East London being encounter — January 1977

Richard Luxford, aged twelve, and Tony De Rosa, thirteen, reported an aerial object above Willow Street in London’s EC 2 district one winter evening in January 1977. They had been returning from the Barbican, Richard with his bicycle and Tony with a skateboard. Neither had a watch; the first observation was placed between 6 and 7 p.m. They described a red-orange sphere just above the rooftops, with a thin, dark, smoke-like strand extending upward. Its surface shimmered and a faint crackling sound was heard. About two weeks later, Richard was walking home alone through the same area at approximately 6 p.m. He reported another, less bright sphere near the same position. It remained visible briefly, then blinked out. As he approached the junction with Paul Street, he noticed a small figure crossing from the pub corner toward the opposite buildings. The figure was roughly three feet tall, with thin limbs and a peanut-shaped head. Richard said its pose remained fixed while it glided, feet perhaps eight or nine inches above the roadway. Its body appeared dark, surrounded by a golden-yellow glow. He could not distinguish facial features, hands or feet. It was visible for six or seven seconds and made no accompanying sound. Barry King, Andy Collins and Graham Phillips interviewed the boys about fifteen months later. Their report judged them sincere while explicitly leaving the connection between sphere and figure unknown. Another teenager’s account offered possible support for the first aerial sighting, not the humanoid. The plate combines the second observation’s successive moments and labels that compression.