Robert Taylor Incident

A UFO sighting that became the subject of a criminal investigation

Name	Robert Taylor Incident
Occurred on	November 9, 1979
Seen by	Robert “Bob” Taylor
Investigated by	The police, Malcolm Robinson, and Steuart Campbell

It’s not rare for UFO encounters to be dismissed as a hoax or forgotten with time. However, the Robert Taylor incident followed a different path. While skeptics and investigators were hesitant about believing it had been UFOs, they still examined the case, but through a crime angle.

Scotland boasts about its abundance of spectacular mountains and dazzling rivers, but come November 1979, the country had something else interesting to take pride in: becoming the landing strip for flying saucers and other mysterious crafts. It was then spotlighted in worldwide news and became the subject of documentaries because of that one incident.

What Is the Robert Taylor Incident?

The Robert Taylor incident, also known as the Dechmont Woods encounter or the Livingston incident, remains one of Scotland’s most intriguing yet contested UFO cases. It stands out as the only UFO sighting in the UK to prompt a full police criminal investigation rather than a lie detector test, medical exam, or psychological evaluation of the witness.

More than four decades later, the case continues to capture the attention of believers, skeptics, and professional investigators alike. Its detailed testimony and physical evidence often place it alongside internationally discussed encounters such as the 1976 Tehran UFO Incident, keeping it firmly embedded in serious UFO research and debate.

The Key Witness: Robert “Bob” Taylor

Robert Taylor was a forestry worker employed by the Livingston Development Corporation. He was, at age 61, a married man and a father of five.

Taylor’s encounter might be unique, but his character was described as similar to that of most witnesses: a man of character, not expected to make up stories or plan elaborate pranks. People also believed that he had no reason to stage the incident, as he never sought publicity from it.

During interviews, he would appear visibly distraught at having to remember what happened that day. He also stuck to his story regardless of the years that passed.

Overall, Robert Taylor was what you considered the epitome of a genuine witness. Perhaps this was why everyone believed him. From police officers to even the supposed investigator, who was adamant on disproving the incident, everyone around him trusted his credibility.

Everyone agreed that Robert Taylor was a reliable witness, even the police. They also confirmed that they could find no evidence that Robert Taylor was the sort of person who would make up a story. In fact, he was the last person in Livingston Development Corporation anyone would think would make up a story.

People believed he had seen something and was honest in reporting what he thought had happened. This was why investigators were focused on finding what caused him to have the experience, rather than debunking his story.

The Events on November 9, 1979

At 10:30 in the morning, Robert Taylor parked his pickup truck just off the M8 motorway to inspect for stray animals by the plantation. Alongside his red setter, Lara, he followed the track down a slope of a forested hill and emerged into a clearing.

There, he saw a “dark grey metallic material” hovering above the ground.

There was a huge thing with a big, round dome and a very dark grey color. It had a big flange going all around. I could see arms sticking out of the flange with what I took to be blades on the toe.

Taylor described what he saw as a “strange object” approximately 20ft across and 12ft high. He also added that, while it had a rough texture, it became transparent from time to time, allowing him to see the trees over its body. This, he believed, was the object’s way of cloaking itself.

As he watched in awe, two other spherical, sea mine-like objects suddenly emerged from it.

As I stood, two balls came out. I think they’d be about 3ft in diameter with about six spikes, and they were rolling on these spikes. They came right up beside me, and I remember feeling a tug at that time and a very powerful smell.

The smell these objects emitted, as he recalled, was something similar to “burning brakes.” They apparently latched onto his trousers, ripping them through his skin, before dragging him towards the larger craft.

And that was the last thing he remembered.

When He Regained Consciousness

Allegedly, after 15 to 20 minutes, Taylor regained consciousness. The craft left him lying face down with his trousers torn and a pounding headache. He also reported having a sore throat and a bitter taste lingering in his mouth.

When I came to, I heard a sound of something moving very fast away in the distance. I eventually got on my knees and crawled to my truck, but it was dead.

Taylor dragged himself out of the area and drove back home. There, he was met by his worried wife, who, after seeing his disheveled appearance, thought that he had been assaulted.

She asked what happened and was appalled by his response, “I was attacked by a spaceship.”

However, reasonably so, she didn’t believe his answer. Instead, she opted to phone the police and suggested he see a doctor, thinking he must’ve fallen hard on his head.

He looked quite shocked and was drained. His face was dirty, and he had a red scar here [gesturing to her chin]. His clothes were all dirty.

Who Investigated the Incident?

His wife ended up calling several people to check what had happened to him. Soon enough, the police and Malcolm Drummond, Taylor’s boss at the Livingston Development Corporation, arrived at their house to hear his story.

The Doctor’s Examination

After seeing Taylor dazed and repeatedly saying he was “gassed,” Drummond urged him to go to the hospital. He was examined by Dr. Gordon Adams, who found:

• A scraped leg and chin
• No abnormal data on his temperature and blood pressure

Dr. Adams insisted on getting him a head X-ray to rule out a possible concussion. However, Taylor immediately checked himself out of the hospital before they could further examine him. He believed he was fine, but it was reported that he suffered from a headache and extreme thirst, which lasted for two days after the incident.

The Police’s Investigation

The police treated the Robert Taylor incident seriously, but approached it as a matter of physical assault and not an extraterrestrial encounter.

The Marks on the Ground

They fenced the area off to investigate and found two forms of ground markings:

• Parallel ladder-like tracks, about 2.5 meters long
• 40 holes around the tracks, about 10 centimeters across

These indentations looked as if a heavy craft pressed on the ground without fully landing, and what was even more surprising was their lack of exit. Detective Sergeant Ian Wark detailed:

I had a good look around and saw marks on the ground, numerous circles, approximately three and a quarter inches in diameter, and marks quite similar to caterpillar tracks. These marks just arrived. They didn’t come from anywhere. They didn’t go anywhere. They just arrived as though somebody had a helicopter or something had landed.

The police then headed to the Livingston Development Corporation’s offices to check their machinery. However, none matched the tracks they saw.

They also investigated whether any helicopters were passing over the area and found no evidence or records of civilian or military flights on either day.

The Forensics on Taylor’s Trousers

The police also packed Taylor’s pants and sent them over to the forensics, where the tears on both sides were examined. Forensic scientist Lester Knibb reported:

There was a bit, as I recalled, mud and material that fitted his story of being out in the woods on that particular day, but obviously, the main interest was the damage to each of the hips. Now, the damage was not similar on each side, but there were similar facets.

The tears went upwards from the bottom. Quite often, if it’s tearing to clothing, it would be sideways or downward. Both tears were quite ragged. So, although they were different in dimensions, they were probably caused in a similar way. It could be caused by a mechanical type of action, something hooking on or grabbing the trousers, breaking the fabric, and moving up with it.

When skeptics raised the possibility of the tears being caused by barbed wire, the scientist argued, “I probably would think not for a variety of reasons. One is that most of the barbed wires have multiple points at a single locus on the wire, and you might expect that to be reflected in the damage on each of these points.”

Despite the thoroughness of these investigations, the police were still inconclusive about what the Robert Taylor incident could’ve been.

What Was the Truth Behind the Robert Taylor Incident?

After the police’s initial investigation, news of the Robert Taylor incident broke out, attracting the attention of both UFO believers and skeptics, many of whom formed their own theories.

Skeptics were quick to dismiss any assumptions that pointed to the possibility of UFOs and instead fancied simple explanations of what Taylor saw, such as:

• A ball of lightning
• A bomb disposal unit

However, none of these public opinions gained much significance compared to the two “credible” names that participated in the discourse:

• Malcolm Robinson of S.P.I. Scotland
• Steuart Campbell, a former member of BUFORA

Malcolm Robinson

Robinson, along with the members of Strange Phenomena Investigations, also visited the scene to investigate and speak with Taylor.

I was there the following day. I saw the marks, and I met Bob, who struck me as a very sane and rational gentleman who didn’t want any of the publicity he had been thrust into.

His team also took hold of Taylor’s trousers to examine the tears, and while nothing was conclusive, he still reported noting a consistency to them.

S.P.I. was able to take possession of the trousers worn by Bob and had them examined by forensic experts. They are of heavy, robust serge material, similar to those worn by police forces. The test revealed that the tears in the fabric were consistent with considerable force being applied in an upward direction. This is, in itself, not conclusive, but it does serve to add credence to the story.

Steuart Campbell

Campbell was a science columnist and a former member of BUFORA who went from researching UFOs to debunking their existence.

In the Robert Taylor incident, he also took the frontline of deflating such assumptions. His primary explanation was that all Taylor witnessed was a “mirage of Venus.”

I was looking at a lot of other UFO reports, and I was finding that in most cases, I could find an astronomical object that was just where the observer saw something.

In desperation, I decided to see if it had any relevance to the Livingston event, and I was most surprised to find that there was indeed a very bright object near the horizon in Robert Taylor’s line of sight, and that object was Venus.

According to his theory, what Taylor saw was merely a distortion of light through the Earth’s atmosphere. He also added that the two smaller spheres were also caused by a similar phenomenon, which is the “mirages of planet Mercury.”

This is what I call the IMH because the object in question turns out to be an astronomical object, which is probably very low on the horizon. You’re seeing it because it’s being refracted and reflected through the atmosphere around the Earth.

When it comes to the other evidence gathered, here’s how he debunked them:

The Trousers: How do we know the trousers weren’t torn before the event? A pair of torn trousers isn’t exactly evidence that he was attacked by aliens.

The Tracks: I wasn’t sure what to make of them, but I did recognize some of the marks as those made by grass when it grows around objects lying in the grass. This looked to me like that, and I was a bit skeptical that any craft had landed.

The Holes: I was able to conclude that these looked like the marks you’d get when the pick is heaved into the ground. There was a reasonable mechanical or building construction explanation for these marks, which I was sure had nothing to do with what Taylor had seen.

National Geographic’s UFOs: The Untold Story

Years later, the Robert Taylor incident remained a mystery without a proper conclusion. No other investigators stepped forward to re-investigate until around 2012, when National Geographic reopened the case through its UFO: The Untold Stories series.

The channel sought out leading ufologist Nick Pope to look into the events and hear his opinion on the incident.

This case is truly bizarre and remains unexplained. The MoD had a file on the incident, which would have been investigated. It’s a significant case because of the physical evidence. The MoD should have used metal detectors and a Geiger counter at the site, but it was difficult once the police got involved. There’s not much middle ground with this case: either some practical joke got out of hand, or Robert genuinely encountered something.

Were There Similar Incidents to the Case?

Aside from the physical evidence and Taylor’s adamant demeanor, what made the Robert Taylor incident more believable were the similar incidents reported in the days that followed.

• On November 14, the Aberdeen Evening Express reported that a man had spotted a UFO, which he claimed was similar to the one Taylor had seen. The witness, Mr. Stanley Shearer, said the “spaceship” looked identical to what the man had encountered.
• On November 23, a witness, Mr. Barney Gallacher, reported seeing a spaceship while walking his dog, supposedly just three days after Taylor’s encounter. He detailed that the craft hovered about 200 ft above him.

Two other witnesses, Mrs. Violet Connor and Mr. Ian Yarwood, also claimed that they witnessed the craft the same day as Taylor’s encounter. However, these statements remain statements. They weren’t investigated further, given the already-existing confusion and debate around the Robert Taylor incident.

What Is the Robert Taylor Incident’s Significance in Ufology?

The significance of the Robert Taylor incident goes beyond the definitive evidence gathered at the scene. Instead, it’s seen as a compelling case due to its combined verifiable and official investigations that are rarely present in UFO encounters. It also remains one of the events where police officers were entirely on board that something did occur.

The Robert Taylor incident left a lasting cultural impact on Scotland. It remains a point of interest for UFO enthusiasts, demonstrating the weight of its credibility.

Today, the encounter site is preserved as the Dechmont UFO Trail, drawing tourists and curious visitors to the area. The case continues to be cited in historical UFO reports and archived UFO documents, and those interested in exploring primary sources, official findings, and related encounters can find further analysis and research materials on UFO Connect.

FAQ

Were there any investigations into the Robert Taylor UFO encounter?

Yes. Police investigated the incident by documenting the scene and the ground markings. UFO researchers also analyzed the events, looking closely into the source of the markings and what happened to Taylor’s trousers.

What explanations exist for the Robert Taylor UFO sighting?

The incident prompted many theories, ranging from a genuine extraterrestrial encounter to hallucinations or the “mirage of Venus and Mercury.”

References