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The Cumberland Spaceman

Hi everybody!

I'm still curious about the 'Cumberland Spaceman' picture. I first saw it in a copy of a book called 'Photographs of the Unknown,' which was co-authored by Robert Rickard. On page 96 there is the famous image taken by Jim Templeton, from Carlisle, Cumbria of his five year old daughter "on the remote banks of the Solway Firth in May 1966."

It has occurred to me that the figure is being viewed from behind. I got this idea from the way the 'right' arm appears to bend in relation to the body with the elbow towards the viewer, and how the head sits on the shoulders. And is that not a shoulder blade that is visible on the 'front' and not a pectoral muscle?

Has this suggestion been made before? Has anybody returned to that place with a similarly sized child and attempted to recreate it? The "spaceman" certainly does appear to be suspended in mid-air at an unusual angle. For all I know the mystery was solved long ago.

_75012548_solway-firth-spaceman.jpg


A Yahoo search with four sites.

Also, on the opposite page there is: "Giichi Shiota, a professional photographer of Kawanoe City, Japan, was prompted by a hunch to wait late at night with his camera, on a deserted plot in the city. Suddenly he saw what looked like a "spaceman" who appeared to break into independent images enveloped in strangely coloured "electrical discharges.""

There's three spectacular pictures of one then two white, orange and yellow figures. Considering that the book was published in 1980 and I haven't seen or heard any mention of these pictures since, should I presume that they are bogus? I'm certainly not sure what to make of the phrase, "prompted by a hunch."

Any replies would be greatly appreciated.

-Justin.
 
Have to say I agree with you on the angle thing, it does look as though we are seeing the spaceman from behind.
I'm sorry I can't remember the details but one of Jenny Randles' many books has some research into this picture that ties it in with bizarre events at a missile testing facility that supposedly happened at the same time the photograph was being taken.
 
Thanks for replying guys!

Tubal Cain- The Woomera related stuff is summerized in the above Yahoo search results, if you want a reminder.

sureshot- Strange stuff indeed, but who knows what stunning feats of neck dexterity a spaceman can achieve? Although that darkened area on the head/helmet might not necessarily be a visor.
Also, the problem with his "very strong connection between religion, Ufology, and the oft-repeated prophecies of fire" is that first names with biblical origins are very common (I think) in Britian.

"The name 'Cumbria,' for example, is pronounced 'Come-bree-a,' putting an emphasis on the notion of an 'alien invasion force.' "
-Eh? :confused: .

"The name 'Westmoreland' is, in itself, evocative of a 'coming to Earth.' "
-Double eh? :D

He doesn't seem to have picked up on the metaphor in that bible quote either. It doesn't seem take much to spark his imagination!
 
space man picture

:eek: Does any one remember a photo reproduced in several papers of the time, around the mid sixties, it was of a small child, I think it was a girl sitting on a grassy hill on Romney marsh, in the background is a nuclear power station.
To the right of the child is what appears to be a figure in a space suit. apparently it was checked by photographic experts who said it was not a double exposure and could not explain it, the child's farther who took the picture swore he saw nothing at the time.
Any more info would be welcome.
 
this sounds like the Cumberland spaceman, which is going on over in the General Forteana bit as we type. Spooky huh? It looks like a woman in a white hat and scarf with her back to the camera to me. But that's just me, I see normal things everywhere.
 
Come-bree-a

He seems to have pretty much ignored the derivation of Cumbria from Cymria, meaning "Wales".

I'm not quite sure where that etymology is coming from but its a long way from common sense, which suggests a rather mundane explanation for Westmoreland.

Very entertaining, mad as cheese.
 
I do remember the Cumberland picture, it always seemed to me to be an out of focus black headed seagul taking flight from behind the girl, to my mind what appears to be the visor is the head and beak.
The picture I'm refering to was taken at Dungeness and shows the space man in full length.
 
After seeing the photo again after some time I must admit that it is strange. If it is a being of earthly or alien origin then it seems to have long legs. It seems to far up in the picture to be standing on the ground.
lucydru
 
After seeing the photo again I see that the two I have seen are not of all the photo. It has been cut down. And am I the only one to think the "spaceman" is floating?
lucydru
 
I seem to remember this photo appearing in Fortean Times -- probably within the last five or six years. I wish I could be more specific about the date. Good luck.
 
I seem to remember a good article on this in UFO magazine a year or so ago. This included analysis on the photo which showed some interesting anomalies, the head appearing to be detached from the body of the spaceman, unusual positioning of the arm, that sort of thing. It's well worth digging out if you are interested in the subject.
 
Looking at the photo in an old book and in b & w I had decided
the figure was made up of the kid's greasy hair blowing up
behind her together with a cloud and some flying fag-ash or something
to make the helmet. Online colour versions make the figure
seem more solid but by the time a photo has been digitized and jpegged
it's anybody's guess.

There was said to be a MIB scenario afterwards but that cuts both ways
serving to prolong publicity rather than supress it:confused:
 
BOOK TITLE

James Whitehead said:
Looking at the photo in an old book and in b & w I had decided
the figure was made up of the kid's greasy hair blowing up
behind her together with a cloud and some flying fag-ash or something
to make the helmet. Online colour versions make the figure
seem more solid but by the time a photo has been digitized and jpegged
it's anybody's guess.

There was said to be a MIB scenario afterwards but that cuts both ways
serving to prolong publicity rather than supress it:confused:
Any idea of the books title.
 
It is on p.149 of Modern Mysteries of Britain by the Bords
1987 and it is very grainy there. Also the helmet is cropped,
if you'll pardon the expression.

Covering the visor in that version makes the spaceman disappear
as the other marks can all be interpreted as the girl's greasy hair,
flying up and out of focus at the back.

Looking at the online colour versions, the body looks more like
a very sculpted cloud.

The Bords themselves take a sceptical line on this one, noting
the way we are wired to make human faces and figures out of
random stuff.

The MIB scenario is not mentioned in this book but has been
given at some length on tv - sorry can't remember on what
but within the last five years or so.

It savours of a second pressing of the grape to me.:rolleyes:
 
The MIB bit, as reported at the time, involved two blokes turning up in a Jaguar (the car, fool) and claiming to be from the RAF etc, etc etc. They took the photographer back to the marshes and tried to make him confess to fakery. When he wouldn't, they drove off and left him there...

Allegedly.

I reckon that if this bit really happened, then they probably *were* from the RAF all along; I seem to recall that there was a factory for missile/rocket components just a little way from the scene in question and they probably got a bit twitchy.
 
M.I.B

DanHigginbottom said:
The MIB bit, as reported at the time, involved two blokes turning up in a Jaguar (the car, fool) and claiming to be from the RAF etc, etc etc. They took the photographer back to the marshes and tried to make him confess to fakery. When he wouldn't, they drove off and left him there...

Allegedly.

I reckon that if this bit really happened, then they probably *were* from the RAF all along; I seem to recall that there was a factory for missile/rocket components just a little way from the scene in question and they probably got a bit twitchy.
Thanks for jogging my memory, I think the the M.I.B. report was in the daily mirror, I may be able to trace it through their archives.
 
space man picture

with regards to the T.V. programme mentioned in one of the replies to this subject,it was a documentary featuring Jenny Randles,shown about five or so years ago (i have it on video somewhere).
The interesting thing about this is that the picture was taken at about the time of some British rocket tests in Woomera,in Australia.Apparently,during one of these tests,two figures similar to the 'space man' where filmed within a restricted area near one of the launch pads shortly before take-off.All of the launches where filmed,and the films are all still around in some archive somewhere.All that is except the one with the spacemen on it...
 
Re: BOOK TITLE

p.younger said:
Any idea of the books title.

I had a book with this photo in black and white and the b&w version did not show the figure very well at all.

The book was called 'photographs of the unknown' (published in the early 80s) but much of the material in it has been debunked by now.

Chris
 
Re the Dungeness photo, I seem to remember seeing a similar sounding picture in a Jenny Randles book (not sure which one, so many of 'em!).

There wasn't a little girl in it but it seemed to show a hazy "spaceman" figure on a beach, leaning over some sort of apparatus near a breakwater. To me, it looked like a bloke with a metal detector though!

What do people think of the Ilkley Moor little green man photo though?
 
this really is quite an odd one i cant seem to make the image into a gull or the girls hair it really does seem to look like a space man incidently i'm sure i've seen another image very similar but with the person cant remember if its a man or woman standing with hills behind and the *entity* behind and off to the left as you look at it any ideas or am i imagining the whole thing ?:confused:
everything under the sun is in tune but the sun is eclipsed by the moon
 
I have to agree with Justin above.

Let's look at this logically.

Point (1)

If in fact this is a humanoid image behind the girl's head - then we have to look at what can only be discerned as the right arm being crooked backward, almost as if this "person" was holding something in the right hand. In the case of actual human anatomy, this would in fact protrude the right shoulder blade outward slightly as it appears with some shadow in the photograph. The relationship in distance and relative point of reference of the "shoulder blade" and "arm" are practically exact for a humanoid.

If this is "true", then likewise we have to assume that what we perceive as the "head" is not actually turned around. We are seeing what is in essence the back of the "head" and hence this "person" is either moving away or starting to. This in turn can only be the rear view of something humanoid.

If this is indeed the case, then this is not a visor of the front of a helmet.

Could this be the open portion of some other form of headgear that allows us to see what could be the hair or skin of someone from BEHIND?

Point (2)

I have seen the image resized which someone appears to have disingenuously doctored to look like the head and beak of some fowl. (see links in above messages)

Clearly in the original, this is not the case, the detail is much too grainy and faded to allow this type of distortion up to this level, even with today's digital technology. You have to remember that at the time this picture was taken, on stock film, that resolution at the pixel level was not as well defined. Just try and blow up an old picture of one of your family outings. The further you enlarge, the worse the detail gets.

Only with enhancing software can you rebuild the "fuzzy" stuff. And then, you run the risk of manipulation by incompetence.

Point (3)

I have to disagree with the notion that this is actually a seagull taking flight. The proportions of the "upper torso" do not inherently match that of a seagull at any point of axis and I would like to see someone try that without manipulating the final image.

Even if in an extreme coincidence of timing that a "flying seagull" matched with cloud formations were to happen, the discrepancy in color, depth, lighting and distance realization would be obvious.

The dim and faded cloud type and patterns in the background do not coincide with the degree of solidity and contrast of the image.

Point (4)

Forget for a moment the image of the "object" behind the girl.

The focal length of the camera taking this picture is obvious. The almost-sharpness of the girl's head also shows the outlaying grass behind her to be clearly out of focus, as most commercial grade cameras are apt to do.

To gauge this, look at the shoulder and collar of the girl compared to the grass just over it. Clearly, there is a distance loss of image by only a few short feet. The further back in the grass you look, the worse the focus gets.

Also, her hair is quite sharp except for that portion being moved by the wind, which is obviously slightly blurred. This leaves one to believe that the grade of film being used is of a rather low grade commercial type.

Now include that perception in relationship to the "object" behind her.

The degree and lack of focus exactly matches that of the surrounding grass, leading one to believe that the position relative to the girl, the immediate vicinity and relative height are correct.

One other small note.

If you look carefully at the line of the rear image vertically downward through the girl's head down to her neck area, you will see what appears to be another "whitish" spot.

This would follow the same trajectory of a humanoid leg, a right leg, sustaining the weight as it pushes off with the left.


If we have to be led down the path that this is in fact a human or other humanoid form, regardless of the disconcerting angle of stance, then without any factual results to discount this image as being absolutely fabricated, then we have to assume that it is indeed real.

As to what this "object" in the image actually is can only be determined by finally realizing what the "head" portion in fact is comprised of.

The "helmet and visor" theory is at this point unacceptable.

Take care all and good guessing.
 
I certainly agree that it looks like a rear view of somebody, but to me, the position of their right arm looks like they’re scratching their *ahem* buttocks :D
 
Yes, there's a little fleck of "white" down by near the girl's left ear would be. I hadn't noticed it before. Could this be a glimpse of the foot of the spaceman? If so, this guy is rather on the tall side...
 
Boing

I think the fleck of white is just one of those flowers - there're dozens of them, if you look.

Also, if you go down the route of saying the photo's genuine, then does it matter whether the thing is standing on the ground? As it's obviously not human in the real sense of the world, who's to say that it can't be floating or 9 feet tall? Who's to say it has to have legs at all? Maybe it's just messing around, jumping up and down like a madman? As you do.
 
Hey there Bingo,

In reference to your comment...

> I think the fleck of white is just one of
> those flowers - there're dozens of them,
> if you look.

I totally agree. It could very well be one of the flowers or some such substance in the grass.

Anything is possible.

> Also, if you go down the route of saying
> the photo's genuine, then does it matter
> whether the thing is standing on the ground?
> As it's obviously not human in the real sense
> of the world, who's to say that it can't be
> floating or 9 feet tall? Who's to say it has to
> have legs at all? Maybe it's just messing
> around, jumping up and down like a madman?
> As you do.

Well, I am not too sure about my actual mental state during such physical activity as jumping, or yours either for that matter.

But in all fairness, I agree that what is depicted here warrants more than a quick dismissal.

Thanks!
 
Hmmmm. It could be a flower, I admit it, damn you. But I wasn't trying to dismiss the photograph at all. On the contrary, it's one of the few that seems to warrant further examination. I remember seeing it on TV years ago - some old news programme like Nationwide - and every time I see it the thing just gets more and more mysterious... On the other hand, someone could just be playing around with an Action Man. But I doubt it.
 
Could it be one of those odd-shaped air-balloons maybe? If you look at it in the right way, that thing can be freakingly huge... ;) Who am I to say? I do agree that something is odd about it though... I'm reluctant to say that it may be someone playing with an action figure...where is this someone hiding? Behind the girl? Because if he is, then this toy is quite huge, anyway... something about the whole perspective of the picture is totally out of whack. My post hasn't been helpful in the least, has it?
 
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