Calvine UFO
The sighting was originally reported to the Daily Record, a Glasgow-based tabloid newspaper, by two men who claimed that they witnessed an unknown diamond-shaped craft while walking on the moors above Calvine on the evening of 4 August 1990.
This ultimately led to the discovery of an original photographic image of the UFO by Clarke, which was subsequently published in the British-based tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail on Saturday 13 August 2022, with an online release the night before.
Pope explained that expert analysis undertaken by the MOD had concluded the photos were "not fakes" and the sighting was marked as "object unexplained, case closed, no further action".
[8] In an April 2001 interview with David Clarke, Pope added that MOD analysts determined the object to be a "solid craft", at least the size of a Harrier or Hawk fighter jet.
[9] Sean Kirkpatrick, former director of the United States Department of Defense's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, has been quoted as concluding that it is a reflection in the lake and the photo has been doctored: "If you look carefully towards the right side and in the raw image, the top and bottom are reflections of each other.”[7] Despite Pope's description of the Calvine sighting in Open Skies, Open Minds, it gained little public attention until 2008, when the National Archive began to release the MoD's UFO reports as part of the 'open government' initiative.
[11] Additionally, two poor-quality photocopies of Vu-Foils (images on transparent plastic) made from cropped versions of the original photographs were included in records assembled by DI55, a branch of the Directorate of Scientific and Technical Intelligence (DSTI) that dealt with missiles and air defence.
For the programme Pope worked with a graphic artist to recreate the Calvine photograph based on his recollection of the image and the photocopies from the UK National Archives.
His interest was sparked by a Defence Intelligence Officer's claim that the witnesses had photographed a classified U.S. black project platform that to this day remains Top Secret.
[20] Clarke and a small team of researchers, including Vinnie Adams, Matthew Illsley, and Giles Stevens, worked to uncover further details of the Calvine sighting undertaking interviews with former MoD staff; conducting public searches; and publishing updates throughout 2020 and 2021.
[21] A handwritten summary of the Calvine incident released by the MOD in 2009 (TNA DEFE 24/1940/1 – page 113)[1] briefly mentioned that a report of the sighting had been passed to "RAF Press Officer, Pitreavie MHQ", however the name and phone number of the person concerned had been redacted.
The following May, Clarke travelled to Calvine to interview Lindsay in person at which time he revealed the original photograph along with its envelope and the photocopies he had faxed to the MOD, all of which he had safely kept in his possession for over 32 years.
In the photograph Lindsay appears slightly ill at ease, carefully holding the original print against a piece of cardboard so as not to reveal the name on the reverse which he wished to keep secret.
The publication of the image sparked worldwide interest in the Calvine story resulting in the photograph and Lindsay's eyewitness account being republished by numerous news outlets prompting much speculation and debate on social media between those who believed this to be a hoax; evidence of alien life; or a secret military aircraft.
[7] Clarke's team then carried out an intensive search contacting more than 400 people by that name worldwide in an attempt to track down a Kevin Russell who might have worked in a hotel in Pitlochry at the time of the sighting.
