London: Top secret UFO meeting at Metropole Building
On August 15, 1950, a classified meeting on UFO reports occurred in London's Metropole Building, chaired by intelligence deputy Hugh Young. It led to forming a working party to examine credible sightings, directing RAF reports accordingly.
Background
Background
On August 15, 1950, a group of senior officials gathered at the Metropole Building on Northumberland Avenue in London, England for a top-secret meeting about unexplained aerial appearances. The deputy director of intelligence, Hugh Young, chaired the discussion.
Participants and Content
Present were representatives of the Secret Intelligence Service and Wing Commander Myles Formby of the Air Ministry's technical intelligence branch. Young reported that the chief scientific adviser to the Ministry of Defence, Henry Tizard, was insisting that reports of flying discs should not be dismissed lightly. Tizard had requested a working party to investigate significant cases systematically.
Decisions and Consequences
RAF Fighter Command was instructed to pass future reports of aerial phenomena to the newly founded Flying Saucer Working Party. This marked a formal approach by British authorities to the UFO question in the middle of the Cold War, with the involvement of military and intelligence bodies. The meeting points to early official recognition of the need for scientific examination.