Canonical: https://aliennews.co.il/en/articles/ilkley-moor-philip-spencer-photograph-missing-time Language: en datePublished: 2026-09-11 dateModified: 2026-09-11 PHOTOGRAPH AND TESTIMONY · ENGLAND 1987 September 11, 2026 **Documented** **Work type:** Archival preservation and analysis # A green figure on the moor and nearly two missing hours: the Ilkley Moor file On the morning of December 1, 1987, a former police officer known by the pseudonym Philip Spencer photographed a small figure on Ilkley Moor. The image survives, but it contains too little detail to identify the figure, while the abduction account emerged only months later under hypnosis. By Avi Moas and [Orion](https://aliennews.co.il/en/about#orion) Orion is an AI writing and research partner. Avi Moas is the responsible editor. ## At a glance **What is known:** One photograph and the witness account published by the case investigators survive. **The claim or interpretation:** Spencer said he photographed a figure, saw a craft and lost nearly two hours. **What remains open:** The negative and complete laboratory report are unavailable, there is no second witness and the abduction narrative emerged under hypnosis. ![The blurred photograph attributed to Philip Spencer showing a small dark figure on Ilkley Moor](https://aliennews.co.il/ilkley-moor-figure-1987.webp) Archival photograph. A reproduction of the image attributed to Philip Spencer on December 1, 1987. The file is too blurred to identify the figure. ## The Ilkley Moor photograph and testimony Archival recording. The video presents the photograph and later telling of the case. It is not footage of the reported 1987 encounter. ## The only photograph from that morning The photograph shows a small dark figure on an exposed slope. Spencer said he took it from about 39 feet away after noticing the figure near a hollow. He described it as roughly four feet tall, with a large head and long arms. Those details come from his testimony. The image itself preserves a silhouette, but not a readable face, skin surface or hand structure. ## The pursuit and the unphotographed craft Spencer said he left at about 7:15 that morning to walk to his father in law's home, carrying a camera and compass. He heard a humming sound, saw the figure move an arm and took one photograph. When it moved away, he followed. Beyond the rise, he said, a silver domed craft lifted from the hollow and vanished into cloud. He did not photograph it. ## What the Kodak examination established According to investigator Peter Hough's published account, Peter Sutherst at Kodak's Hemel Hempstead laboratory examined the film. The preserved wording says the film had not been interfered with after processing. It also states that the exposure was at least two stops under and showed camera shake. That finding narrows the possibility of a darkroom addition. It does not rule out a person, model or object present when the shutter opened. The complete laboratory report and original negative are not currently open for a new independent examination. ## The compass and the missing interval Spencer reached Menston and said he was surprised to find the time close to 10:00, when by his calculation he should have arrived around 8:15. He also reported that his compass pointed south rather than north. Investigators later described its polarity as reversed. There is no recorded examination from before the walk and no chain of custody establishing when or how it changed. ## The abduction account emerged under hypnosis On March 16, 1988, Spencer underwent hypnosis with psychologist Jim Singleton. During the session he described paralysis, being lifted into the craft, an examination involving light and films showing environmental destruction. In this version he took the photograph after being returned to the ground, changing the order he had first described. The session documents what he said under hypnosis. It is not a second witness and does not connect the silhouette in the image to the examination he described. ## What remains in the public file The public record contains one photograph, Spencer's testimony, the investigators' descriptions of their tests and later recordings retelling the case. There is no second eyewitness and no sharper source image. The narrow question is therefore the one that matters: what stood before the lens that morning. The film examination found no later addition, but the image still holds too little information to name the figure. ## Sources and context One colour photograph attributed to Spencer survives and was examined during the investigation by Peter Hough and Jenny Randles. A photographic assessment quoted by the investigators found no interference with the film after processing, while noting severe underexposure, grain and camera shake. The original negative and a complete laboratory report are not publicly available for renewed examination. There was no second witness, no photograph of the craft Spencer described and no independent record of the compass before the walk or of the missing interval. [The investigation published by Peter Hough and Jenny Randles, together with the testimony of the man called Philip Spencer](https://www.ufologie.patrickgross.org/htm/ilkleymoor.htm)[Peter Hough and Jenny Randles, The Complete Book of UFOs](https://archive.org/details/completebookofu0000houg)[Back to all reports](https://aliennews.co.il/en#latest)[עברית](https://aliennews.co.il/articles/ilkley-moor-philip-spencer-photograph-missing-time) ## Source references * [https://www.ufologie.patrickgross.org/htm/ilkleymoor.htm](https://www.ufologie.patrickgross.org/htm/ilkleymoor.htm) * [https://archive.org/details/completebookofu0000houg](https://archive.org/details/completebookofu0000houg)