Personal Contact
There have been occasions where APEN have contacted UFO researchers in person, such as an incident in October 1975 where two men visited a BUFORA member, Peter Bottomley at his home in Manchester.
They introduced themselves as "APEN Operatives" and added that they would prefer not to give names. After a confusing explanation of APEN's organisational structure (something which was echoed on the cassette tapes first sent to researchers) they explained to Bottomley that their intentions of staying secretive were necessary as they could work more "efficiently in this manner".
The two men then explained to Bottomley that they had been required to pick a "neutral" and that he was their choice, however they could not disclose how they had come to this decision. They gave him an address and unlisted phone number as well as a code so that he could be identified. He was to help them as a "go between" in investigations and would be paid expenses in return for his help.
Bottomley discussed this with his wife as well as other UFO researchers and after dwelling on the offer, decided that helping APEN would not be in his own interest due to the distrust for them which he encountered with the other researchers. Someone claiming to be from APEN telephoned Bottomley at his home address a few weeks later. Bottomley politely declined their offer and he never heard from them again.
Read more about this topic: Aerial Phenomena Enquiry Network
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