Godfrey, Alan

Introduction

Alan Godfrey is a former British police officer best known for his role in the Todmorden incident, a highly publicized UK UFO case that combined a policing context with later claims of anomalous experience. The case remains notable for its early documentation, its evolution over time, and the controversy generated by hypnotic regression and abduction-adjacent interpretations.

Background

Godfrey served as a police officer in West Yorkshire. His involvement in ufology emerged not from prior activism but from an incident encountered in the course of policing duties, which subsequently became a focal point for investigators and media.

Ufology Career

Godfrey’s ufology career largely consists of being a principal witness and case participant rather than a career investigator. His later appearances in books, documentaries, and interviews positioned him as a reference figure in UK high-strangeness narratives.

Early Work (c. 1970–1979)

Before the incident that made him well known, Godfrey’s public profile was that of a working police officer. This background contributed to the initial credibility many audiences attributed to early accounts and documentation.

Prominence (c. 1980–1995)

The 1980 incident and its aftermath placed Godfrey at the center of sustained interest. Early reporting emphasized the policing context and immediate notes; later retellings expanded into claims involving time anomalies and experiences recovered or elaborated through hypnosis, increasing both notoriety and dispute.

Later Work (c. 1996–present)

In later years, Godfrey continued to participate in media discussions about the case, often addressing skepticism and the ways the narrative changed over time. His role became emblematic of how a single incident can evolve into a multi-decade mythology with competing interpretations.

Major Contributions

• Police-context documentation: The association with official note-taking and procedure shaped how the case entered UK ufology.
• Case evolution template: Became a frequently cited example of how hypnosis and repeated interviews can transform narratives.
• Public debate catalyst: The case drove sustained argument over evidentiary thresholds in “high-strangeness” claims.

Notable Cases

Todmorden incident (1980): Godfrey’s reported encounter and subsequent documentation became one of the UK’s best-known modern UFO cases, later entwined with missing-time and abduction-themed claims.

Views and Hypotheses

Godfrey has generally maintained that something anomalous occurred and that the incident cannot be fully explained by conventional means. Interpretations around the case range from misperception and stress effects to extraordinary hypotheses involving craft and non-human entities.

Criticism and Controversies

Criticism often focuses on the reliability of later-recovered memories, the influence of investigators, and the evidentiary gap between early documentation and later extraordinary claims. The case is frequently used in skeptical literature as a cautionary example regarding hypnosis and narrative contamination.

Media and Influence

The case has been repeatedly featured in UK UFO books and television, with Godfrey appearing as a key witness. Its longevity owes much to the tension between early official-context credibility and later high-strangeness escalation.

Legacy

Godfrey’s legacy within ufology is inseparable from the Todmorden incident: a landmark UK case that continues to be debated as either a genuine anomaly or an illustration of how stories evolve under attention, interpretation, and time.