- I do not believe in visits from spaceships piloted by aliens from other planets. I have never believed and I am sure that I will never believe in them, said Sir Patrick Moore. Only after his death did it become clear that the world famous astronomer, knighted by the Queen of Great Britain, had led a double life for several years.
Correct biography
Alfred Patrick Caldwell-Moore was born on March 4, 1923 in London. Once the young Moore came across a book on astronomy, and this science became his only passion for life. At the age of 12, Patrick was accepted in absentia as a member of the British Astronomical Association. Its leaders did not know that a boy was writing serious reports on space.
In 1937, the director of the East Grinstead Observatory was killed in a car accident. Patrick temporarily took over his position even though he was only 14 years old!
During the war, Patrick served as a bomber gunner. The ability to count well, indispensable for astronomers, was also useful at the front. He took revenge on the Germans as best he could:
his fiancée, who was a nurse, was killed in an air raid.
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Many years later, in his autobiography, he said: "If I saw all the German people dying at sea, rest assured, I would help them drown faster." Patrick remained a bachelor, unable to forget his Lorna.
After demobilization, he built a mirror telescope with his own hands and began to study the moon. During the day, Moore earned money teaching at school, and at night he painted the smallest details of the lunar surface. His first book, A Guide to the Moon, was published in 1953. Since then, he has written over 70 books on astronomy.
In 1957, Patrick was invited to the BBC to host the monthly show "The Sky at Night". Soon his face became known to every Briton. In 2007, the program celebrated its 50th anniversary, and Moore was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest working TV presenter on one program. He commented live on the landing of people on the moon, interviewed Yuri Gagarin and visited dozens of countries, including the USSR.
Stormy life did not prevent Moore from making astronomical discoveries. During the life of the scientist, an asteroid was named in his honor.
The last years of his life, Patrick, who became a knight and commander of the Order of the British Empire, was seriously ill. He barely moved, but continued to lead the program. To prevent the old astronomer from having to go anywhere, the BBC installed television cameras in his home. Moore passed away on December 9, 2012, three months before his 90th birthday.
Flying saucer
In the mid-1950s, a certain British amateur astronomer Cedric Allingham began to claim that he had met a Martian and was even able to photograph him. The contact took place on February 18, 1954, near the Scottish city of Lossiemouth.
While walking along the beach, Allingham heard a whistling sound from above. Taking out his binoculars, he, "to his amazement, realized that it could only be a flying saucer." The object, flying at an altitude of about 1,500 meters, sparkled in the sunlight. It was tilted at an angle, allowing you to see the dome.
“I was rooted to the spot and for a moment did not know what to do,” Cedric said. “Then I grabbed my camera and quickly took a couple of pictures when the ship was almost ready to land. The metal body shone dully. The object hovered for a second or two, and then landed with a dull, but clearly audible sound fifteen meters from where I stood. The ship was about 4.5 meters high and 6 meters in diameter. The center wall and dome appeared to be made from a single piece of shiny metal, similar to polished aluminum. On the wall were two groups of windows of three, with a small flange protruding above them.
As Allingham stepped forward, a sliding panel opened at the bottom of the ship. From there a man jumped to the ground.
I raised my hand in greeting, and he did the same. Then we stood for a while, looking at each other. He's probably already seen earthlings. I've never met an alien. My height is 176 cm, he was slightly taller. His hair, like mine, is light brown, short. His skin had a strange, very deep tan color. But even so, if he were dressed in earthly clothes, he could hardly be distinguished from the Englishman. Is that on the forehead, higher than any of the people.
The alien wore a jumpsuit that wrapped around the body from legs to neck. Only the head and hands were open. Allingham did not immediately notice that the pilot was using a breathing device: flexible tubes protruding from his nostrils.
The astronomer first of all wanted to know where the saucer came from. He took a notebook out of his pocket and drew a diagram of the solar system. After showing the drawing, Allingham, after a series of misunderstandings, still achieved understanding. The alien nodded affirmatively as Cedric pointed first to the ship and then to Mars orbit. Using drawings and gestures, the astronomer found out that there are channels on Mars. There is water flowing (he pointed to the water, and then to the drawing with the channels - the stranger nodded). The Martians exchange visits with the inhabitants of Venus and frequent the moon.
Cedric, remembering the camera, indicated with signs that he would like to take a picture of the plate. Permission has been obtained. Then the Martian showed that he needed to fly away. The sliding panel opened again and he disappeared inside. Allingham managed to take only one shot from the back. The plate rose into the air and disappeared.
In the footsteps of a sensation
Cedric Allingham's book, Flying Saucer from Mars, sold like cakes on market day. He eventually became the first Briton to claim to have communicated with an alien.
Journalists besieged the publishing house, trying to interview the hero of the day, but it turned out to be difficult. At first, the publishers said that Cedric went to America with a series of lectures, then that he was sick with tuberculosis and was being treated at a resort in Switzerland.
Reluctance to talk to the press did not stop Allingham from performing in provincial clubs and receiving royalties. But this did not last long. Soon the news came that the author of the sensational revelations was no longer alive.
The photo of Cedric Allingham, printed in the book, did not clarify. In 1986, ufologists found out that it depicts journalist Peter Davis. He admitted that he edited the manuscript of "Flying Saucer from Mars" and was photographed instead of the author. Davis declined to name the person who wrote the book. He himself could not be Allingham, because he did not understand either astronomy or UFOs.
Second Life
Journalists have long known that there is a strange gap in Patrick Moore's biography. In 1953, he quit school and did not work anywhere until signing with the BBC. While The Guide to the Moon was a good income, it clearly would not have lasted five years.
In 2014, when Moore's papers were handed over to the Science Museum in London, everything fell into place. During these years, he played the role of Allingham, cleverly hiding from exposure with a wig and a false mustache.
Young Patrick Moore dressed up as Cedric Allingham
Davis said the author of Flying Saucer from Mars wrote the book for the money. He wanted to repeat the success of the American George Adamski, who claimed to have met a Venusian. Adamsky became obscenely rich. Patrick was less fortunate, but quite enough for life. It wasn't until 1956, when a career as a BBC TV presenter loomed ahead, did he decide to stop the comedy and spread rumors about Allingham's death.
Using his real name, Patrick has always made fun of UFOs and the people who believe in them. Long before he appeared on the screens, he violently attacked British ufologists and their fans. In 1963, when a strange crater appeared on a field in Charleston, he once again used his talent to disguise himself as other people.
This time he played the role of "rocket scientist Arthur Randall", who said that the crater was left after the landing of the spacecraft from the planet Uranus. The journalists did not check if there was such a scientist and published questionable revelations.
Those who are too noisy to deny the existence of UFOs and aliens, surely have no less skeletons in the closet. Real skeptics are usually silent, not wanting to say anything on a "dubious" topic. But it is impossible to hide the truth forever, and someday it will become common property.
Mikhail GERSHTEIN