London: Launch of Flying Saucer Review
In spring 1955, the Flying Saucer Review was launched in London as a quarterly UFO publication with small circulation. Aviation journalist and ex-RAF pilot Derek Dempster served as its initial editor.
Background
Founding
In the spring of 1955 the first issue of Flying Saucer Review appeared in London, England, a quarterly publication with a limited print run devoted to the subject of UFOs. Its first editor was Derek Dempster, an aviation journalist and former Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot. The journal marked a milestone in British UFO research.
Background and Participants
The founding went back to a gathering in 1954 at which figures such as Waveney Girvan, Desmond Leslie, and others developed the idea of a specialist journal. Dempster brought experience from editing a BOAC magazine. Further contributors included Lewis Barton and Denis Montgomery.
Significance
Flying Saucer Review became an influential organ of the international UFO community, with readers in governments and military libraries. It documented sightings and analyses in a measured way and laid the foundation for serious ufological publishing.