ridicule the witnesses began receiving, and the witnesses all begin to pull back from ever talking about these incidents at our. all. Investigators, though, would continue to examine the incident for further information. They looked, for example, at the car, noting that it had received new plugs and PowerPoints only weeks previously, and that the engine and battery were in excellent overall condition,

certainly so that the headlights or the engine should not have died as they did during the event. Even stranger, the radio in the car no longer. longer worked, and all attempts to repair it simply failed. Investigators would also contact Manchester Airport to see if they had anything in the area that evening, or if they had picked anything strange up on their radar. The answer was no to both. Jenny Randalls, who authored the article for Flying Sasser Review, found both of the witnesses to be credible, noting that both were working men.

with major cares for the families, and with little time for the UFO phenomenon. Furthermore, she would write that she believed that neither man had anything like the required knowledge to fabricate the details of this story. Randalls would state that if UFO researchers and investigators could gain an understanding of some of the details of the case, particularly why cars often cease to work, while these strange objects are overhead, it would lead us some way to an understanding of the physical principles behind whatever it was that hovered over the two men that night. Interestingly, there were several other intriguing encounters around the United Kingdom,

around the same time as this incident. According to an article by Jenny Randalls and Peter Warrington, in the same edition of Flying Saucer Review, at around 150 a.m., on April 2nd, 1976, 32-year-old Detective Sergeant Norman Collinson was driving home after finishing his shift. It was as he was making his way along the M-66 that he noticed a strange light in the sky

that appeared very much disc-shaped. He immediately noticed how fast the light was moving through the sky, passing directly in front of his vehicle ahead of him. Although he didn't immediately suspect that he was witnessing something otherworldly, and actually believing it to be something top secret and military, he was more than certain that he hadn't seen anything like it before. He continued to drive along the motorway, watching in awe as the object made extremely sharp turns and changed direction overhead.

After losing sight of the glowing disc temporarily, he suddenly noticed it coming up from behind him and then heading off in front of his vehicle again. At this point, Collinson pulled his car to the side of the road and exited. As he looked around, he noted that there was no other traffic on the road. He then located the object once more and realized it was headed right for him. Then, all of a sudden, it came to an abrupt stop. Collinson continued to look up at the disc, noting that it was now moving in a strange fashion in the same part of the sky, almost in the shape of a box. And as it did this, its speed remained constant, with no braking or slowing down whatsoever. After several moments of this, the object came to a sudden stop before heading off to the east.

At this point, Collinson returned to his car and began to follow the object as best he could. To his amazement, he managed to get relatively close to its aerial location before it stopped once more and began on the box-like movements as it had done previously. As he watched this second aerial display, Collinson looked around, hopeful that he would spot another motorist who might also have been witnessed to the bizarre events. However, to his dismay, he realized he was the only person on the road yet again. The object once more came to a stop. However, this time, instead of heading off slowly into the distance,

it disappeared over the horizon in the flash of a second. Collinson would later recall that this last acceleration was instantaneous, leading him to believe that the object was not a top-secret military aircraft at all. but something much more out of the ordinary. Collinson would make a report of the sighting to the Ministry of Defense, who, while taking his report, gave the impression that there would be little, if any, investigation. Perhaps with this in mind, Collinson also contacted Manchester Airport, asking if they could look into the sighting and match it with any radar readings.

And although they did take the details from him, they would fail to get back in touch, and Collinson was left with more questions than answers. Whether there was any kind of connection between all of these encounters remains open for debate. What is certain is that these are only a tiny fraction of the encounters that are on record, many of which are buried within old editions of Flying Saucer Review and newspaper reports, perhaps in danger of being forgotten. Even if the alleged encounters of Joyce Bowles were of a manufactured nature, if only in part,

it would appear very much that the initial encounter was genuine, if only due to the many corroborating reports that were unearthed in the investigations that followed. And of the other encounters, they all appeared credible. And it also would appear, that there was almost certainly something strange in the United Kingdom during this time. Indeed, for much of the mid to late 70s, UFO sightings in the UK appeared to increase significantly, proving once again that the United Kingdom is a haven for UFO activity.

And perhaps, as always, the answers to these mysteries lay somewhere in the skies. This episode was co-researched by Marcus Loth. To learn more, visit UFOinsight.com. Please consider leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, the largest podcasting platform out there. It truly helps boost us up in the algorithms and possibly getting us featured. Or please consider rating and reviewing wherever you get your podcasts. We have some brand new designs in our merch store,

including the book cover for stories from Somewhere in the Skies. Head on over to T-Public and check out our merch. That's T-E-E-E-E-Public.com or visit the link in our show notes. We're on Twitter at SomewhereSkies and Instagram at SomewhereSkies pod. Thank you as always for listening. And remember, keep your feet on the ground, but never stop searching somewhere in the skies. Somewhere in the Skies is produced by 30.

Kind Productions in association with the Entertainment One Podcast Network. Since 2017, the Somewhere in the Skies podcast has been a place for people in all walks of life to tell their personal UFO stories. How have these sightings and encounters change those who experience them? From Beyond the Freight publishing comes Ryan Sprake's brand new book, Stories from Somewhere in the Skies. This compendium brings to life some of the most powerful UFO stories ever submitted. to Somewhere in the Sky's podcast, it takes us on a fascinating journey through life-altering experiences from those who stared into the skies and had something extraordinary stare back. Stories from Somewhere in the Skies, now available in paperback and e-book on Amazon.

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