300 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
300 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
Verneys Phil Chamberlain
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Dargle Cottage is situated about a mile and a half south-
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east of the village of Biddenden in Kent. It is an old
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woodcutters' cottage dating back to the period of the Battle
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of Waterloo. It is described in the estate agents' hyperbole
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as "a Hansel and Gretel cottage" and is set in a mini nature
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reserve. An elderly couple, the Verneys, had bought the
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cottage in 1969 as a weekend holiday home and planned to
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make it their full time home when they retired in 1983.
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The Verneys had started young, working in the theatre. They both
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did National Service and served in the Second World War. Mr.
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Verney in the signals section of Fighter Command; Mrs.
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Verney in ENSA, entertaining the troops. After the war Mr.
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Verney worked in films and television, and is a founder
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member of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.
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Both Mr. & Mrs. Verney were for 25 years directors of the most
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prestigious firm in the high-class furnishing textile
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business, a company founded by Mrs. VerneyUs French father
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in 1898, which holds the Royal Warrant.
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The Spring and early Summer of 1983 passed agreeably. Refurbishing
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the house - new curtains and covers and a new bathroom was
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planned. They also spent time testing for the Good Food
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Guide - Mr. Verney had been an inspector for 25 years.
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Retirement seemed almost too enjoyable to be true.
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It was not to last for long. On the 1st of October a visitor
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noticed a strange humming noise coming up through the ground
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in the garden at the back of the house near the entrance to
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Sand Pit wood. The visitor took his dog for a walk in the
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woods; it appeared ill at ease.The woods were usually alive
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with the sound of birdsong and of small feet scattering
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across the leaves. Now it was silent. The birds had left and
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were not to return the following Spring. The Verneys went
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on holiday to France for 3 weeks. On their return to Dargle
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Cottage on the 25th they found that the humming had
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increased and was accompanied by a strong electronic noise,
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like a generator, with vibrations coming up through the
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ground from Sand Pit wood. The noise was worst at night.
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There was another strange feature - the woods to the north
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east were often lit up at night by yellow and pink lights
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which appeared to shine up through the trees from the
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ground. Described by Mr. Verney as "similar to lights
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illuminating a theatre cyclorama". Another odd thing they
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discovered - someone had blocked their drains with lumps of
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asphalt.
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The noise and the vibrations, and the unnerving effect of the
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strange lights were making life intolerable in the cottage.
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The Verneys were kept without sleep night after
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night and were becoming irritable with each other. They also
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suffered short term loss of memory. Forgetting things -
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finding the car-keys could be a major drama. At first they
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thought that the problem might be of an agricultural nature.
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They walked at night trying to track down the source, but it
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was like a will-of-the-wisp, disappearing into the ground as
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they approached it. Mr. Verney checked out the Water
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authorities, thinking it might be a pumping operation; he
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drew a blank there. One night in the third week of
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November, while they were out on foot, they met a police
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patrol car. The two officers in the vehicle also heard the
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noise and thought it came from Shorts Wood, which is the
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next wood to the south-east of Sand Pit Wood. The officers
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agreed to put the matter on report at the police station.
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Next day Mr. Verney visited Tenterden Police station and
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found the duty sergeant most unhelpful, talking to Mr.
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Verney whilst staring out of the window. He stated that
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nothing had been put on report and the Police had no
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responsibility in the matter. He referred Mr. Verney to the
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Environmental Health Department of the Ashford Borough
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Council, adding as a footnote TAnd theyUre bloody uselessU.
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On Monday, the 28th November Mr. Verney telephoned the
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Environmental Health Officer for the area, a Mr. Read, but
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he was not available. Mr. Verney left his number, but after
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three weeks and despite further calls and a letter there
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was no response by Mr. Read. After a short break to visit
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their daughter in Derbyshire they returned to find a further
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escalation of the problem and still no response from the
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EHO, Mr. Read. On the week-end of December 17/18th there was
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a sudden shortfall in electricity. Electricity officials
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seemed edgy after they were told the location of the house.
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At 8 AM on Tuesday the woods were full of electrical
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engineers, with about six vehicles. The Area Engineer Mr.
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Green explained they were putting Tmore power in the linesU.
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Before he left he asked if he might come back after
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Christmas and put some instruments in the cottage Tto take
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measurementsU, but he made no further contact. The
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electricity supply returned to normal, but the lights would
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dip after one minute.
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The Verneys' ThorrorU continued. They contacted a firm
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of acoustic engineers. An engineer came to the house
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one wild rainy evening and picked up some strong
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readings coming from less than a mile away to the east. He
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said the matter would be reported to the EHO. Late in the
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afternoon the next day, 21st December, Mr. Read phoned. He
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was very evasive and declared there was nothing he could do
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until Tafter ChristmasU. Next day, at his wife's pleading
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Mr. Verney rang Mr. Read who was even more evasive and
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finally hung up on Mr. Verney stating he would be in touch
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Tearly in the new yearU. After this brush-off Mr. Verney
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went to London to try and contact some experts, but they
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were closed for the holiday. He did however find a kind of
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electrical Told curiosity shopU in the Tottenham Court Road.
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Explaining the problem to two assistants they said in unison
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"sounds like youUre having trouble with the Ministry of
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Defence", adding "You wonUt get anywhere with them". They
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introduced him to a customer in the shop as "being just the
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man you want, bit of a mad scientist, but heUll track down
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your trouble for you". Mr. Verney arranged with this man to
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come down to Kent after Christmas. Before entering the shop
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it had never occurred to Mr. Verney that the MOD might be
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involved - perhaps this explained the EHOUs reluctance and
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the sloppiness of the Police Sergeant.
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During his searches
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around the area Mr. Verney had come across a building called
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TOctober FarmU three quarters of a mile to the east of
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Dargle cottage. Built recently, planning permission had been
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granted in 1981 for an Tagricultural dwellingU. Mr. Verney
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found the building to be unusual in several ways. Firstly it
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stood out of character for the area. It was of a purely
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utilitarian design with no effort to defer to traditional
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design like other houses in the area. It was two stories,
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with ground floor windows only at the front and back. Thick
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curtains hung in the windows which Mr. Verney suggests are
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of a type not found in domestic house but at high security
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premises. It was surrounded by two very high hedges making
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it impossible to view the house without entering its drive.
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There was a bunker in the front of the house, covered in
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grass. Apart from a few beehives there was no sigh of
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agricultural activity. On Christmas Eve Mr. Verney was
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looking at the rear of the premises through binoculars and
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was confronted by the lady of the house who dropped the
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information that "we breed Dobermans here, you know". After
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Mr. Verney explained what he was looking for she laid the
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blame at the door of the timber-yard. Subsequently Mr.
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Verney noticed a large wicker cage at the rear of the house
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containing four dogs, but no puppies. For the VerneyUs the
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name of the house, TOctober Farm', was too much of a
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coincidence considering the 1st of October was the day their
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troubles started. He took to referring to TOperation
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OctoberU in all his correspondence with Ashford Council.
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This seemed to have a curious effect - the swinging sign
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TOctober FarmU was removed and replaced by TOrchard FarmU.
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Christmas was terrifying for the couple, sleep impossible.
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In the early hours of Boxing Day they observed three low
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flying satellites flying north-west to south-east. Each had
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lights on three corners. Their appearance was always
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accompanied an increase in the humming.These were to become
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a regular feature. Totally exhausted by the TYuletideU
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attack they went to rest in a hotel in Sussex. It was now
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clear to them that no one was going to help them so they
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decided to look for another house to move to. They found
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another property on the 29th December. They had been driven
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from what is a perfect retirement home. The Police, Council,
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Seeboard etc. had effectively left them to their fate. When
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they returned they were greeted by the noise and vibrations
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going hammer and tongs. In the early hours of January 5th
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Rsomething new manifested itselfS. No noise but an
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excruciating pain in the temples and top of the head which
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Mr. Verney described as Rbeing bored with a Black &
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DeckerS.This seemed to be a kind of beam from which there
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was no escape except to duck under the duvet. It left them
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feeling disorientated, Mrs. Verney suffering the most. An
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Orwellian welcome to 1984.
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The next day the EHO made his
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first appearance. Mr. Verney thinks that he was checking how
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they were standing up to what can only be described as a new
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instrument of torture. Mr. Read refused to enter the house
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and they stood talking in the garden (in January). Instead
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of speaking directly to Mr. Verney he would stand by his
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side and speak out of the corner of his mouth Rlike a
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conversation in a prison exercise yardS. He refused to take
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any action about the pollution, walked about twelve yards
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down the lawn, stared into the woods for a few minutes, and
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declared: RI can hear nothingS, and left. He was to make two
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subsequent visits. Each time it was the same procedure,
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talking out of the side of his mouth, a stroll down the
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lawn, tracing his footprints so that there were three
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imprints of his gum-boots on top of each other for twelve
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yards down the lawn.
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January was an unbroken stream of
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vibrations and noise, the painful TbeamU, lights going on
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and off in the woods and three satellites passing overhead.
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On the 18th of January Mr. Verney brought the electronic
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scientist down from London. Whilst having lunch in a pub in
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Biddenden the car was broken into and cheque book and
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current bank statement stolen. They had only just unloaded
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the scientistUs equipment,when the EHO arrived, somewhat
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agitated. Invited into the house he addressed the scientist
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by name, exclaiming RwhatUs going on here?S He regarded the
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recording equipment with alarm, and made off very quickly -
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but not before summoning Mr. Verney into the garden for
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another of his strange alfresco conversations. Over the next
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seven hours whilst the scientist made his recordings
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Reverything went off the airS. Nothing to record, the
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scientist called it a day and Mr. Verney drove him back to
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London. Minutes after they left, alone in the house, Mrs.
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Verney was subjected to an unnerving display of lights. As a
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consequence her hair went white. The night of January 20th
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was appalling and Mr. Verney pleaded with the duty officer
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at Ashford to come and help him, he said the matter would be
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referred to the EHO. Mr. Read however was never seen again.
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The next afternoon there were loud bangs in the woods until
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the late evening. At about 3 PM the lady at October Farm
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phoned and asked if he could hear the bangs. She seemed very
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concerned but the line was cut off and when Mr. Verney rang
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directory inquiries they had no number for October Farm. Mr.
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Verney again rang Ashford but Mr. Read was not there and Mr.
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Saunders, apparently his superior, could not be persuaded to
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come out and investigate. A few days later they were due to
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go to Scotland and the night before they were Rattacked
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unmercifully with the beamS. The police were called, a
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patrol car came to the house and the two officers were most
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concerned with the state of Mrs. Verney - who was close to
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collapse. Everything had subsided while the patrol car was
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in the area and started up again when it left. When they
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drove up to Scotland along the East Coast route Mr. Verney
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experienced a strange burning feeling when they neared RAF
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and USAF bases. Mrs. Verney found that she could Rpick up
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transformers from some distance with buzzing in her earsS.
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While at Aviemore Mrs. Verney awoke in the night with
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stomach cramps and vomiting, the first of many such attacks.
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These are described in an MOD manual as symptoms of
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irradiation. Most of February and March were spent away from
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the cottage, including two weeks in the Caribbean. Mr.
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Verney was desperately ill with back pains and could
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scarcely stand up, let alone walk. Returning to Kent they
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found that concrete had been inserted in the drainage pipes.
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They put the house up for sale and quickly found a buyer for
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this attractive cottage. Nothing was said of the real
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reasons for their desperation to sell. Any comeback would be
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the EHOUs problem. Their last weekend at the house was May
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18th-20th. Their daughter and a colleague who worked with
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her on the Daily Express came to stay and help pack up. At
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about 1.30 AM on Sunday Mr. Verney was woken up with a
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burning feeling in his eyes. From then until 7 AM they
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experienced a terrifying ordeal. Vibrations tore through the
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ground and into the house shaking it violently. There was
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the sound of men shouting and dogs barking. Eugenie, their
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daughter, was Rterrified out of her witsS and suffered short
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term loss of memory and was off work for a week. Her
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colleague was taken ill on the motorway driving back to
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Derbyshire, fortunately close to a service station. They
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moved to Sussex later that week and throughout the summer
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Mrs. VerneyUs health rapidly declined. She was, Mr. Verney
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says, Rdying in front of my eyesS. At the end of August she
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was diagnosed as having a rare form of lymphatic leukaemia.
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She went into operation with only a 10% chance of recovery,
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but pulled through and then had to endure months of
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chemotherapy. It left her an invalid and her health finally
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collapsed when she had a stroke in June 1991. She never got
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to wear the new walking boots she bought when she retired in
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May 1983. Mr. Verney lost most of his teeth in one go which
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his dentist attributed to irradiation. He also developed a
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condition which resulted in the over-production of red blood
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cells and suffered severe damage to the lumbar region and
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spinal area which became more painful with the passing of
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time. He now has great difficulty walking. Back in the
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summer of 1983, before they moved to Kent, they both had
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medical checks as part of a pension scheme and had come
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through them very well. Yet less than a year later they were
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both virtual invalids.
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On leaving Biddenden they left no
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forwarding address, and due to a misspelling of his name on
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his driving licence they felt safe that they could not be
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traced to their new house. They made sure that they posted
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mail concerning TOperation OctoberU from well outside their
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postal area. On 1st October 1984 he sent a letter to the
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Deputy Prime Minister, Viscount Whitelaw, recorded delivery
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from a sub-post office. About ten days later someone visited
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this post office and quizzed the postmaster about Mr.
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VerneyUs address, which he did not know. On the 1st November
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from his study window he observed two uniformed policemen
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examining his car. They were somewhat put out when he opened
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the door and asked what they were doing. One of them
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volunteered that he had been in the Kent police and was
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always interested in Kent number plates. Shortly, while he
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was away in London visiting his wife in hospital, his house
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was broken into. Now began years of harassment, break-ins
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and interference with the mail and telephone which continues
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today. Mr. Verney lays the blame for this on Willy Whitelaw.
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Over the years Mr. Verney has pursued this matter in the
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search for justice, a campaign which has put him in touch
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with many other people who have suffered in the same way. We
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hope to devote a further article to Mr. VerneyUs quest for
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an explanation for what he has suffered.
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