— The Lineage
Jo Ann Fawcett and “Captain” Mark Richards of the Earth Defense Headquarters (EDH) present a family history that include stories about Tesla, the invention of an anti-matter drive, alien raptors, and the secret space program.[1] The EDH has closed as a nonprofit. For simplicity I am not changing the references made to it. Mark’s claims to have been a captain in the space command cannot be separated from what he states about his family. They “were in the thick of things for many years. It was part of their heritage.” (Knights of the Cold War.) The story therefore begins with what we know about his family.[2] Mark has complained that critics “are preoccupied with Mark’s father and attacking him and Mark’s mother.” (Cassidy, 11th Interview.) This site does not attack his family but compares what has been said about them, after their deaths, to what we know about their lives. … Continue reading
ELLIS RICHARDS, SR. / BERT SPARKS TAYLOR
We are first introduced to Mark’s grandfather, Ellis Richards, Sr. The EDH states:
Ellis Loyd Richards, Sr., was a brilliant electronics engineer, and authored books on the subject. He worked with Tesla and on the Manhattan Project and the Philadelphia Experiment. He was a superintendent of Coyne Electrical Institute. He was also a leading expert in the early push for space flight. He worked at several think-tanks that conducted ‘underground’ research for the US. He invented the Richards Anti-Matter (RAM) Drive in the late ’30s.[3] The drive seems to have gotten lost in the narrative but it would have required atom smashing technology that did not exist at the time. The effects of such a thing would be detectable in anything but a science fiction story.
(Knights of the Cold War.)
It is documented that Mr. Richards was born in 1899 and lived most of his adult life in Illinois. He married in 1920 and had two children, including Mark’s father, Ellis, Jr. By 1925, he was working at Coyne Electrical School (now called Coyne College). Then as now, the school specialized in practical training. He became a shop superintendent at the school and wrote the introduction to several editions of the Coyne Reference Set. He remained at the school until his death in May 1943, after he fell while pruning a tree.[4] In the Hamilton Report, Mark states that the Philadelphia Experiment cost his grandfather his life.
His administrative duties, as assistant to the school president, appear to have kept him busy during the time that he is now said to be working on secret projects or inventing antimatter drives. (See 1925 City Directory; U.S. Census, 1930, 1940; 1943 Death Record – Occupation listed as General Superintendent of an Electrical School]; Buckley v. Coyne Elect. School, referring to administrative role of Richards.)
Richards wrote Diesel Engines and Diesel Electric Power, “a complete practical book of instruction on diesel engines, their construction, principles, operation, care and adjustment.” (Chicago, F.J. Drake & Co.,1939.) No other title is listed in the world catalog of libraries (Melvyl) although he contributed to Coyne instructional materials. His affiliations included associations related to electrical maintenance and refrigeration.
His work was directed toward practical applications. He obtained no patents. There is no nothing to indicate that he was a leading expert on space flight, worked with Tesla, or invented an anti-matter drive. He died several months before the Philadelphia Experiment was said to be conducted and a few months after the Manhattan Project was authorized. The EDH story lacks even the most basic corroboration.
Various claims are also made regarding Mark’s maternal grandfather, Bert Sparks Taylor:
Taylor was involved in the construction of an advanced airship, powered by Tesla’s electric engines. The airship was seen in late 1896 and early 1897 from California to the Midwestern United States. He was one of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in the Spanish American War, and one of the original “Men in Black.” He also managed to be in England and Germany in the early 1900s when there had been mysterious airship sightings. He was friendly with Tesla for many years. Bert was murdered in 1929. The secret airship plans were passed down in Bert’s family to Mark’s mother and then to Mark.
(Knights of the Cold War.) According to Jo Ann he had been planning to run for governor in Indiana before he was murdered. (Forbidden Knowledge Podcast, 12-4-2019).
The EDH offers no documentation to support these stories.Taylor was an Indiana farmer who married Mark’s grandmother in 1912. They moved for a time to a farm in Bemidji, Minnesota, where Lois (Mark’s mother) was born, before returning to Indiana where he supervised an orchard. He was murdered in 1929 by a young apple picker after Taylor allegedly called him “a dirty no-account Kentuckian.” Not everything is a conspiracy and sometimes a crime is just a crime.
He is not listed in the roster of the Rough Riders and there is no record of him serving in the war with Spain. His history clearly makes any connection with Tesla improbable at best.
Even assuming that the Men in Black exists, their first reported appearance was in 1947 and they are usually regarded as being sinister or as part of a strange phenomenon. The assertion that Taylor is an original member is somewhat surprising, especially in light of claims that the MIB attacked Mark in 1962 .
Jo Ann states that Lois’s “family had made such an impact on (Marin County) that there was a state park named after one relative.” (Knights of the Cold War.) We could find no genealogical connection between Lois’s family and Samuel P. Taylor, who once owned the land around the park, ran a paper mill on the site, and is buried there.
THE DUTCHMAN
Major Ellis Richards, Mark’s father, is referred to in the EDH’s Dulce Report as the “infamous Dutchman” who was involved in any number of top level intelligence projects, battles with aliens and heading earth security itself. The claims involving Ellis are too numerous to fully list here.
As a young man, it is said that Ellis worked with Tesla (of course) – who trained him in his secrets of electronics and time travel – and he tested the Death Ray. He spoke several languages and had degrees in business and law. The Knights of the Cold Wars state that he “was the first man to pilot the RAND atomic rocket of the late ’40s, German disc-craft and captured alien saucers.”
He was said to be a high level intelligence officer who took part in Operation Highjump in Antarctica (1947); met with aliens; fought in Pakistan (1959) against the same threats as today; served 12 months off-world; and helped the Dalai Lama escape China in 1960, corresponding with him over the years.[6] It should be noted the Dalai Lama escaped in 1959. He did need help from Ellis, who worked as a procurement officer in Pakistan in 1960. If he meant to meet up with the Dalai Lama he would have been a year too late. It is also alleged that Ellis was the intelligence officer who met with aliens at Holloman Air Force Base in 1964. Both Arthur Clarke and Humphrey Bogart were close friends
Military records available online (National Archive, WWII Enlistments) document that he joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 as a private. At the time, he had a high school education and electrical manufacturing skills. He became an aviation cadet. The EDH picks it up from here and claims that Ellis became part of an elite group stationed at Hamilton AFB in Marin County, California.
At Hamilton, the best-of-the-best in the Air Force were gathered including the man they called the Dutchman – Lt. Ellis Loyd Richards. By 1950, he was a quietly cocky officer of an elite cadre of madmen known as the “Fighter Mafia.” These were the men that the most secret organizations like International Security and Majestic 12 called on when an enemy had to be stopped by air – or space – power. Hamilton AFB was one of 3 bases on the West Coast that had 3-9 flying saucers – built for the US by Avro in Canada – housed there since the late ’40s.[7] It is beyond the scope of this site to discuss the problems related to Majestic-12, but it is regarded by most researchers as a hoax. See UFO Trail, “Adam Gorightly Discusses Saucers, Spooks, and Kooks, including the origin of the MJ-12 Story.
(Knights of the Cold War.) Ellis’s military assignments confirm that he was a fighter pilot early in his career – although he was not stationed at Hamilton until September 1951 which is later than what is claimed. Indeed, Ellis worked as a retail store administrator before rejoining the military full time in September, 1950. (See 1950 Census; It’s Mark Richards Time!) We have not found any other reference to an elite cadre called the “Fighter Mafia” there. (See The UFO Lore of Hamilton Field. )
The Saucers of Avro
The EDH states that
Hamilton AFB was one of 3 bases on the West Coast that had 3-9 flying saucers – built for the US by Avro in Canada – housed there since the late ’40s. The other two West Coast bases were Whitby Island in Wash. and North Island in San Diego. Three bases on the East Coast also housed saucers: Montauk on Long Island, Norfolk, VA and a base in Florida.
(Knights of the Cold War.)
Avro was a Canadian aircraft company that developed a special projects group in the 1950s, long after the saucers at Hamilton were said to be deployed. “Jack” Frost, an aircraft designer, believed that the Nazis had developed a saucer shaped craft and wanted to design a disc that could fly at Mach 4 and reach an altitude of 100,000 feet. It was intended to be able to launch vertically from primitive sites to intercept long range bombers and even replace the helicopter. In 1952, Canada provided initial funds to begin development.
A 1955 article in Look magazine suggested that UFOs were Soviet-designed craft. It seemed time to develop our own saucers and the US Air Force became interested in the development. Avro obtained funding for what became known as Project 1794 and conducted tests to demonstrate the viability of the design – when the engines ran into significant problems, two smaller prototypes were built in 1959. Over the next two years, the design was tested and modified, but it never reached heights above three feet, with a 35 mph speed. Funding was pulled in 1961. The two completed craft are now in museums. Hamilton could not have served as a base for these saucers, particularly before the craft was designed or tested.
Alien Encounter
The Earth Defense Headquarters places Ellis Richards at the center of UFO events at Hamilton Air Force Base.[8] Hamilton had been associated with UFO lore. The base figured into the 1947 investigation of the Maury Island incident and was the location of several encounters in the 1940s and 1950s. It was one of the bases selected in 1953 to try to photograph unidentified objects with state … Continue reading According to a talk given by Jo Ann Richards, Knights of the Cold War, an August 3, 1952, incident was especially important. It is said that officers were at the base pool with their wives. The alarm went off and they saw six to eight flying saucers coming towards the base. The men scrambled and ran down to the hangers in response. The base commander’s wife warned the remaining women not to talk about what they had seen.
As a fighter pilot, Ellis came out of a hanger in one of the Avro flying saucers. After the pilots returned, one more saucer came back and landed. A nine foot alien raptor emerged – Prince Nagadraconis. Naga came as an ambassador because their emperor had decided it was time to work with humans rather than to eat them. Ellis became friends with Naga and both he and Mark worked with the Prince over the course of the many years.
This story is fictional. There was a reported incident that day. According to contemporaneous accounts, up to eight military witnesses observed two discs, approximately 80 feet in diameter that appeared to be dogfighting. They were joined by six or eight other discs that flew off when jets were scrambled. Radar confirmed the sightings. News accounts quoted a witness and reported that the pilots soon returned to the base. The objects are officially identified as balloons. There is no record of the dramatic encounter alleged by Richards.
A Crash over Hamilton
Aviation records show that Ellis was involved in four accidents between 1943 and 1952 – the last occurred during a landing approach after an uneventful flight and was particularly serious, resulting in deep wounds, a concussion, a broken neck and other injuries. It left Ellis partially paralyzed.
After the accident, Ellis was a hospitalized for almost seven months and continued to suffer its effects for the rest of his life. (California Magazine, Jan. 1983, “Medieval Murder in Marin” [describing Ellis as frail and partially paralyzed as a result of the latter plane crash]; Reno Gazette, Aug. 2,1982, Interview with the Richards Family [retired after disabling injuries]; 1997 Death Certificate [causes of death that Ellis suffered from a fractured cervical spine and quadriplegia for 42 yrs]; 1984 letter to trial court and Reporters Transcript, p. 3056 [both describing Ellis as “severely handicapped”].) Ellis was wheeled into the courtroom in a wheelchair. At the every least, Ellis’s health after the accident is not consistent with claims that he engaged in numerous dramatic exploits throughout his life and continued to be a fighter pilot long after the plane crash, up until the time of the crime.
International Security
After Ellis returned to duty he had administrative assignments, including graduate study in administration at Wright Patterson (AFFIT). There is no record of a law degree. He served as a procurement officer in Pakistan, France, and Michigan. Despite the relatively straightforward nature of these assignments, the EDH places Ellis as being involved with much larger things.
“It is said that Rich was ‘one of the Seven,’ part of an institution established by the 12 Apostles (Acts 6:1-7) to carry on their duties and accomplish good deeds as needed, ‘…it was said, that from that day forward, the Institution of the Seven had evolved, to protect humanity from all forms of evil and threat. Always unsung. Always from the shadows.’” – Knights of the Cold War, 2007
Ellis is said to have been one of the important figures in the 1961 “Exeter Interstellar Treaty Conference” in England. He brought his family on this trip, which included visits with Peter Ustinov, Ian Fleming, Douglas Fairbanks, Aristotle Onassis, and dinner at Buckingham Palace. Fleming taught Mark to drive. Lady Jane helped take care of the children and they soul-traveled through dimensional gates. Churchill told Mark that his father was one of the unsung heroes.
The June 18, 1961, conference itself brought together some of the top figures from this world. Lyndon Johnson is said to have attended although his diary places him in Virginia. Various factions tried to advance their own agendas. Ellis provided valuable insight and worked with Admiral Nimitz to try to stop all further human abductions. Other species argued that humans should surrender the planet. (Knights of the Cold War; EDH Exeter Report.)
Mark’s mother reportedly went “shopping in London with Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret – both incognito – on more than one occasion.[9] The documented one time that Elizabeth and Margaret left the palace incognito was to celebrate V-E day, but perhaps this story became the basis for Mark’s tale. Mark goes on to claim that the Richards family attended royal events and had tea with the Queen Mother. Ellis was only a captain at time (1961) but was allegedly well known to a number of high ranking people, from Churchill to Admiral Mountbatten. (Knights of the Cold War.)
That same year (1961), Ellis is alleged to have been one of the co-founders of the National Reconnaissance Office and was involved with many of its projects for 20 years. (Knights of the Cold War.) The office does not mention Ellis Richards as either a co-founder or “pioneer.”
The EDH states that when evidence of Russian missiles in Cuba was discovered, the Joint. Chiefs requested Ellis to be there when they met with President Kennedy. Kennedy had a close friendship with Ellis. It is claimed that Ellis was also the military intelligence liaison to President Kennedy. (Knights of the Cold War.) The Kennedy Library maintains comprehensive records about the administration and lists military advisors and assistants who worked with the president. Major Richards is not named. His recorded military assignments would preclude either position.
The EDH asserts that Ellis’s cover was that of a procurement officer until he “officially retired” from the Air Force in 1966. (Knights of the Cold War.) The EDH does not explain how his cover would allow him to serve as a fighter pilot, co-found the NRO, or serve as a presidential military liaison – all of which are very visible roles. It is possible, however, that a procurement officer may have been able to help Raptors obtain antiques and other items that they particularly enjoy. (Cassidy, 5th Interview.)
The EDH’s Dulce Report states that Major Richards took over as head of International Security (IS) in 1966 after the death of Admiral Nimitz.[10] Nimitz retired in 1947, but due to his rank he remained on duty for the rest of his life. He moved to Berkeley, California until a serious accident in 1964. He died in 1966, after a stroke the year before. Ellis himself had retired from the Air Force and lived in Marin County, California. There is no support for a claim that the head a supposed international agency, with the need for top security and an extensive network of communications and personnel, was based out of a small county in Northern California. Interviews done at the time of the crime did not report anything consistent with such an undertaking.
Aboard the Hornet
Ellis is reported to have directed many operations and covert battles as head of Earth Security. He commanded his son Mark at Dulce. The USS Hornet was said to be his command ship during the 1976 “Battle of China Gates” and Mark and Ellis both fought aliens on the ship itself. (Knights of the Cold War.)
The claims involving the Hornet again provides an objective way to measure the tales. Although the Hornet had a storied history, it was decommissioned in 1970. Deactivation work removed or disabled machinery and technological devices onboard the ship. It was then mothballed at Puget Sound. (Pictured here in 1974, while mothballed with its aircraft elevator removed.) The ship remained there until it was towed for scrap, before being restored as a museum. (Navy History.) There is no record of it being used during this period. It is beyond reason that a ship like this – with all of its size, a large crew, its history, and the work required before it could be activated and used in service – could have been moved from a very visible location without documents or attention.
During a tour of the Hornet, we verified the ship’s condition with one who worked on its restoration as a museum. After decommissioning, the ship could not have sailed under its own power or be used for any military operation.
Mark has claimed that at the time of his 1982 arrest for murder, Ellis returned from fighting aliens and later had to be admitted into a military hospital. (Cassidy, 10th Interview.) As discussed above Ellis was severely disabled throughout that time period as a result of the 1952 crash. He was not able to do the heroics ascribed to him.
The EDH’s Dulce Report states “the ‘Dutchman’ was terminated in 1996.” The death certificate shows that he passed in 1997 of natural causes related to his accident.
The EDH has provided no documentation substantiating the many accomplishments attributed to Ellis. It has been pointed out that both Ellis and Mark are enshrined in the Wall of Honor at the National Air and Space Museum. The wall includes anyone who chooses to honor themselves or another, without requiring documentation, as long as a financial contribution is made to the museum. No special credence can be ascribed to this.
Nothing has been released to show that Ellis was a close friend of either President Kennedy or the Dalai Lama. His family should have personal items, a private photograph or correspondence, that could be released to verify these claims. There should also be copies of his law degree. The burden of proof clearly rests with Mark and the EDH. If true, it could be easily documented.
It can be asked if a retired major (a field grade rank compared to middle management) would have been given command of the earth’s defense after Admiral Nimitz died; if the head of international security would have worked in a small California town; if an “infamous” character known as the “Dutchman” with various public roles would have escaped attention; why his name is not mentioned with many of events that have been reported; and, why there is no other corroboration for the claims involving more public activity.
A Lineage of Knights
Mark’s dad, Ellis Lloyd Richards, Jr., had been a highly respected career military officer with both the US Air Force and a top-secret international intelligence agency. He was a talented pilot, superb intelligence officer, and a devoted family man. On the other side, he helps veterans transition to their new existence after death. His spirit has come through a few mediums to give me messages; he always assures me that I’m brave and am doing the right thing by speaking about UFOs and aliens. He encourages me to stand in my truth, and he’s grateful that I’m helping Mark. – Jo Ann (Richards) Fawcett, Midlife Magic
The EDH claims a long lineage for the Richards and Taylor families. A 1996 EDH “Ancestor and Genealogy Report” lists various sources, including the Scottish crown, “blood of the Czar” and Pocahontas. (EDH Report List; Knights 2007.) Jo Ann states that the Richards are “blooded and would still be titled had the family not left Germany. They are members of the German/Dutch House of Nassau/Orange whose family tree is said to wind back to the Norse God Odin and the House of David. They are distantly related to many of the royal families in Europe.” (Knights of the Cold War.) It is not certain where the Richards family might lie in the royal family tree which reaches back to the 10th century rather than Odin.[11] Mark makes no mention about the Richards lineage in relation to Gwendolyn, his aunt. Perhaps she did not inherit the superpower genes and couldn’t ride to Valhalla.
“A number of sources” claim that Major Richards was the youngest member of the Knight’s Templar in the 20th Century and turned down many offers of knighthood. Mark states that “men like Father lived with a different set of rules.” He is called a “Germanic prince ready to ride with the heroes of Valhalla, at Odin’s side, against any and all evil.”
Kerry Cassidy (Project Camelot) has echoed this in regard to Mark Richards: “He comes from a Germanic-English background. He has blue eyes and light skin and looks fairly Germanic. He was definitely a high-ranking officer in the Secret Space Program.” (Cassidy, First Interview.)
While there are obvious problems with these statements, perhaps they are more important for the way that they shed light upon Mark and the events in his life that led to his arrest and conviction. It is here that that we begin to explore Pendragon.
Notes:
| ⇧1 | The EDH has closed as a nonprofit. For simplicity I am not changing the references made to it. |
|---|---|
| ⇧2 | Mark has complained that critics “are preoccupied with Mark’s father and attacking him and Mark’s mother.” (Cassidy, 11th Interview.) This site does not attack his family but compares what has been said about them, after their deaths, to what we know about their lives. It is an exercise that honors them for who they were. We respect his father for his courage in dealing with the effects of a serious accident throughout much of his adult life and for his service. He is heroic for what he did. Fiction only demeans him. |
| ⇧3 | The drive seems to have gotten lost in the narrative but it would have required atom smashing technology that did not exist at the time. The effects of such a thing would be detectable in anything but a science fiction story. |
| ⇧4 | In the Hamilton Report, Mark states that the Philadelphia Experiment cost his grandfather his life. |
| ⇧5 | There can be no security or secrecy issue with releasing the plans for an airship of that era. As the Beatles sang, “We’d all love to see the plan.” |
| ⇧6 | It should be noted the Dalai Lama escaped in 1959. He did need help from Ellis, who worked as a procurement officer in Pakistan in 1960. If he meant to meet up with the Dalai Lama he would have been a year too late. |
| ⇧7 | It is beyond the scope of this site to discuss the problems related to Majestic-12, but it is regarded by most researchers as a hoax. See UFO Trail, “Adam Gorightly Discusses Saucers, Spooks, and Kooks, including the origin of the MJ-12 Story. |
| ⇧8 | Hamilton had been associated with UFO lore. The base figured into the 1947 investigation of the Maury Island incident and was the location of several encounters in the 1940s and 1950s. It was one of the bases selected in 1953 to try to photograph unidentified objects with state of the art equipment. |
| ⇧9 | The documented one time that Elizabeth and Margaret left the palace incognito was to celebrate V-E day, but perhaps this story became the basis for Mark’s tale. |
| ⇧10 | Nimitz retired in 1947, but due to his rank he remained on duty for the rest of his life. He moved to Berkeley, California until a serious accident in 1964. He died in 1966, after a stroke the year before. |
| ⇧11 | Mark makes no mention about the Richards lineage in relation to Gwendolyn, his aunt. Perhaps she did not inherit the superpower genes and couldn’t ride to Valhalla. |
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Comments, questions, further information that can be added to this site, or supporting documentation — especially from anyone who knew Mark, Kerry Cassidy or Jo Ann (Richards) Fawcett — are welcome.
“Documenting Captain Mark Richards Since 2011”
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