The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 15-Sep-54-Bois-en-Ardres.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In the 1977s, the ufology bulletin "Recherches Ufologiques" #2 of the GNEOVNI group indicated that on September 15, 1954, around 08:45 p.m., in Bois-en-Ardres in the Pas-de-Calais, according to the newspaper Nord Littoral for September 21, 1954, Eugène Cordier, 24, a farm worker with his parents, was at his home a few houses away.
His wife pointed out to him a strange glow that she thought was the rising Moon. Mr. Cordier fixed this clarity and was surprised to see rise westward obliquely a large blood-red cigar, without any noise, which suddenly disappeared leaving a great redness with white spots. After a few seconds, it reappeared, flew in a few circles and then disappeared completely, and again, a red and white light was produced.
His wife is also witness to this phenomenon and the gendarmerie of Ardres sought to obtain other testimonies.
In the national newspaper Paris-Presse for September 23, 1954, the sighting was reported as follows:
"ARRAS. September 22 (part. dep.). -- On his return from the city, a farmer from Pois-en-Ardres (Pas-de-Calais), Mr. Eugène Cordier, 24-year-old, found his wife in ecstasy yesterday. She was looking into the sky at a strange machine, bright red in color, in the shape of a long cigar, which moved noiselessly. The cigar disappeared, leaving behind a scarlet trail stained with white. Then suddenly it came back and engaged in some sort of acrobatics before disappearing permanently. The gendarmes are investigating this phenomenon."
[Ref. nll1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD LITTORAL":
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The small town of Bois-en-Ardres has been buzzing for a few days about a flying saucer. Our correspondent from Ardres having gone to Bois-en-Ardres, was able to collect the declarations of the very person who "saw" the craft.
This is Mr. Eugène Cordier, 24, agricultural worker, with his parents in Bois-en-Ardres.
The day ended Wednesday 15 around 8:45 p.m., Mr. Cordier was returning home, a few houses higher. Arriving at his house, his wife who was waiting for him on the threshold of the door, pointed out to him a strange gleam seeming according to her to come from the moon that was about to rise.
Intrigued Mr. Cordier had his gaze riveted on this suspicious clarity and he was suddenly surprised to see an oblique blood-red craft, shaped like a big cigar but not letting hear any noise, climb up to the west. Then suddenly this appearance disappeared completely leaving in its place a great redness with white spots. Then after a few seconds, this strange bolide reappeared in a few circles, then disappeared completely and again a red and white clarity appeared.
These good people, while telling what they witnessed, do not hide their surprise and they are still under the influence of a certain emotion. For its part, the gendarmerie of Ardres alerted immediately went on campaign to try to collect other testimonies.
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
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ARRAS. September 22 (part. dep.). -- On his return from the city, a farmer from Pois-en-Ardres (Pas-de-Calais), Mr. Eugène Cordier, 24-year-old, found his wife in ecstasy yesterday. She was looking into the sky at a strange machine, bright red in color, in the shape of a long cigar, which moved noiselessly. The cigar disappeared, leaving behind a scarlet trail stained with white. Then suddenly it came back and engaged in some sort of acrobatics before disappearing permanently. The gendarmes are investigating this phenomenon.
The bulletin indicated that it was ufologist Dominique Caudron who found the Press article.
[Ref. nll2:] NEWSPAPER "NORD LITTORAL":
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We talk a lot, currently of flying saucers, flying cigars, and other craft that are supposed to come from another planet... In all corners of France, the sky is infested with these luminous apparatuses that raise so much controversy.
In recent times, the Nord Department has starred thanks to this Quarouble worker who saw in the night, very close to his home him an "authentic saucer with two no less authentic inhabitants of another world."
The Calaisians are more down to earth. Similarly in the immediate vicinity of our City where the flying saucers made only very weak appearances, apart from that of Bois-en-Ardres.
We reported in recent days in our regional page the evolution of this machine seen one evening by a brave couple of the place.
Following this article, one of our fellow citizens, a member of secondary education in our city, living in the Petit-Courgain, told us that one of these last evenings, while he was in his garden, he saw, heading towards the sea, a very luminous machine, of green color, leaving a clear trail behind itself.
According to him, it was not a shooting star because this machine could easily be followed:
- I'm not saying it's a flying saucer or a flying cigar, he explained, but I can only report what I saw.
In another domain, we came very close to an eminent scholar from the Coquelles region, Mr. Auguste Lefebvre, farm cultivator of the "Petite Rouge Cambre", notorious prehistorian and member for 17 years of the Astronomical Society of France.
We know that this scientist, who has not given up field work, has a collection that can, some time, change what we know about the prehistory of our region.
In addition, he installed a real observatory which allows him to examine the sky with great precision:
- Despite all my good will, because this case interests me, told us Mr. Auguste Lefebvre, I never saw in the sky, the slightest suspicious luminous craft. There are many shooting stars, of course, but the comparison cannot be sustained. This does not mean that I reject, a priori, the hypothesis of interplanetary craft, because man would be very bold to claim that only the earth is populated.
[Ref. gni1:] GNEOVNI:
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A LITTLE KNOWN CASE IN BOIS-EN-ARDRES:
On Wednesday, September 15, 1954, around 8:45 p.m. Mr Eugène CORDIER, 24, agricultural worker with his parents in Bois-en-Ardrea, was at his house, a few houses higher. His wife pointed out to him a strange gleam which she believed to be the rising of the Moon. Mr CORDIER, staring at this clarity, was surprised to see a large blood-red cigar rise obliquely to the West, without any noise; suddenly it disappeared, leaving a great blush with white patches. After a few seconds it reappeared flying in a few circles, then disappeared completely and again a red and white light appeared. The gendarmerie of Ardres tried to obtain other testimonies.
(Based on "Nord Littoral", 9/21/1954)
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors report that on September 15, 1954, at 08:45 P.M., in Ardres in the department of Pas-de-Calais, with the location called "Bois-en-Ardres", a farm laborer, Eugene Cordier, was surprised to see a large blood-red cigar obliquely rising towards the west, without any noise. The object suddenly disappeared, leaving large a reddishness with white spots. At the end of a few seconds, it reappeared, made some circles then disappeared completely leaving the same gleam. The witness' wife also saw the phenomenon, and the gendarmes of Ardres tried to obtain more testimonies.
The authors indicate that their sources are an article in the regional newspaper "Nord-Littoral" for September 21, 1954, and the GNOVNI bulletin #2.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3777: 1954/09/15 22:50 1 1:59:00 E 50:53:20 N 3333 WEU FRN PDC 7:9
BOIS-en-ARDRES,PDC,FR:RED CGR REAPPEARS+CIRCLES AREA:SVRL OBS:RED+WHT GLOW
Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 79 : TOWN &CITY
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates that in 1954, on September 15, in France in Bois en Ardres at 20:45 "Eugene Cordier and his wife were surprised to see a large blood-red cigar, going up obliquely towards the west without any noise. Suddenly it disappeared, leaving a large redness with white spots. At the end of a few seconds it reappeared, made some circles, disappeared again leaving a red and white clearness."
The source is indicated as "M. FIGUET/J.L. RUCHON: 'Ovni, le premier dossier complet..' - Lefeuvre 1979, p. 79".
[Ref. jdt1:] JEAN-PIERRE D'HONDT:
This ufologist indicates that on September 15, 1954 towards 20:45, in Bois en Ardres, in the Pas-de-Calais, according to the newspaper "Nord littoral" for September 21, 1954, Mr. Eugene Cordier, 24 years old farm labourer at his parents', was at his home at some houses from there. His wife pointed out to him a strange gleam that she believed to be the rising moon. Mr. Cordier, staring at this luminosity, was surprised to see rising obliquely towards the west a large blood-red cigar, without any noise; suddenly it disappeared, leaving a large redness with white spots. At the end of a few seconds, it reappeared by making some circles then disappeared completely and again a red and white clearness took shape. Mrs. Cordier was also witness of this phenomenon. The gendarmerie of Ardres tried to obtain other testimonies.
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Pas de Calais in Ardres on September 15, 1954, at 20:45 "At the location Bois en ardres, a farm labourer was surprised to see rising obliquely the west a large blood red cigar and this without any noise. Suddenly the object disappeared, leaving a large a reddishness with white spots. At the end of a few seconds it reappeared by performing some circles then disappeared completely leaving the same clearness. The wife of the witness to also saw the phenomenon."
The source is indicated as "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 15 September 1954 at 20:45 in Bois-En-Ardres, France, "Red cigar reappears and circles area, gives off red and white glow. A cigar-shaped object was observed. One red cigar-shaped object was observed by several witnesses in a town for over one minute."
The sources are listed as Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
*Sep. 15, 1954 - At 8:45 p.m. a red cigar-shaped shaped object reappeared over the town of Bois-en-Ardres, Pas-de-Calais, France and circled the area, giving off a red and white glow. (Source: Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 49; Michel Figeut & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochees en France, p. 79).
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded the case 3 times:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19540920 | 15.09.1954 | Bois Ardres | France | 08.45 p.m. | ||||||
| 19540921 | 21.09.1954 | Bois Ardres | France | NL | ||||||
| 19540921 | 21.09.1954 | Pas Calais | France |
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If only because Mr. Cordier's wife had first thought of a moonrise, it was important to check if this was even possible.
At 08:45 p.m. that date from this place, the Moon was at the 73° 30' azimuth, and the low elevation of 7° 51', with 87.5% of its surface illuminated.
Of course, this does not make it possible to prove with certainty that it was the Moon, in particular because no direction, no elevation, no angular size have been reported. The story speaks of moving lights, blood-red cigar, etc. But it cannot be excluded that these were phenomena caused by a red moon masked in a changing manner by clouds moving in front of it.
Having found the Paris-Presse article [ppe1], I note that the observation is described there in a way that makes me think of another plausible explanation: jet plane maneuvers in the setting sun...
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Bois-en-Ardres, Ardres, Pas-de-Calais, Eugène Cordier, object, cigar, red, white, luminous, silent, manoeuver
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | April 24, 2005 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | May 24, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [jdt1], [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | November 2, 2014 | Addition [nip1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | January 28, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | September 6, 2019 | Additions [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, was "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | January 6, 2020 | Addition [ppe1]. In the Summary, addition of the paragraph "In the national newspaper Paris-Presse..." and the following paragraph. In the explanations, addition of the "January 6, 2020" part. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | March 30, 2020 | Addition [nll1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | May 18, 2020 | Addition [nll2]. |
