Comment by Colin Andrews:
During recent research for his new book 'Haunted Skies', John Hanson spoke with 1970's UFO
witness Joyce Bowles. She told John that her family have been so badly treated by the public
since her famous UFO encounter near Winchester, England (See 'The Winchester Cluster' on
this site) and the Television and radio interviews that followed, that she does not want further
discussion or involvement in what took place. Below an e-mail I received from John.
-----------------------------
Colin,
After placing an advert in the Hampshire Chronicle wishing to find out any additional information
relating to what had happened to Joyce and Edwin Pratt ,in March 2010 a telephone call was
received at 9.15pm on the 8th of April 2010, from Mrs Joyce Bowles who wanted to put the
records straight, “You suggested that my house was pulled down following exorcisms , this it
totally wrong, my house was one of a number of council houses that were redeveloped, at
Quarry Road and Fairdown because they were vey old. After the work was done we went back
up their to live they gave us a four bedroom house because we had four children and we were
only their for a year because the children were then grown up, Chris my oldest went into the
Army, so I couldn’t afford the house, even with the help of my husband who was working on the
Railway as well. I’m not being nasty but I wont have any more to do with this, my boys have been
ridiculed for years because of all of this and we are still being ridiculed now Its dreadful place
for something like that.
Joyce told us she was now aged 76, and still employed part time working at a local Police Station
for a firm of cleaning sub contractors, and that both Anne Stickland and Ted had passed
away. Unfortunately the legacy of having the courage to report something inexplicable, as
Joyce had done way back now in the 1970’s was still attracting ridicule to this present day, not
only towards Joyce but her sons now in their 50’s, a matter for which we apologised to her for
knowing exactly where she was coming from, “People are so horrible and nasty it will all blow up
again, the papers had a field day all we ever saw was a man in a silver suit, while on our way
to pick up my son from Chilcomb and this thing and reported it they added so much more
some accounts even told lies about us, I never said we saw any aliens or spaceships, but I don’t
like talking about what we saw right up to this present day because I am fearful that it might
happened again. We still get ridiculed right to this present day, worse there are people that
seem to believe we made money out of it well we didn’t , I bet your surprised to hear from me did
you think I was dead! To this present day I am still frightened about sleeping with the bedroom
light on. I telephoned you to put you right with regard to the house being demolished if people
have said that they are lying”
It was clear from conversations with Joyce we were talking to a confident woman who in the face
of adversity was still able to laugh and was more than capable of being to speak coherently
without any ranting or raving. Unfortunately she refused to allow us to send any material to her
or her current husband Robert feeling that any further involvement would attract further bouts
of ridicule to her and her sons, although she did confirm having received a letter from us many
years ago, but was very anxious not to disclose her current address, emphasizing time and time
again she wanted to forget about this episode in her life and move on.
We felt privileged, to have spoken with Joyce but saddened to think that our actions
would in themselves quite possibly lead to further embarrassment and mocking from those
sceptics who still believed this was a sterile World, lets hope that they read these volumes when
they may well consider the harm caused to people like Joyce and so many others we met over
the years who now wished they had never said anything in the first place because of the harm
done to their families,
Haunted Skies by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway and is due to be published soon.
During recent research for his new book 'Haunted Skies', John Hanson spoke with 1970's UFO
witness Joyce Bowles. She told John that her family have been so badly treated by the public
since her famous UFO encounter near Winchester, England (See 'The Winchester Cluster' on
this site) and the Television and radio interviews that followed, that she does not want further
discussion or involvement in what took place. Below an e-mail I received from John.
-----------------------------
Colin,
After placing an advert in the Hampshire Chronicle wishing to find out any additional information
relating to what had happened to Joyce and Edwin Pratt ,in March 2010 a telephone call was
received at 9.15pm on the 8th of April 2010, from Mrs Joyce Bowles who wanted to put the
records straight, “You suggested that my house was pulled down following exorcisms , this it
totally wrong, my house was one of a number of council houses that were redeveloped, at
Quarry Road and Fairdown because they were vey old. After the work was done we went back
up their to live they gave us a four bedroom house because we had four children and we were
only their for a year because the children were then grown up, Chris my oldest went into the
Army, so I couldn’t afford the house, even with the help of my husband who was working on the
Railway as well. I’m not being nasty but I wont have any more to do with this, my boys have been
ridiculed for years because of all of this and we are still being ridiculed now Its dreadful place
for something like that.
Joyce told us she was now aged 76, and still employed part time working at a local Police Station
for a firm of cleaning sub contractors, and that both Anne Stickland and Ted had passed
away. Unfortunately the legacy of having the courage to report something inexplicable, as
Joyce had done way back now in the 1970’s was still attracting ridicule to this present day, not
only towards Joyce but her sons now in their 50’s, a matter for which we apologised to her for
knowing exactly where she was coming from, “People are so horrible and nasty it will all blow up
again, the papers had a field day all we ever saw was a man in a silver suit, while on our way
to pick up my son from Chilcomb and this thing and reported it they added so much more
some accounts even told lies about us, I never said we saw any aliens or spaceships, but I don’t
like talking about what we saw right up to this present day because I am fearful that it might
happened again. We still get ridiculed right to this present day, worse there are people that
seem to believe we made money out of it well we didn’t , I bet your surprised to hear from me did
you think I was dead! To this present day I am still frightened about sleeping with the bedroom
light on. I telephoned you to put you right with regard to the house being demolished if people
have said that they are lying”
It was clear from conversations with Joyce we were talking to a confident woman who in the face
of adversity was still able to laugh and was more than capable of being to speak coherently
without any ranting or raving. Unfortunately she refused to allow us to send any material to her
or her current husband Robert feeling that any further involvement would attract further bouts
of ridicule to her and her sons, although she did confirm having received a letter from us many
years ago, but was very anxious not to disclose her current address, emphasizing time and time
again she wanted to forget about this episode in her life and move on.
We felt privileged, to have spoken with Joyce but saddened to think that our actions
would in themselves quite possibly lead to further embarrassment and mocking from those
sceptics who still believed this was a sterile World, lets hope that they read these volumes when
they may well consider the harm caused to people like Joyce and so many others we met over
the years who now wished they had never said anything in the first place because of the harm
done to their families,
Haunted Skies by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway and is due to be published soon.
| Haunted Skies (and haunted minds) - what we do to people who have the courage to report the unknown. By Colin Andrews April 19, 2010 |