Pointer To The Circles?

One of the earliest to document crop formations in England was 
Arthur Shuttlewood, a journalist and author who went on to write 
a number of UFO-related books. In the 1960s and early 1970s such 
observations within the fields of Wiltshire were treated almost 
as an aside to the main sequence of events. Far greater emphasis 
was placed on the abundance of UFO sightings, landings and even 
alleged alien encounters. Most of these having been recorded in, 
or in relatively close proximity to the market town of 
Warminster.

In Shuttlewood's first book, 'The Warminster Mystery' [pub.1967 
/ Spearman] there are a number of references to these 
formations. Early in 1966 several 30ft diameter circles were 
discovered in nearby areas of flattened grass and reed; the 
blades and stems swirled in a clockwise fashion. In his book, 
'UFOs -- Key to the New Age [pub.1971/Regency Press] the 
frontispiece comprises four photographs which illustrate a 30ft 
by 50ft triangular shaped area, two 50ft long furrows and two 
12ft long bar-shaped depressions, all of which appeared in 
Wiltshire corn fields. The triangle, or pyramid depression 
contained crop described as having been 'swirled round in a 
whirligig style'. 

At the same time as these formations were beginning to appear, 
Shuttlewood was also busy gathering information relating to a 
mysterious and ultimately unidentifiable source of sound which, 
to those who experienced it, was invariably accompanied by an 
invisible field of force. Likened to sonic pressure waves, this 
attendant noise was similarly described as high-pitched whining 
or droning, whistling and or loud buzzing. The force exerted an 
energy equal to a feeling of great pressure bearing down from 
above on the head, neck and arms of witnesses. One unlucky 
victim reported that his head had been shaken violently from 
side to side. Three young children playing beside a stream on a 
still evening in 1965 were suddenly swept off their feet as 
invisible forces suddenly pinned them to the vibrating ground. A 
terrifying whooping wail rose to a crescendo during this 
short-lived incident. For those inside their homes the visiting 
shockwave of sound contained sufficient power to rattle windows 
and even shake the very roof timbers. Shuttlewood wrote that 
these paralyzing beams of air pressure were also responsible for 
a growing number of shocked and injured animals, both farm and 
domestic. The inexplicable death of a flock of pigeons while in 
flight was another reported incident. The birds having been 
downed en masse following an alleged contact with this invisible 
aerial presence.

On a September night in 1965, Major William Hill was driving to 
his weekly Territorial Army [reserves] meeting in nearby 
Westbury when the engine of his car abruptly cut out. At that 
moment its chassis shuddered under the down beating pressure of 
aerial vibrations and the headlights flickered dimly, according 
to Shuttlewood's account of the event. The Major felt a rolling 
motion beneath him as the whole bodywork swayed and on stepping 
from his vehicle found himself 'immediately conscious of air 
vibrations of a violent character which surrounded and beat down 
on him, and heard a sinister whining and crackling'. Shuttlewood 
added: 'It was on a par with the sounds of high-powered 
refrigeration units or deep-freeze equipment,' and after three 
minutes everything returned to normal.

The county of Wiltshire is awash with military bases even today. 
Huge tracts of prime agricultural land remain designated as 
off-limits to the public, in order that war games and weapons 
testing continue largely unobserved and free from interference. 
Could the late Arthur Shuttlewood's 'The Warminster Mystery' 
point the way towards another possible earthly explanation for 
the agriglyphs [I prefer that word too!] which have steadily, 
during the course of successive seasons, developed into subtle 
and intricate revealing messages directed at mankind? However, 
just how and why the military would wish to play such games is 
another question -- or two.

In conclusion, I would like to add that a link between microwave 
energy and some of the formations created in fields of crops 
such as those in southern Britain, must represent a tenuous one 
at best. I think Greg St Pierre's arguments against the 
likelihood of any satellite based technology existing holds up 
well [Re: UFO UpDate: Re: Bruce Maccabee & The AIR Report?]. If 
the technology isn't microwave, board and rope, or even alien in 
origin, then perhaps we need to re-evaluate any early 
documentary evidence accumulated by the
likes of investigators such as Arthur Shuttlewood. We may yet even
now learn something,

Gerry 
Far Shores