This card represented all the wonderful Sci-Fi series by Gerald Alexander "Gerry" Anderson MBE that hit our screens starting with Fireball XL5 in 1962, and going on through Space Patrol, Stingray, Thunderbirds, etc.
This set commemorates "UFO", which again revolved around the United Nations, but this time in their endeavouring to prevent an alien invasion of this planet. There were actually only twenty-six episodes of this series, which had quite a dark theme, starting with the first, which introduced the idea of aliens harvesting organs from human beings. However there was going to be a second series, set on the moon, to where the HQ had relocated. But it never came about. And once more, not so long ago, there were plans for a feature film remake, which also never happened.
If there is a flaw, it is the common one that the creators did not set the timeline far enough ahead, and most of the action is said to take place in the 1980s, which makes for odd viewing now. And if you get a chance to sit and watch it, just bear in mind that there were only two alien costumes made, so you will never see more than two aliens on screen at the same time.
The set actually first appears in the London Cigarette Card Company`s "What`s New on Cards" edited by K.A.Gillyon, in the magazine numbered Vol. 31 No.330, and dated for November/December 1970. It is recorded as "Anglo Confectionery Ltd, - 64 U.F.O. Titled, numbered, coloured, size 76 x 55 mm. Again we have a series depicting scenes from a T.V. " Gerry Anderson" puppet show - U.F.O. (Unidentified Flying Objects). The set is very well produced in full colour - some scenes are actually from the T.V. series, others are a coloured drawing type of picture. The number and the title of the series appear on the picture side, the reverse side of the set of 64 cards making up into a large " jig-saw picture."
This date of issue is the reason that it is not recorded in our original British Trade Index part two, which was published in 1969. Instead it has to wait until part three, which was not published for another sixteen years, and where it appears as :
- UFO. 76 x 55. Nd. (64). Sectional picture back. ... ANF-17
And this is the exact same text which appears in our updated British Trade Index save a new card code of ANG-390