The Gateshead Grey Alien Incident – The Bizarre Encounters Of Robert Hall
When the subject of alien encounters is mentioned, most of us automatically think of the 1950s and beyond. However, there are many encounters with extraterrestrials in the years before the start of the Modern UFO era in the late 1940s. One of those encounters unfolded in Gateshead, England.
According to a report in the June 24th, 2011 edition of The Northern Echo newspaper by Gavin Harvey, on a particularly sunny spring day in 1940, five-year-old Robert Hall was playing with a friend in the backstreets of the terraced housing estate on which his family lived. As they played, they watched the soldiers marching along the street.
Of more intrigue, though, was a strange object Robert believed he saw “whizzing” in the sky, something none of his friends witnessed. A short time later, Robert and his friend tired of watching the soldier decided to return home for something to eat. Their journey, though, would be a life-changing one.
Of more intrigue, though, was a strange object Robert believed he saw “whizzing” in the sky, something none of his friends witnessed. A short time later, Robert and his friend tired of watching the soldier decided to return home for something to eat. Their journey, though, would be a life-changing one.
“A Big Egg-Shaped Thing Surrounded By Bright Light!”
As the young boys made their way back home, they headed toward the corner of the backstreets, with the backs of the red-bricked terraced housing to each side of them. Robert recalled how the air appeared to shimmy, as it does when it is extremely hot. However, they quickly realized they were walking through this distortion, and the next thing the pair realized, they were looking at a bizarre “egg-shaped thing” in front of them that was “surrounded by bright light”. They immediately stopped in their tracks, uncertain about exactly what they were looking at.
It was then that he noticed the “strange-looking creatures”.
There were around 20 of these creatures, each between two and four feet tall. They were definitely humanoid, Robert would recall years later, although one of them appeared very much like a Bigfoot creature, while another had long hair and wore a long coat that appear to cover a very thin body and what looked like bat wings. Perhaps strangest of all was one of these entities appeared decidedly human, with long, blond hair (a description that would fit many of the 1950s alien encounters that would sweep across the United States, in particular, the following decade.
It was then that he noticed the “strange-looking creatures”.
There were around 20 of these creatures, each between two and four feet tall. They were definitely humanoid, Robert would recall years later, although one of them appeared very much like a Bigfoot creature, while another had long hair and wore a long coat that appear to cover a very thin body and what looked like bat wings. Perhaps strangest of all was one of these entities appeared decidedly human, with long, blond hair (a description that would fit many of the 1950s alien encounters that would sweep across the United States, in particular, the following decade.
Artist's impression of the UFO in the street (c) Richard D. Hall
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Artist's impression of the UFO in the back alley (c) Richard D. Hall
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At this point, he noticed that there were several other children in the alleyway who had seen the bizarre scene also. He recalled how they were “petrified and in shock”, adding that “they were trying to get over the railway, but there was barbed wire” that inflicted cuts on their arms and legs. He further recalled that several of them were screaming.
As they stood there, as shocked as the other children, one of the creatures turned its attention to them. They then spoke in “perfect English” although without any type of accent, and asked him if they would be able to “examine” them. Robert protested that the country was “at war with Germany” but they proceeded to take both boys on board their spacecraft. Robert would later recall how they somehow remove a sample of blood from the back of his neck. As they did so, he shut his eyes, not wanting to see what was taking place, although he recalled one of the aliens telling him that if he was to move during this particular procedure, he would be “killed instantly”. After they had finished the procedure they put some kind of jelly-like substance where they had taken the blood from.
They carried out several other procedures, although Robert was not certain what these were. They then informed him matter-of-factly that they were free to go. Immediately, they ran back home.
As they stood there, as shocked as the other children, one of the creatures turned its attention to them. They then spoke in “perfect English” although without any type of accent, and asked him if they would be able to “examine” them. Robert protested that the country was “at war with Germany” but they proceeded to take both boys on board their spacecraft. Robert would later recall how they somehow remove a sample of blood from the back of his neck. As they did so, he shut his eyes, not wanting to see what was taking place, although he recalled one of the aliens telling him that if he was to move during this particular procedure, he would be “killed instantly”. After they had finished the procedure they put some kind of jelly-like substance where they had taken the blood from.
They carried out several other procedures, although Robert was not certain what these were. They then informed him matter-of-factly that they were free to go. Immediately, they ran back home.
Ominous Warnings And A Second Encounter
Upon arriving back home, he told his parents of what he had seen, however, they simply put it down to him attempting to play a prank on them. So did several soldiers who were on the street who also heard his claims.
A small group of soldiers did venture to the back alley where Robert claimed to have witnessed the events. As they arrived, the egg-shaped object was rising into the air and disappeared a short time after. Robert recalls one of the soldiers fired a pistol toward the object but it didn’t appear to hit it. He would offer to Richard that he couldn’t understand where all of the figures had disappeared to. Given that the object was only around 12 to 14 feet, he felt certain they couldn’t all have fitted inside, however, they were now nowhere to be seen.
The following day, though, when two men dressed in black suits arrived at the family home. They told Robert in no uncertain terms, that if he spoke of the encounter, he would “disappear”.
He tried to put the encounter to the back of his mind, however, several days later, another, even stranger encounter unfolded.
He was once more playing in the back alleyways of the housing estate when he claimed a creature came out of nowhere and grabbed at him. Looking back at the incident years later, he was clear that this entity resembled what would today be described as a grey alien.
Fortunate as it was for Robert, his uncle was nearby and could see the bizarre events as they happened. He ran over, and using a coal shovel happened to be carrying, attacked the creature, hitting it squarely on the head. The creature, it appeared, was dead. Robert’s uncle scooped its body into a sack and sent his nephew to go and seek out a policeman to report the encounter.
According to Robert, it was Sergeant Brookes whom he found, and after the policeman returned to the scene and inspected the remains, he quickly notified the army. When a small military unit arrived, they seemingly took the dead extraterrestrial and promptly disappeared.
Although Robert would never deviate from his story, he would face a lifetime of ridicule from schoolmates and teachers, and then people from the local community as he entered adulthood.
A small group of soldiers did venture to the back alley where Robert claimed to have witnessed the events. As they arrived, the egg-shaped object was rising into the air and disappeared a short time after. Robert recalls one of the soldiers fired a pistol toward the object but it didn’t appear to hit it. He would offer to Richard that he couldn’t understand where all of the figures had disappeared to. Given that the object was only around 12 to 14 feet, he felt certain they couldn’t all have fitted inside, however, they were now nowhere to be seen.
The following day, though, when two men dressed in black suits arrived at the family home. They told Robert in no uncertain terms, that if he spoke of the encounter, he would “disappear”.
He tried to put the encounter to the back of his mind, however, several days later, another, even stranger encounter unfolded.
He was once more playing in the back alleyways of the housing estate when he claimed a creature came out of nowhere and grabbed at him. Looking back at the incident years later, he was clear that this entity resembled what would today be described as a grey alien.
Fortunate as it was for Robert, his uncle was nearby and could see the bizarre events as they happened. He ran over, and using a coal shovel happened to be carrying, attacked the creature, hitting it squarely on the head. The creature, it appeared, was dead. Robert’s uncle scooped its body into a sack and sent his nephew to go and seek out a policeman to report the encounter.
According to Robert, it was Sergeant Brookes whom he found, and after the policeman returned to the scene and inspected the remains, he quickly notified the army. When a small military unit arrived, they seemingly took the dead extraterrestrial and promptly disappeared.
Although Robert would never deviate from his story, he would face a lifetime of ridicule from schoolmates and teachers, and then people from the local community as he entered adulthood.
The coal shed where the alien was allegedly killed (c) Richard D. Hall
The Investigation Of Richard D. Hall
Veteran UFO researcher, Richard D. Hall, would carry out an extensive retrospective investigation of the case after Robert Hall (no relation) had contacted him after reading about a talk the researcher was doing in the area. And his findings would suggest credibility on the part of Robert Hall. For example, several of the shop names and street names Robert claimed the incident happened on or near were all accurate at the time of the encounter. Furthermore, records show that a Sergeant Brookes did indeed work for the local police in 1940.
What’s more, even the descriptions of the grey alien creature matched accurately with the many reports that would follow all over the world during the second half of the twentieth century. Such details as the grey skin, large head, and eyes on a particularly thin frame are all details often repeated by those who claim a close encounter with these bizarre creatures. This is the same for the description of the craft he witnessed during the first encounter.
Further matching details include the recollection that the figure had with it a hand-held device that could immediately “subdue or immobilize” a person. This is something that many who claim to have had close encounters with these grey alien entities have also attested to. There is also the detail of strange triangular marks that remained on his face, as well as the feeling that these creatures had taken a sample of blood from him.
Hall, though, would dispute whether Hall had had blood taken from the back of his neck as he recalled. It was more likely, he surmised, that they were “trying to put something in”. Might it have been some kind of implant tracking device? And might its presence have been responsible for the strange triangular marks that remained on his face for several years?
After the initial telephone conversation, Robert agreed to meet Richard and speak further. However, the following day, he had changed his mind, telling Richard of the ridicule he had faced in the past, and how he felt it best if he didn’t speak about the account further. Richard would contact several other UFO researchers who Robert had spoken with previously, one of whom was former police officer, Gary Heseltine.
What’s more, even the descriptions of the grey alien creature matched accurately with the many reports that would follow all over the world during the second half of the twentieth century. Such details as the grey skin, large head, and eyes on a particularly thin frame are all details often repeated by those who claim a close encounter with these bizarre creatures. This is the same for the description of the craft he witnessed during the first encounter.
Further matching details include the recollection that the figure had with it a hand-held device that could immediately “subdue or immobilize” a person. This is something that many who claim to have had close encounters with these grey alien entities have also attested to. There is also the detail of strange triangular marks that remained on his face, as well as the feeling that these creatures had taken a sample of blood from him.
Hall, though, would dispute whether Hall had had blood taken from the back of his neck as he recalled. It was more likely, he surmised, that they were “trying to put something in”. Might it have been some kind of implant tracking device? And might its presence have been responsible for the strange triangular marks that remained on his face for several years?
After the initial telephone conversation, Robert agreed to meet Richard and speak further. However, the following day, he had changed his mind, telling Richard of the ridicule he had faced in the past, and how he felt it best if he didn’t speak about the account further. Richard would contact several other UFO researchers who Robert had spoken with previously, one of whom was former police officer, Gary Heseltine.
A typical view of Gateshead circa 1940
Someone Who Showed “Signs Of Genuine Recall”
Heseltine would state to Hall that Robert Hall contacted him “out of the blue” in 2003, and furthermore, for the first 10 minutes of their conversation, he believed he “had a nutter on the line”. However, out of courtesy, he let him speak. As the conversation progressed, Heseltine noticed that when he asked him a question, this gentleman would “come back with a lot of information”, mentioning street names and the location of particular buildings.
Their conversation lasted around two hours that evening. And Heseltine came away believing that Hall was “showing signs of genuine recall”, despite how “bizarre” the account indeed was. Ultimately, Heseltine would arrange to meet with Robert and had him take him to where the encounters occurred. As before, the more the former police officer turned UFO investigator questioned him, the more he “came back with detail upon detail”.
It was perhaps when Heseltine spoke with Robert’s sister Rhoda that some of the most solid corroborative statements came. He would state that “without prompting”, she could remember the incident like it was yesterday. She offered to Heseltine that there were “scientists at the door (of their home) for days afterward”, as well as recalling a reporter from a local newspaper who also attempted to speak to Robert about the encounter.
Heseltine would offer that it was his belief that “at the heart” of this encounter is a “very weird story” and that something very strange most definitely happened that spring day in 1940.
Their conversation lasted around two hours that evening. And Heseltine came away believing that Hall was “showing signs of genuine recall”, despite how “bizarre” the account indeed was. Ultimately, Heseltine would arrange to meet with Robert and had him take him to where the encounters occurred. As before, the more the former police officer turned UFO investigator questioned him, the more he “came back with detail upon detail”.
It was perhaps when Heseltine spoke with Robert’s sister Rhoda that some of the most solid corroborative statements came. He would state that “without prompting”, she could remember the incident like it was yesterday. She offered to Heseltine that there were “scientists at the door (of their home) for days afterward”, as well as recalling a reporter from a local newspaper who also attempted to speak to Robert about the encounter.
Heseltine would offer that it was his belief that “at the heart” of this encounter is a “very weird story” and that something very strange most definitely happened that spring day in 1940.
Robert Hall (circa 2008)
Richard Hall would turn his attention back to his namesake, Robert, in an attempt that he might take the investigation into this bizarre but enthralling encounter forward. He sent two tickets to him for an upcoming UFO talk he was doing in Gateshead, and after speaking with him following the talk, he agreed to speak with Richard on camera. The following day, however, he had yet again had a change of heart and canceled the scheduled interview.
A few weeks went by before Richard decided to try one last time to talk Robert into speaking with him. He traveled to his home and to his relief, this time, he agreed to speak with him.
During the conversation he would recall how on the day the military arrived to retrieve the dead alien’s body, everyone was ordered out of their houses and made to wait outside while their respective properties were searched. According to Robert, the authorities were concerned that there could be more of the strange creatures hiding in the area. None, however, were discovered.
Like his sister offered to Gary Heseltine, Robert also recalled that “professors and scientists” would regularly show up at the property wanting to speak about the incident, as well as investigators from as far away as London. Ultimately, Robert would recall, his father became “sick of it!”
A few weeks went by before Richard decided to try one last time to talk Robert into speaking with him. He traveled to his home and to his relief, this time, he agreed to speak with him.
During the conversation he would recall how on the day the military arrived to retrieve the dead alien’s body, everyone was ordered out of their houses and made to wait outside while their respective properties were searched. According to Robert, the authorities were concerned that there could be more of the strange creatures hiding in the area. None, however, were discovered.
Like his sister offered to Gary Heseltine, Robert also recalled that “professors and scientists” would regularly show up at the property wanting to speak about the incident, as well as investigators from as far away as London. Ultimately, Robert would recall, his father became “sick of it!”
The Very Similar Bolton Backyard Alien Encounter 14 Years Earlier
It is perhaps worth our time examining a very similar incident that occurred 14 years earlier in Bolton in the north of England. According to an account in Peter Brookesmith’s UFO: The Complete Sightings Catalogue, one evening in 1926, a young boy named Henry Thomas encountered three strange entities while playing hide-and-seek in the backstreets of the city’s housing estates with several friends. It was his turn to seek, and as he walked along the alleyway, he spied a back gate of one of the houses slightly open. He walked toward it, and tiptoed through the gap as quietly as he could, certain he would find one of his friends hiding in the yard. However, what he found was altogether stranger than his friend hiding.
There, at the window of the property, were three strange figures, each wearing the same strange silver garment that reminded Henry of the Michelin Man. They each also wore a pair of back boots and had a “transparent dome-like helmet” on their heads that connected to a backpack on the back with tubes.
Suddenly, the three figures spun around, clearly aware of his presence. Henry could see inside their helmets, noting how their skin was pale and their heads were “shaped like lightbulbs”. Furthermore, they each had a tiny nose and dark, black eyes that were more like slits on their heads. He heard a strange “gurgling” sound come from one of the creatures before all three headed toward him. Henry turned and ran straight out of the yard and into the alley. He wouldn’t stop until he arrived home.
He would later recall, that despite his intense fear at the time, he now had the feeling that the figures were not unfriendly or aggressive, and that he had run through sheer panic more than anything else.
Might these figures have been from the same race of aliens witnessed by Robert Hall almost a decade and a half later?
There, at the window of the property, were three strange figures, each wearing the same strange silver garment that reminded Henry of the Michelin Man. They each also wore a pair of back boots and had a “transparent dome-like helmet” on their heads that connected to a backpack on the back with tubes.
Suddenly, the three figures spun around, clearly aware of his presence. Henry could see inside their helmets, noting how their skin was pale and their heads were “shaped like lightbulbs”. Furthermore, they each had a tiny nose and dark, black eyes that were more like slits on their heads. He heard a strange “gurgling” sound come from one of the creatures before all three headed toward him. Henry turned and ran straight out of the yard and into the alley. He wouldn’t stop until he arrived home.
He would later recall, that despite his intense fear at the time, he now had the feeling that the figures were not unfriendly or aggressive, and that he had run through sheer panic more than anything else.
Might these figures have been from the same race of aliens witnessed by Robert Hall almost a decade and a half later?
Truly Strange, Intriguing, But Credible Encounters?
There is no question that the encounter of Robert Hall is one of the most thought-provoking on record, not least the amount of detail in terms of where events took place, as well as the corroborative memories of his sister.
Perhaps one of the most interesting details might be the fact that he witnessed three very different extraterrestrial entities during the first encounter, and then a typical grey alien on the second. If they were not somehow connected to grey aliens, then who might this first group of apparent aliens have been? It would appear highly unlikely that two different races of aliens would arrive in the same part of the world and encounter the same person by chance.
We should note that not only would Robert stick to his version of events his entire life, but he is also largely seen as a credible an honest witness, both by Richard Hall and others who have known him.
One family member – his nephew - even stated on social media, in response to a video examining Hall’s encounter that when he goes to visit his uncle “he always tells me this story”, adding that they had no doubt it was true.
The videos below look at this fascinating encounter in more detail, and you can see more of Richard D. Hall’s work here.
[Marcus Lowth July 2022]
Perhaps one of the most interesting details might be the fact that he witnessed three very different extraterrestrial entities during the first encounter, and then a typical grey alien on the second. If they were not somehow connected to grey aliens, then who might this first group of apparent aliens have been? It would appear highly unlikely that two different races of aliens would arrive in the same part of the world and encounter the same person by chance.
We should note that not only would Robert stick to his version of events his entire life, but he is also largely seen as a credible an honest witness, both by Richard Hall and others who have known him.
One family member – his nephew - even stated on social media, in response to a video examining Hall’s encounter that when he goes to visit his uncle “he always tells me this story”, adding that they had no doubt it was true.
The videos below look at this fascinating encounter in more detail, and you can see more of Richard D. Hall’s work here.
[Marcus Lowth July 2022]
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