Nick Pope
(19 September 1965 - 6 April 2026)

Media commentator, author and civil servant

Nick worked as a civil servant for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence between 1985 and 2006. In 1991 he was posted to the position of 'Secretariat (Air Staff) Sec (AS) 2a'. The typically-British title, that was coined in the media as him being ''The UFO Desk''. He held this position between 1991 and 1994. His role was to investigate UFO sightings and phenomena that was reported to him, and determine as to whether it held any ''defence significance''. While on the posting, he would typically get between 200 and 300 reports per year, many of which he would be able find answers for. Some of the more 'high-profile' cases of his time at 'the UFO desk' was that of the RAF Cosford UFO Incident (page coming soon), and the Calvine Photograph. He also conducted a cold-case review of the Rendlesham Forest Incident, speaking to a number of the primary witnesses, and reviewing data and evidence regarding the events of that night - they had occurred just over 10 years earlier at this point. 

Nick retired from the Ministry of Defence in 2006. In 2012 he married Elizabeth Weiss, an Ameican anthropologist and professor, and moved to Tucson, Arizona. He authored a number of books;- Open Skies, Closed Minds (1996), The Uninvited (1997) and Encounter in Rendlesham Forest: The Inside Story of the World's Best-Documented UFO Incident (2014) which he co-authored with two of the witnesses to the events, Jim Penniston and John Burroughs.

He would attend a number of events related to Ufology, and would deliver lectures on the subject, as well as conducting a number of interviews for social media. In 2024, he became a regular guest on the TV Series Ancient Aliens. 

In February 2026 he announced on Twitter that he had been diagnosed with Stage 5 oesophageal cancer. When I heard this news, I made contact with him on the 2nd March to send him my best wishes, and to thank him for his work in the field. I explained that he had personally inspired my interest in the subject. He wished me well on my upcoming podcast project, and our last contact was on the 6th March 2026. 

Nick passed away at his home in Tucson during the afternoon of Monday 6th April 2026, at the age of 60. The news was announced on social media later that evening by his wife, Elizabeth. He had reportedly been coping very well with his deteriorating health, and was conducting interviews even in his last months. And so concludes one of the most remarkable lives in the subject of Ufology.
Thank you Nick, for your service and dedication to the subject.

Page created on 10/04/2026 at 21:31.