Tuesday 28 May 2013

The Cannock Chase Panther


(Image: Wikipedia)

Since the 1970's literally hundreds (if not, thousands) of big cat sightings have been reported from within the Chase's mysterious plantation, often by seemingly rational and trustworthy witnesses. In truth, these accounts have received more publicity within the national and international press than any other phenomena reported in the area, so predictably this is a very hot topic that creates a whole load of controversy – something I’m a huge fan of.

In 1976 the Dangerous Animals Act came into force in England, which made it illegal to keep fierce and predatory creatures as pets without a licence. The problem was though, many people already had these animals, and thanks to parliament, they were now breaking the law. Without having much choice in the matter, pet owners far and wide began releasing their ferocious, wild beasts into secluded countryside locations. Unfortunately, many of these animals would have struggled to survive unaided in England, however, is it possible that some species were more suited to our climate than others? Have exotic cats been breeding secretly for the last 40 years? Some journalists and researchers would argue that the evidence suggests they have.

(Image: Wikipedia)

To illustrate the reality of this situation, in 1989 the body of an Asian Jungle Cat was found in the town of Ludlow, Shropshire (around 25 miles outside of Cannock Chase). Some people believe that this jungle cat and others like it could have mated with local domestic felines, creating a race of super-moggies who still roam the peaceful countryside to this very day, although the serious research community are notably divided on the issue. World famous zoologist and cryptozoologist Dr Karl Shuker, who has written many books on the subject of mystery cats in Britain told a popular television reporter that “from the condition of it (the carcase) and the age, it had been in the area for quite some time. Many people had reported seeing an animal like this, but they hadn't been believed until the body was found”. This suggests the cat had more than enough time to breed, but although sightings do continue in the area, no further hard evidence has been uncovered.

For the most part, when people in England use the word “panther”, they are referring to Melanistic Leopards, and in some cases Puma's or Jaguars. However, in other places around the world, the word is used to describe a whole plethora of different big cats. So in reality “panther” is not a very good descriptive term, and many witnesses probably use it incorrectly. However, local people have adopted the word, and so for the purpose of this section, I will continue to use it.

In 2009 the Express and Star newspaper reported that an expert, who had been advising the police about the existence of big cats in England’s woodland's, said that he believed Puma's have been breeding on Cannock Chase since the 1940's, and again dubbed the area a hotspot. The article went on to state that, only a few weeks previously a deer had been found dead, after having been dragged into a ditch, with two puncture holes to the neck – trademark signs of a big cat attack. Also, another man from the village of Norton Canes had stumbled upon, and subsequently taken photographs of, a huge paw-print within a week or two of the incident, which measured at an astonishing 5 by 6 inches. 

I have spent a couple of days searching for the Panther on Cannock Chase myself, but found little more than dubious droppings, which may or may not come from the local deer population. I have however, unearthed some brand new sighting reports that will be included in my forthcoming book about the area. 

The lack of hard evidence for the existence of this woodland beast is somewhat perplexing, but if it is just an urban myth, why do so many people send in sighting reports? They have nothing to gain from such claims as far as I can see, so for the most part, must we conclude they are genuine?

Until next time my friends........


Written by Lee Brickley 2013


Monday 20 May 2013

UFO Sighting Report 2013 - Blue Lights At Hednesford Part 2



I spent the best part of yesterday at the home of Mr Graham, who reported seeing some strange blue lights in the sky, travelling vertically up and down near Hednesford last week. Upon my arrival, Mr G seemed very open and glad to speak with me. With some minor pleasantries out of the way, and a cup of tea in my hand, we headed into the lounge to talk about what exactly it was that he saw. If you didn't catch my post containing his initial sighting report, here it is again..............

NAME: T*** Graham

TIME OF SIGHTING: 10:10pm

DATE: 1/5/13 - (May 1st for any U.S readers)

NATURE OF SIGHTING: UFO

LOCATION: Hednesford Hills

DETAILS: My son and I were out using our RC plane on Hednesford Hills last night and we saw some lights in the sky. At the time listed above, we saw four bright blue lights moving up and down vertically in the direction of Littleworth Road. We tried to get some pictures but my phone is quite old so they look rubbish and you cant see anything on them. I don't know if you might have any idea as to what it was it was? I've personally never seen anything like it. It was almost as if the lights were running up and down a wire attached from the ground to the sky.

Mr G confirmed everything in that report was correct, but also added some very interesting info: upon returning home an hour or so after the sighting had taken place, both he and his son heard the rumbling sound of helicopters overhead. Rushing to their windows, they saw two, double bladed, black helicopters flying towards the sighting location. This will no doubt get even weirder when I tell you that I, myself, have seen these helicopters on a number of occasions over the last few months. In-fact I've been spotting them so frequently that a couple of weeks ago I decided to start keeping a camera on the windowsill, and yesterday afternoon when I returned home from MR G's, I managed to get a photo of one.





So what are they doing? Well, these helicopters are new to the area, and in all my years of living here, I have never seen double-bladed military style machines flying over before, so are we to assume they are indeed connected to Mr G's UFO sighting? And if they are: do we presume they are in some way related to the origin of the sighing? Or could they simply be investigating it like the rest of us? Who knows, but all this activity is certainly raising local eyebrows.

Paranormal investigator Lee Brickley has a new book available about the paranormal happenings on Cannock Chase. Read it here: UK Link - US Link or click the book cover below!


If you live or work in the area and you see one of these helicopters, please take photographs and send them to me for publication on this blog. I'll also try to snap as many as I can over the next few weeks, so if you'll work with me, we might be able to determine where these crafts are coming from, and what it is they think they are doing. Large helicopters have appeared on an almost daily basis recently, is this a sign that something significant has happened? Or maybe it's about to happen? The military certainly seems interested in something!

As to the origin of MR G's blue light sighting, I must admit I’m at a loss. His description cannot be explained away with any technology we know to exist, so I have to conclude he either saw a genuine UFO, or stumbled upon some top secret military experiment associated with those choppers. Still, I'm sure this is not the last we will hear on the matter.

Until next time comrades,

Peace and Love

Lee Brickley 2013





Thursday 16 May 2013

Cannock Chase Sightings On The Radio

Yesterday (15th May 2013) I had a really interesting chat about Cannock Chase with Steve and Susanne from KTPF Community Talk Show

Check it out!



Check out their website and listen to their show every Wednesday night at 8:00pm GMT

-------------------------------------- http://ktpf.co.uk/ ---------------------------------


Thanks Guys!

Peace

Paranormal investigator Lee Brickley has a new book available about the paranormal happenings on Cannock Chase. Read it here: UK Link - US Link or click the book cover below!

Friday 10 May 2013

UFO Sighting Report 2013 - Blue Lights At Hednesford


It's just a short post from me today. 

Whilst taking a break from editing my forthcoming book last week, I noticed a new sighting report in my email inbox from a gentleman who resides in the small town of Hednesford. As my workload is pretty heavy at the moment, I will be unable to meet up with Mr Graham until next week, but he kindly gave me permission to publish his initial report, so here it is.....

NAME: T*** Graham

TIME OF SIGHTING: 10:10pm

DATE: 1/5/13 - (May 1st for any U.S readers)

NATURE OF SIGHTING: UFO

LOCATION: Hednesford Hills

DETAILS: My son and I were out using our RC plane on Hednesford Hills last night and we saw some lights in the sky. At the time listed above, we saw four bright blue lights moving up and down vertically in the direction of Littleworth Road. We tried to get some pictures but my phone is quite old so they look rubbish and you cant see anything on them. I don't know if you might have any idea as to what it was it was? I've personally never seen anything like it. It was almost as if the lights were running up and down a wire attached from the ground to the sky.

Paranormal investigator Lee Brickley has a new book available about the paranormal happenings on Cannock Chase. Read it here: UK Link - US Link or click the book cover below!

 

Mr Graham's claims can be seen as very interesting, not least because Hednesford Hills is widely known to have been an area of ritualistic importance to England's ancient druids. It is also only a mile or so away from Castle Ring and the Pye-Green Tower, so we shouldn't be too shocked to hear odd things occur in this location. Reports of unexplained lights in the skies around Cannock Chase are becoming more and more frequent in recent times, could this be a sign that something extraterrestrial is afoot?

I will report back next week on my meeting with Mr Graham. Perhaps then I might be able to shed some more light on the matter. Until that time, if anyone else saw anything odd on May 1st this year, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Peace Out!

Written by Lee Brickley - 2013

Tuesday 7 May 2013

Ghosts and Monsters of the German Cemetery



One of the less frequently mentioned facts about local history is that Cannock Chase was widely utilized by the British military during both World War 1 and World War 2. In 1914 a decision made by the governments War Office led to the construction of two huge training camps that soon changed the peaceful landscape forever. Over the following years a quarter of a million troops passed through the Chase on their way to fight on the front-line. The structures contained manufactured shooting ranges, railways, bombing ranges, power stations and even shops, which provides a good indication to their vastness.

Paranormal investigator Lee Brickley has a new book available about the paranormal happenings on Cannock Chase. Read it here: UK Link - US Link or click the book cover below!


Alongside this, a camp was constructed nearby that held many German prisoners of war. By 1917, enemy pilots shot down over the U.K were forced to live and work at the location under British military supervision. This must have been a rather odd thing for the people of Cannock to get their heads around, not least because the prisoners were often forced to work in the community, helping out on local farms etc. This practice, although dropped at the end of WW1, was revitalised when the Chase was re-utilized for the fight against Hitler.

Cannock Chase played such a prominent role in wartime England that on October 16th 1959, a deal was struck between Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany, which saw 5000 German and Austrian corpses transported to the area from the farthermost corners of the British Isles. The government's agreed that it would be considerably more compassionate for any visiting relatives, if all their countrymen’s graves were in the same, easily locatable place, so work on the site began.


By June 1967 the cemetery was complete and open to the public. Undoubtedly this had a very positive impact on Anglo-German relations, and so we should consider it a good thing. That said, I would imagine moving 5000 bodies from their resting places can create a whole wealth of supernatural disturbances, and that indeed seems to be the case.




Even to this very day, many people report witnessing ghosts in military uniform in and around the cemetery, sitting on gravestones or standing silently in full attire. A lady contacted me recently who claimed that, whilst walking near to the burial ground, she witnessed a group of soldiers in 1940's uniforms casually strolling. Apparently the “Phantom Brigade” instantly disappeared when she blinked. Stories of this nature are certainly not uncommon, however some of the other reports definitely are.

In 2007 the local press began reporting on a series of potential Bigfoot/werewolf sightings in the area, inspiring many paranormal groups to investigate. Numerous stories came in from members of the public, postmen and even a scout-leader, which surly makes the sightings interesting at the very least. Oddly, after a year or two, the reports seemed to stop, but was this just the corporate controlled media getting bored? Do the sightings continue?

Well, as you know, I am currently just finishing my book about Cannock Chase so I feel able to answer that question plainly and simply – Yes, the sightings continue, in fact I have dedicated an entire chapter to them, so if you're interested and want to know more, watch this space.

You can also check out Nick Redfern's latest article on the German Cemetery HERE

Until we meet again.........

Peace Out!

Written by Lee Brickley 2013

Mentioned on http://www.naturalplane.blogspot.co.uk/

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