Day UFO fell on Yorkshire

QUESTION In November 1957, a flying disc is supposed to have crashed on Silpho Moor, North Yorkshire, and came to be known as the Silpho Saucer. Who now owns the disc and, if it was a hoax, who made it? The Silpho UFO made national headlines after the Yorkshire Post printed a story on December 9, 1957, headlined: ‘has Yorkshire got a flying saucer? Mystery object found on Scarborough moors.’

A little over a fortnight earlier, on the night of November 21, an 18 in metallic saucer weighing 35 lb had been found on moorland between Silpho and hackness.

The red, glowing object was noticed by three friends returning home by car from the Mill Inn, harwood Vale, a few miles away. They went home to fetch a torch and, on their return, spotted a mysterious man and woman walking away from the area.

After publicity about the sighting, others were attracted to the Silpho area to search for evidence, but there was no trace until an anonymous person claimed to have taken the disc home.

The story goes that when the saucer was opened, 17 thin copper sheets were found inside carrying a lengthy pictographic message.

A Ufologist was called in to translate and said the message began: ‘My name is Ulo and I write this message to you my Friends on the Planet of the Sun you call earth.’

The UFO was said to have been dropped to earth by a spaceship from Mercury for us to find. It also allegedly contained a warning about the threat to humanity from atomic warfare.

What became of the object is uncertain. Some said it had been sold to a scrapyard and lost for ever; others claimed it had ended up in a Scarborough chip shop.

The Ministry of Defence and RAF dismissed the Silpho Saucer as a hoax, but no one has come forward to claim responsibility.

A recent theory is that it was a secret surveillance object deliberately disguised as a UFO to put anyone who found it off the scent.

Olly Grey, Trusham, Devon.

QUESTION Following the revelation that Bob Dylan’s hobby is making giant metal sculptures, what unusual hobbies do other celebrities have? FURTheR to the earlier answer, American guitar virtuoso Steve Vai keeps bees, as does Bez, the dancer from the happy Mondays.

Bill Wyman, the Rolling Stones’ former bass guitarist, an archaeology fan, is a metal detectorist, and markets his own Bill Wyman Signature metal detector range.

Actor Tom hanks has 200 manual typewriters he maintains himself.

Brian Welsh, Huntstanton, Norfolk.