Alternate Perceptions Magazine, September 2026
The Brixham , England Airship – 1969
By: Rick Hilberg
A Brixham woman had a close look at a spectacular aerial intruder that was sighted by many in South Devon on October 6, 1969. Miss Lillian Eyre was with the Royal Air Force during World War II and had the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of aircraft and their operations. She was familiar with what an aircraft should look like and sound like.
At 10:10 p.m. she was standing on Windmill Hill, Brixham looking at the night sky. It was an extremely clear night, and she was picking out the various star groups. Suddenly, she saw what she thought was a flare on the coast near Sidmouth.
"I had been there about two to three minutes and was just turning round to go in when I saw this tiny red light. At first, I thought it was stationary.
"Then it got larger and larger. Then it appeared to be not one but three pulsating red lights. Over Berry Head there was suddenly a blinding white light lasting about three seconds. It seemed it was not higher than 2-3,000 feet. It was lowish and the nearest estimation of speed would be about 250 m.p.h.
" It looked just like an aircraft fuselage without any wings. Then I heard an engine and thought 'Well, it's just an aircraft after all.' But the engine was not like any jet or piston plane. It was a slow thudding sound as if it was on low power."
Miss Eyre lost sight of the object as it continued on in the direction of Dartmouth.
She was by no means the only person to witness the eerie sight, for others in the vicinity also caught a glimpse of the craft.
Mrs. J. Kimberly of Brixham was with her husband at the Brixham Yacht Club when she saw three red lights coming from the direction of Torquay headed towards Brixham. As the object got near, she saw a bright white light flash on which she described as being similar to an aircraft landing light.
Said the former airline stewardess, "We thought it might have been a helicopter. But I don't really think so. I don't really believe in UFOs, but it was very odd."
Mrs. P. Giret of Kingskerswell, was traveling in her husband's car at about 9:45 p.m. near Oddicombe Beach when she spotted the object.
"We had gone out to give the dog a run, and as I was sitting in the car, I saw one red light in the sky. Then it became much brighter. It appeared to be above Sidmouth, and after remaining stationary for a while, it moved a short distance and stopped again.
"My husband thought it might be a helicopter, but for some reason I wasn't convinced. It was still there when we left ten minutes later."
Another to sight the nocturnal visitor was Mr. T. Blackmore of Dartmouth, who was at home when the object approached from the direction of Brixham. Blackmore, who served in the RAF for five years, heard the object making a slow thudding sound and saw "intense bright lights."
Mr. H.G. Shepherd of Torquay was driving down Fleet Street when he saw the cluster of red lights passing over the Riviera Hotel. "It was extremely low for an aircraft, and I could not see any navigational lights." After first sighting the object at 8:15 p.m., he saw it off and on for almost a half hour.
So excited about seeing the UFO, Shepherd called his friend Mr. R. Smith and told him to have a look at it.
Mr. Smith hurried over to Ilsham to observe the object with Mr. Shepherd. With the aid of a pair of binoculars of Smith's, they could see "three or four closely clustered lights and then two flashing lights slightly higher." Shepherd estimated the altitude of the UFO to be about 500 feet and noted that it was moving slowly. They lost sight of the object as it moved out into Lyme Bay.
Shepherd was interested to note that his father had seen a similar object the same night from their house in Watcombe.
What was the object that flew around the Brixham area that October night? From the descriptions given by witnesses it certainly was no aircraft, and hardly some sort of natural phenomena. This multiple witness case must be chalked up as an unknown.
Source: Rick Hilberg, Flying Saucer Digest Fall 1970.
