Now the 100-year moratorium has expired, the remarkable story of the Brighton Clock Tower ball may be revealed.
Designed by a brilliant but little-known Victorian scientist, Bertram Beetlestone, the ball was, in fact, expected to shoot at high speed into space.
Her Majesty's Cabinet had been alarmed by the prospect of an attack by Martians and the ball contains letters of a placatory nature.
On the day of the launch, the ball only reached the top of the pole and then slowly descended, so Beetlestone was not included in the following year's Honour List.
-Maurice Packham, Station Road, Horsham
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