Brief
Jump to content UK Edition Change US Edition Asia Edition Edición en Español Sign up to our newsletters Subscribe now Log in / Register Independent Podcasts Europe: The Way Back Subscribe Menu News News Bulletin UK US World Global Aid UK Politics Money Brexit Health Business Science Space News Videos Premium Premium Politics Explained Editorials Voices Long Reads News Analysis Today’s Edition Sport Sport Football Formula 1 Rugby Union Cricket Tennis Boxing UFC Horse Racing Cycling Golf Sport Videos Voices Voices Editorials Your Views John Rentoul Mary Dejevsky Andrew Grice Sean O’Grady Culture Culture Film TV & Radio Music Games Books Art Photography Theatre & Dance Culture Videos Lifestyle Lifestyle Shopping Beauty Fitness & Wellbeing Tech Food & Drink Fashion Love & Sex Health & Families Royal Family Home Motoring Electric Vehicles Lifestyle Videos IndyBest IndyBest Home & Garden Gadgets & Tech Fashion & Beauty Deals Food & Drink Kids Books Travel & Outdoors Sports & Fitness Travel Travel Hotel Reviews News & Advice Cruises UK Europe USA Asia Australia & New Zealand South America C. America & Caribbean Middle East More Deals Travel Deals Fashion Deals Home & Garden Deals Tech Deals Climate News Climate 100 Electric Vehicles Voices Sustainable Living Explained Climate Videos Solar Panels TV Documentaries ACFC Well Enough World of Trouble Travel Smart Drive Smart Money Smart Decomplicated On The Ground Indy100 Today’s Edition Crosswords & Puzzles Most Commented Newsletters Ask Me Anything Virtual Events Betting Sites Casino Sites Thank you for registering Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in Swipe for next article News UK Home News Rare early report of UFO hovering in sky uncovered in cardboard box Two South African Air Force flying officers also reported seeing unidentified aerial objects above Durban Paul Vass Tuesday 28 July 2026 10:51 BST Bookmark Comments Go to comments Bookmark popover Removed from bookmarks Close popover open image in gallery Botanical Gardens ( Michaelwild/CC BY-SA 3.0 ) Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice One of the earliest eyewitness reports of a flying saucer in the modern era of the UFO phenomenon has been uncovered. The typed account was made by a Barbara Graves who wrote from her home in Durban, South Africa, to friend Muriel Armfield in Chertsey, Surrey. She described how on March 8, 1953 while taking a photograph of the Botanical Gardens in the coastal city she spotted a 'round object' that hovered high in the sky. She insisted it was definitely not an aircraft. Barbara told Muriel: "I hope you don't think I've taken to the bottle when I tell you that on Sunday, Tom and I saw a Flying Saucer over Durban. "We were taking photographs...and Tom asked me to look up to get the sun on my face when I spied a round object in the sky, very high and moving. "We both agreed it definitely wasn't an aeroplane - it was a perfectly cloudless, blue sky, otherwise we would never have seen it at the height it was. "We watched it travel a good distance, and then it seemed to remain in the same spot for quite a long time - then went higher and higher until it was lost from our sight." open image in gallery he typed account was made by a Barbara Graves who wrote from her home in Durban, South Africa, to friend Muriel Armfield in Chertsey, Surrey ( Sworders/BNPS ) She then expressed her regret at not having a telephoto lens on her camera which might have captured the UFO. At about the same time there were other similar sightings of a 'flying saucer' over South Africa. Two South African Air Force flying officers reported seeing unidentified aerial objects above Durban on the same day Barbara reported hers. Experts say that contemporary accounts from the formative years of the modern UFO phenomenon are 'astonishingly scarce' as people were often ridiculed for speaking out. The letter is coming up for sale at Sworders Auctioneers of Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, as part of their Out of the ordinary sale. It was found inside a box of unrelated ephemera purchased at a flea market in the south west of England. Mark Wilkinson, a spokesperson for Sworders, said: "The significance of this letter lies as it is a genuine surviving first-hand UFO eyewitness account written in 1953, at a time when such sightings attracted worldwide attention but were often met with scepticism and ridicule. open image in gallery One of the earliest eyewitness accounts of a flying saucer in the modern era of the UFO phenomenon has been uncovered ( Sworders/BNPS ) "No comparable private first-hand UFO eyewitness letter from this period is known to have notably appeared on the open auction market, making the survival of this document exceptionally rare. "Personal letters of this nature were seldom preserved, with many lost or discarded over the years, and many witnesses choosing only to confide in trusted individuals rather than speak publicly. "Its importance is further enhanced by the fact that, unknown to the writer, the same sighting was independently reported on the same day by two Air Force pilots, whose account was later preserved in a contemporary newsreel. "Emerging from the early years of modern UFO investigation, this letter offers a rare insight into the personal and historical context of the 1950s UFO phenomenon." The letter is tipped to sell for between £300 to £500 on August 18. More about South Africa Durban Photographs aeroplane Chertsey Sun Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments Most popular Popular videos Bulletin Read next Get in touch Contact us Our Products Subscribe Register Newsletters Donate Today’s Edition Install our app Archive Other publications International editions Independent en Español Independent Arabia Independent Turkish Independent Persian Independent Urdu The Standard Extras Puzzles All topics Betting offers Latest deals Competitions and offers Independent Advertising Independent Ignite Syndication Working at The Independent Legal Code of conduct and complaints Contributors Cookie policy Donations Terms & Conditions Privacy policy User policies Modern Slavery Statement Thank you for registering Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in
Original source
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ufo-letter-durban-south-africa-b3022890.html
Comments
No comments yet.
Sign in to comment.