Friday 1 January 2021
New Year's Words on Ufology: Standards, Ethics or Fantasy Social Clubs?
I began getting involved with UFO research when I was still at school in 1973 (my father bragged that it was “a phase he’ll get out of soon enough”). I set up the Bristol UFO Group (BUFOG) in 1975/76 and by around 1977 I had joined the British Flying Saucer Bureau (f. 1952) which most people in Ufology thought had vanished in the 1960s!I thought that the BFSB would have really slick investigation procedures compared to what I had thought up for BUFOG.
I was wrong.
The only person who had any investigation interest was Graham F. N. Knewstub who had, incidentally, produced the first analysis and breakdown of flying saucer/UFO reports in 1955 (Preliminary Analysis of Data Concerning Flying Saucers, BFSB Technical Report No. 1, 1955).
On my first investigation with Graham we went to Yate where parents had reported that their two daughters, returning home as it was getting dark, had panicked and began beating on the front door as a large, bright discoid object came down low over the street and their house. Within half an hour I had drawn the house as well as the features either side of it and included an illustration of the object over the house –which the girls confirmed was in scale. I then drew a quick area map. Later Graham poured over the notes and illustrations and told me that he had not seen anyone complete such a full amount of preliminary work on a report before. He was pleased and I just pointed out that I thought that it was important to get as much information as possible “in case” the girl decided that they no longer wanted to talk to investigators. Graham smiled and chuckled and told me; “I really do not think that you need me tagging along!”
What was the “usual investigation” method? Well, if someone offered to talk to a witness it normally entailed them relating their pet theories on UFOs, chatting about Adamski and so on –before even hearing what the witness had to say! I expressed my concerns to Graham who was in charge of investigation and research and he said “It does need young blood. I’ll talk to the Committee.” A week later I was told that I was now head of research and investigation. I also found out that there were no research projects -to be fair, Graham at that point was in his 60s and had faced an upward struggle to get anything much done in a group whose founder, Captain (Field Rank) Edward Plunkett was a true devotee of George Adamski. I think Graham thought I might have more luck.
So, I put forward my plans: a full study of all the reports we (BFSB) had to carry out another analysis. Problems presented themselves. Firstly, a lot of “material” was in a safety deposit box in a bank somewhere and had been there since Albert K. Bender had hi infamous Men In Black encounter (possibly a breakdown) in the early 1950s and warned the BFSB that “The Men In Black are coming your way!” So, in 1977, I asked; “What happened?” at which point Franklyn Davin-Wilson (behind Capt. Plunkett) rolled his eyes as said Captain responded; “Nothing….yet” and he was not joking when he told me “but we are still alert and waiting!”
Which meant that I could not get my hands on the “must never be described” material was in the safety box. Graham then mentioned that there were the files “in the boxes in my attic” and that got a mile but definite glaring look from Capt. Plunkett who said “We’ll need to discuss that at the Committee meeting next week.” Graham was later very apologetic as he explained that he wanted to turn over the files but that the Committee had decided that they must remain private and not even the head of research and investigation could see them.
Just what good were all of those reports to anyone gathering dust in boxes? Later, someone (Pat O’Brien) who totally debunked UFOs as being caused by nuclear reactors and fumbled up investigations so bad that he was persuaded to “let me tag along” was appointed new head of investigation and research. After more than 100 witnesses saw a UFO at the Chepstow Race Course I accompanied O’Brien and while he told everyone that it was an helicopter or a star I talked to witnesses and met one of Mrs Roestenberg’s (1950s CE3K incident) son’s who was in charge of the catering staff. O’Brien had no idea who Mrs Roestenberg was and when someone shouted “It’ back!” I watched with around 150 other as a triangular coloured object moved around the sky (I had binoculars) and I told O’Brien what the note while I tried to estimate size and distance, etc. Not a word. I turned and he was looking in the other direction and would not, over the 30 minutes period look in the direction of the object(s). When I explained this to Graham he simply nodded and told me nothing could be done as O’Brien had been known to the Plunkett’s since he was a youngster.
To “avoid friction” I was appointed head of the new BFSB publication UFO News Bulletin and the name change from Flying Saucer News (last published c. 1960) was a bit awkward as the BFSB continually referred to any UFO as a “flying saucer” which was a term well out of fashion by the 1970s.I had to do all the work myself as no one wanted to contribute and then hand in the finished publication to be printed. As the featured entity report in one issue was not involved with a flying saucer and was not a blond haired, blue eyed Venusian the cover was removed. So I did a new cover. Rejected and in the end the front cover was simply the BFSB logo enlarged. I quit as editor but with O’Brien taking over I&R and then the magazine the BFSB knew they were a force to be reckoned with. Except O’Brien never produced a single issue but drove the group into the ground. From 1977 onward I had only ever seen Capt. Plunkett’ son, Denis, once and then he was socialising and had no interest in anything to do with the group.
I wanted to check my notes on the Chepstow case and was told “Oh, they’re missing somewhere but it was only a helicopter.” Other reports I had completed were also “missing” and this meant, I was told, that the reports had been dumped somewhere. I quit.
I set up UFO International (UFOI) and recruited investigators including Dot Street and Brenda Butler (the Rendlesham Forest investigators who told me about the incident then went straight to Jenny Randles to publicise it even though I told them I would have three investigators join then within the week), Mr Parsons who investigated the Oulton Marsh CE3K and others. Unfortunately, Peter Tate was also involved and he and even got the UFOI threatened with legal action after publishing a totally defamatory statement while I was in
I moved on and concentrated on my BUFORA work and that included me as the only investigator during a 1977/1978 UFO flap –as it happens the UK APRO investigator Gary Green lived just up the road from me so helped out on a couple of cases. Of course, this ended with BUFORA “losing” 150 full reports.
I no longer wanted to be associated with Ufology so continue my work with the Anomalous Observational Phenomena Bureau from 1977 onward and by 1980 had achieved far more than when working within groups.
We hear and read it almost weekly. The Ufologists claiming “Many thousands of people have reported good quality sighting of unearthly objects” so ask yourself; what happens to these reports (apart from being used as TV fodder)? When was the last time you saw a survey and analysis of UFO sighting reports? The last one I know of was compiled by J Bernard Delair for Contact
A big problem is that it became a bit of a craze to start calling “cover-up” in Ufology and this started in the United States and then the UK when what should have been happening was UFO groups carrying out full investigations and reaching conclusions based on evidence and then turning copies over to official bodies who would have access to technical and scientific personnel who could go even further. Then the evidence is out there in the public eye as well as being studied by bodies with more funding. Yes, of course bodies such as the US Air Force, et al would use the UFO subject to hide experimental test aircraft and so on. That is what they do because everyone expects their respective armed forces to be capable of defending them but not letting a potential enemy “know what we got”.
1947-2020 and hat ha Ufology accomplished? Jacques Vallee has become a Saint in Ufology “because of his work and standing” and yet he has included faked accounts, explained reports and wore into his melting pot of New Age junk. I once held Vallee up as an example of a scientist carrying out meticulous work on UFOs…until I carried out an even cursory look at his data. Ortotheny, The Mars Cycle, The Wednesday Evening Cycle, Ley Lines and many, many other totally crackpot theories that should have been looked at and then consigned to the “Irrelevant” file were discussed and argued about for decades –some still are today. Provide people with evidence that certain reports were faked or explained and…they ignore it because it HAS to be unsolved. The X-Files, Dark Skies and Dr Who are not documentary series and we do not have a terrestrial space force engaged in Star War style conflict in the skies above us. Fantasy is the new fact.
Budd Hopkins stacked the deck when it came to evidence, he knew one alleged abductee was conning him but he carried on totally un-peer reviewed. David Jacobs has gotten totally out of control in his work and claims as well as personal scandal and John Mack followed his own line of work. John Carpenter sold 140 of his abductee files to John Bigelow breaching any pretence of a code of ethics or witness confidentiality he and MUFON claimed. Oh…did I mention Hopkins, Mack and Jacobs were receiving money from Bigelow and no one has any idea what they forwarded because Ufology has no openness or ethics code. And, of course, MUFON sold all of its UFO report files to Bigelow and investigators had no idea the reports they were investigating were going to Bigelow -remember the part of the UFO report form that asks you if you want your personal info to be confidential? Means nothing.
http://ufotrail.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-carpenter-affair-for-record.html
https://www.newsweek.com/ufo-sightings-mufon-2018-john-ventre-alien-extraterrestrial-905060
So, while this is going on MUFON is a shining example of Ufology being dead in the water though most groups avoid the racism, sexism and child abuse scandal that MUFON is bogged down in but will not do anything actively about (it is a big right wing boys club –even those who left MUFON and appear in video interviews proudly display the front cover of a Donald Trump book behind them; I’ve spotted this in three such videos).
Politics has no place in Ufology. And you should NOT believe in Ufology but follow the evidence which is all that matters.
Do not be conned on the cattle mutilation “phenomenon” –it is NOT UFO (ET) related.
Do not be conned into the
Do not be fooled into believing an (ET) UFO crashed on a Welsh mountain (whichever crash) –it did not happen.
Do not be fooled into believing that MILLIONS are abducted every year –fake. Concentrate on the real cases.
Do not believe that an extra terrestrial craft crash landed in
Do not believe that there is a “British Skinwalker Ranch” because, all the evidence now shows that most of what went on at Skinwalker was caused by human agencies –check out The Black Vault” or Erica Lukes You Tube channels if you want the truth.
Are you in this to be part of a fan club or because you want to get to the truth? I do not believe that I am the only person who has been studying CE3K –Alien Entity reports since 1975 (and not betraying witnesses confidential info) so where is the work to how this? My four books on the subject are meant to be there for peer review –fully referenced. No one will publish a 300-500+ paper on the subject so I have to self publish (and none of them has made me any money covering even .5% of what I have spent on the work in 4 decades).
2021 can either be a new starting point and old cases re-opened and followed up as “cold cases” (because many CE3Ks were never investigated) and results published or….Ufology can just die a death as a cranky fringe subject.
Only Ufologists can decide.