For
those who might have missed the sad news, Nick Pope, onetime British Ministry
of Defence UFO expert has died. His wife, Elizabeth Weiss said, “My heart is
breaking. Nick passed away this afternoon (April 6) at our home."
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| Nick Pope at the Las Vegas Crash Conference. |
Inside
the UFO community, Nick was well known for his expertise on the subject and for
the insider information he offered. He was a cautious researcher who was bound
by his connections to official documents that often required him to protect
some of the information he had learned from classified sources. But his intimate
knowledge of the UFO phenomena provided him with an insight to many of the
important cases.
With
Jim Penniston and John Burroughs, he wrote what is one of the best books about
the Rendlesham Forest UFO sightings of late December 1980. His book, along with
that written by Charles Halt, who was the deputy commander at the time,
provides us with a greater understanding of that event.
I
met with Nick on several occasions and even shared a dinner table with him.
Quite naturally, our talk surrounded UFOs. Although we sometimes differed on certain
UFO cases, it was always a cordial conversation. His knowledge was extensive
and his contacts were many. He brought a clarity to the topic that others
failed to grasp.
Elizabeth
Weiss provided some of the medical details, telling us that Nick suffered from Stage
4 esophageal cancer that took his life at 60. It is always a sad note when
a colleague passes. We begin to think of what we should have done when we had
the chance. I wish his wife my best in this tragic time.
