Now online: Full collection of "Probe Report" ("superb" British UFO journal) - free PDF download

A complete collection of the "Probe Report" UFO journal (an early 1980s British publication edited by Ian Mrzyglod) is now available online.
app.box.com...





The articles in the Probe Report were of a higher quality than the vast bulk of the material that appears on the Internet today. The first issues were relatively basic but there was very considerable evolution in the quality of the material in the Probe Report publications. (If you are going to dip into an issue, I’d suggest starting with one of the later issues).

Jenny Randles, a well-known veteran British ufologist, has commented:

"Probe Report was a superb publication and needs to be out there."

I thought it was a shame that those journals weren't online so I tried to contact Ian Mrzyglod in 2012 to ask for permission to upload issues of the Probe Report magazine to a free file storage website, but didn't get a response. I've tried again in late 2013 and this time not only did Ian Mrzyglod give his permission but in fact he's offered to do all the scanning himself and then email me the files.

So, after quite a bit of scanning by Ian, I’m now able to share (with Ian’s permission) a searchable PDF archive of the entire collection of Probe Reports (with thanks to Russian researcher Mikhail Gershtein for assistance with image enhancement techniques).

Just by way of example, the cover below (from Volume 2 Issue 2) shows a well known "alien" photo:


As I’ve previously written in more detail elsewhere, that particular issue included an article by Klaus Webner giving the background to that photo in some detail. In short, in 1981, Klaus Webner (still a local resident in Wiesdadener, and a UFO researcher) managed to track down the source of the photo as being an April Fools Day issue of the German newspaper "Wiebadener Tagblatt" in 1950. It was an April Fool's joke by then editor William Sprunkel and photographer Hans Scheffler. Respected UFO researcher Chris Aubeck has commented "The fact that the author confessed two days later, yet the hoax became immortal, is just so typical" (Aubeck, 2008).



Add this archive of “The Probe Report” to the probably better-known "Skeptics UFO Newsletter" written by Phil Klass (which I recently helped get online and posted about in a previous thread) and you have a pretty good collection of skeptical/critical UFO material.

For good measure, I recommend also adding the MUFON Journals, NICAP Newsletters, APRO Bulletins and other material from links that I've previously posted online. You can then use the search technique I've already previously written about to search all of these collections of UFO journals/newsletters at the same time, together with collections of official documents (such as those I've made available in searchable PDF format from files held by the FBI and those in Australia, Canada, New Zealand), digitised UFO books and other material (such as the archives of the better UFO email discussion Lists, e.g. the UfoUpdates List).

Ian Mrzyglod kindly responded to a request from me for his reflections on his involvement in ufology. In an email to me on 22 December 2013 he gave the following comments:

I remember being fascinated by the UFO subject, and living so close to Warminster, I just had to go down there and see for myself. I immediately got wrapped up in the whole mystique of the subject. There were many fascinating people on the hilltops, and I immediately felt a sort of bonding in that everyone where was looking for the same thing. I met Arthur Shuttlewood and was taken in by his wonderful way of storytelling. I met the Pagets and got interested in their work, although I also remember stepping back slightly once or twice, when Jane Paget told me that UFOs are difficult to photograph due to their forcefields. “You what?” I thought to myself.

I very soon left them and joined UFO INFO with Barry Gooding, and went through the good times and the difficult times, especially when he systematically began removing all the members of the team, including finally me. His beliefs and aims were not the same as mine anyway, and the word ‘democracy’ was alien to him.

Eventually setting up on my own with help from friends who had suffered under UFO INFO, I pursued my dream of publishing a magazine. It started out at first a very naïve publication, not having any particular direction and not having anyone, at that time, submitting articles. It took at least a year to find its direction, and like a good wine, it definitely got better over time. That direction was moving dramatically towards a skeptical standpoint, mainly from the result of seeing what good, diligent investigation (mainly from SCUFORI) can reveal. I also strived to represent what was always maintained – that at least 90% of UFO sightings could be explained – and demonstrate that in the journal.

Of course, many people bought it to read about UFOs, and not camera lens flare or lenticular clouds or whatever. Like buying a ghost magazine, the reader wants to read about ghosts, and not rattling windows or air trapped in the plumbing. So I upset many people and I lost of lot of support. I was also young and arrogant with it to, almost relishing being the villain. But at times it also hurt, that the people out there we were trying to educate were annoyed that their fairy tale was being attached. I think the main problem at the end was my crusade to expose the nonsense that was Warminster. I probably went at that too strongly, like a bull out of a gate. Maybe there HAD been something at the beginning, but by the time I arrived on the scene, it was all nonsense, perpetuated by the very pleasant but misguided and easily deluded Arthur Shuttlewood and his flock of followers. I also exposed the crop circles as a man-made prank, but the press and the masses preferred to listen to Colin Andrews, who was making a fine living from it.

I think that was the final straw. My writings and message just weren’t sexy enough, and certainly not financially viable. It was too costly and too emotionally stressful to carry on. I had great allies with the likes of Jenny Randles, Hillary Evans, Ian Ridpath, John Rimmer to name just a few, but I had far more enemies, many in the stagnant older version of BUFORA. So I bailed.

To this day, I still see references to THE PROBE REPORT out there on the internet, and some of it is flattering. So I guess I made a mark, albeit it brief and small, but I did it.

I'd highlight Ian’s remark that he found that many people bought his UFO magazine "to read about UFOs, and not camera lens flare or lenticular clouds or whatever". As Ian Mrzyglod commented in his editorial to Volume 4 Issue 1: "Being rational doesn't sell magazines and books, particularly in this field...".



Many thanks to Ian Mrzyglod for scanning his old journal and giving his permission for me to share this material online.

Will take a look at these in next few days.

RP2SticksOfDynamite
Will take a look at these in next few days.

I hope you find them useful.

With a bit of luck, I'll be able to post another collection of material shortly - but I should probably now focus on finishing my thread on Steven Greer.

Isaac you are the man! I'll dive in this weekend, i'm hoping to find a case as compelling as the Brazilian Colores incident.

If your ever in my neck of the woods, I got a beer for you.

Probe Report is another excellent addition to the historical resources for UFOs. I noticed that this particular magazine would be of special interest for someone tracking the early days of the crop circle story.

Another interesting feature is the reviews of books and periodicals of the time. There's coverage of the original Roswell book and later pamphlets that Bill Moore published trying to shore up the case. Lots of of interesting things documenting how different cases like Rendlesham developed- very good stuff!

Isaac continues to produce releases of amazing material, and I get the feeling that it's going to get even better!