Project FAR is a public artwork and launch pad in a Biggleswade square, made in collaboration with artist David Appleyard. The artwork was commissioned by Central Bedfordshire Council in late 2017 to commemorate the new development of Kings Reach, on the edge of Biggleswade town.

In 1957, Biggleswade became the flying saucer capital of Great Britain. A strange, round, silvery object with lighted portholes was frequently seen above the town. It would hover for a few minutes before shooting off into space in a shower of sparks. 

For almost a year, the locals were convinced that an alien invasion was imminent, and the sightings were both worrying and dramatic enough to receive attention from foreign journalists as well as British Government investigators.

The mystery was solved at the Biggleswade Summer Fête in 1958. Frank A. Russell revealed that the source of the otherworldly phenomena was the back garden of his bungalow on Holme Crescent, Biggleswade.

Frank, who had made a 6’ 6” submarine bound for Atlantis eight years previously, told local journalists that his plot began when he heard that Biggleswade officials were looking for ideas to attract tourists. By using RAF surplus, Frank created devices that were equipped with lights and fireworks. On specifically chosen dark nights, he would fill a weather balloon with hydrogen to take his ‘saucer’ up to heights of around 600 feet, and then the light display would begin. 

Frank said, ‘I have something else up my sleeve. But I’m not telling what it is.’

We named ourselves ‘Project FAR’ after Frank’s initials, seeking to uncover his myth and place it at the centre of the new town. Like Frank, we used official RAF surplus (ours was from a Tornado) as the basis for the artwork. Pleasingly, the acronym FAR is also the reverse of RAF.

The artwork is a celebration of Frank’s imagination, shedding light on his story, and maybe even (in a brand new boring town) inspiring some new ones.