The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 16-oct-54-Neuilly-L'Evêque.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
Mr. César, 61 years-old Polish resident of a small house since 17 years in the top of Neuilly-L'Evêque, was employed as mason in Chalindrey and went from construction site to construction site. But every morning at the same hour, it went to the Chermude quarters in Chalindrey. He did just so on Saturday, October 16, 1954, at 6 o'clock, by bicycle.
He was under a thick fog which covered the valley and the road of Andilly, pedaling, when, arrived at some hundred yards of the railway crossing of the exit of Neuilly-l'Evêque, he saw, on his left, in a grazing ground, within 150 meters approximately, a strange "homunculus", who was "only" 1.50 meters tall. Surprised, he slowed down, and then saw the small individual moving towards a machine having the shape of a reversed bowl, high of a 2.50 meters meter and broad of 1 meter.
César was adamant about the precision of these various dimensions, specifying that the small man exceeded of more than one head the disc in which he took seat. As soon as the small man had settled there, his machine slipped gently on the grazing ground on 20 to 30 yards, then, suddenly, rose in the airs without emitting a noise.
Scared, César did not try to see some more, and passed the railway crossing as soon as possible.
Such are the facts reported at the time by the regional newspaper, in which we are also told that César's colleagues stated he is a serious person and a hard worker whom they much appreciated. His story was listened to with more or less seriously, which angered César, and he insisted: he saw what he told he saw, and it gave him one of the biggest frights of his life.
The case was then lost in oblivion, and was only exhumed in 1986, more than 30 years later, by ufologist Fernand Lagarde, in the form of the newspaper's article he found in his file.
Then in 1997, ufologist Jean Sider discusses the case again, adding that another newspaper had given the following explanation: Mr. César had actually seen a 4CV car and his driver was a gendarme who came to pick up mushrooms, and the fog allowed the misinterpretation. But Jean Sider rejects this explanation as due to an alleged jealousy between the two newspapers, and vituperates against some "socio-psycho of the East" of France who are said to have dared to accept the explanation.
I, from the East of France but not one bit of a "socio-psycho", had the chance in 2004 to be contacted by a resident of Neuilly L'Evêque who was aged 11 at the time of the event and remembers it perfectly. The affair caused a big fuss at the time, he told, and the gendarmes of the Rolampont squad were sent. My correspondent confirms that César, in all good faith, had indeed been deceived by the fog. It was indeed a person from our own planet whom my correspondent knows, who had left in 4CV car to pick up mushrooms, and who was not recognized as such under the very heavy fog that reigned on the location.
César had not lied one bit, he gave rather probable dimensions when the 150 meters observation distance is remembered, a 4CV is indeed a machine, it does look a bit like a saucer, and one does sit inside. Probably because of the flap of stories of flying saucers in the newspapers then and not knowing exactly what a flying saucer was supposed to be, Cesar had let himself been impressed by the ghostly and distant display, the silence due to the fog probably contributed, the car being in a pasture and not on the road adding to the confusion, and the newspaper probably added the "homunculus" notion for the man that Cesar specified to be one meter fifty all the same.
All this does not prevent the case from surviving without mention of the explanation in ufological catalogues here and there.
[Ref. hml1:] NEWSPAPER "LA HAUTE-MARNE LIBEREE":
Mr. César is Polish, 61-year-old, he lives since 17 years in Neuilly-L'Evêque. His small house is located all at the top of this place, chef lieu de canton [chef lieu de canton is the main town of a canton in an administrative point of view. A canton is an administrative subdivision of the department].
Employed by Mr. Suion, building contractor in Chalindrey, he goes from building site to building site, but goes every morning, at the same time, in the city of Chermude. His fellow-citizens, judge their comrade of work to be a serious chap who does not fear work, they have much sympathy for him. One listened to his saucer story with more or less serious, which annoyed César. His saucer, dammit! He saw it, and even saw it so well that it gave him one of the most awful fright in his life.
On Saturday, October 16, he left his residence at 6, as usual, to go towards Chalindrey: a way which he covers by bicycle each day, to reach Chalindrey, and return.
A thick fog covered the valley and the road of Andilly on which he firmly pedaled. Arrived at a few hundred meters of the railway crossing at the exit of Neuilly-L'Evêque he suddenly saw, on his left, in a grazing ground, at 150 meters approximately, a strange "homunculus," high of 1,50 m hardly. Surprised, César slowed down his pace. He saw the small individual then moving towards a machine having the shape of a reversed bowl, high of a meter and 2,50 meters broad. Mr. César is affirmative as for the precision of these various dimensions. The homunculus, indeed, exceeded of more than one head the disc in which it took seat. As soon as it had settled there, the machine slipped gently on the grazing ground, at a distance from 20 to 30 meters, then, suddenly, rose in the air without emitting any sound.
Fear overriding curiosity, César felt wings grow in his back and, thrown into a panic he passed the crossing most quickly moving away from the place of the appearance.
Practical joke or truth?
[Ref. g521] "5255" UFOLOGY GROUP:
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- "La Haute-Marne Libérée" for October 18, 1954
NEUILLY-L'EVEQUE "He claims to have seen a flying saucer where a gnome entered take off, from a Neuilly-l'Evêque enclosure, and the young cowboys of the chief town of the county now fear the Caesar's Martian."
Mr. César is Polish, 61-year-old, he has been living for 17 years in Neuilly-l'Evêque, today in a small house nestled at the top of the capital of County.
Employed by Mr. George Suion, masonry contractor in Chalindrey, he goes from construction site to construction site, but goes every morning at the same time in the Chermude Cité. His fellow citizens, his comrades of work consider him a serious boy that the work does not rebuff, and they have a lot of sympathy for him. Of course, we listened to his saucer story with more or less serious, which made Caesar angry. Because his saucer, damn, he saw it, and seen so well that it gave him one of the most beautiful fright of his life.
Last Saturday, therefore, at 6 o'clock, Caesar left as usual the marital home to win Chalindrey, a journey he covers twice daily by bike. A thick fog covered the valley and the Andilly road on which our man was riding hard. Arrived at some 100m from the first crossing at the exit of Neuilly, he suddenly saw, on his left, in a pasture, about 150m from the edge of the road, a strange homunculus, 1m50 tall barely. Surprised, Caesar slowed down. He then saw the little individual heading for a machine in the shape of an inverted bowl, one meter high and 2m50 wide. Caesar is positive about the accuracy of these various dimensions.
The homunculus, in fact, exceeded by more than one head the disc in which he took place. As soon as he had set foot in it, the machine slid gently over the grazing ground for a distance of 20 to 30 meters, then suddenly climbed into the air without producing any sound. Fear prevailing at this moment on curiosity, Caesar felt wings grow in his back, and in a panic, he passed the barrier, moving away from the place of the apparition most quickly.
Hoax or truth?
[Ref. g522] "5255" UFOLOGY GROUP:
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- Case nr 2 (HAUTE-MARNE): on Saturday October 15, 1954, a bricklayer employee of NEUILLY-LÊVEQUE who was going to work at Chalindrey by bicycle, saw, 150 m from the edge of the road, a strange homunculus up to 1.50 m high. surprised, the witness slows down. He then saw the little individual heading towards a machine in the shape of an overturned bowl. He claims that the object was 1m high and 2.50m in diameter. The little being was more than a head above the disc in which he took place.
As soon as he was installed inside, the craft slid gently over the grazing ground for a distance of 20 to 30 meters, then suddenly rose into the air without making any sound. The object was lost in the fog that covered the valley that morning, around 6 o'clock. There was no gendarmerie investigation at the time.
(Source: "La Haute-Marne Libérée" for October 16, 1954)
[Ref. clu1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "LES CHRONIQUES DE LA CLEU":
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We are going to see in detail these humanoid beings, but not ufonauts (knowing that humanoids are an integral part of the O.V.N.I. or U.F.O. phenomenon, because here in our two departments, out of seven observations, only three report a O.V.N.I. nearby: these are, for the HAUTE-MARNE, the cases of NEUILLY-L'EVEQUE (October 15, 1954: an overturned bowl-shaped craft is observed) and of MONLANDON (October 19, 1954: a flying disc is posed on the ground), [... other cases...]
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- Case n. 2 (HAUTE-MARNE): On Saturday October 15, 1954, a mason employee of NEUILLY-L'EVEQUE who was going to his work in Chalindrey, by bicycle, saw, 150m from the edge of the road, a strange homunculus barely 1m50 high. Surprised, the witness slows down. He then saw the small individual move towards a machine having the shape of an overturned bowl. He asserts that the object was 1m high and 2m50 in diameter. The small being exceeded more than a head the disc in which he took place. As soon as he was installed there; the machine glided gently over the pasture ground, a distance of 20 to 30 meters, then suddenly rose into the air without making any sound. The object got lost in the fog that covered the valley, that morning, at about 6 a.m..
Source : "LA HAUTE-MARNE LIBEREE" for October 18, 1954
[Ref. fle1:] FERNAND LAGARDE:
Ufologist Fernand Lagarde presented the case in Neuilly-L'Evêque on October 16, 1954, in the magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit within an article compiling previously unknown cases found in his archive.
He presents it in the form of an integral transcription of the newspaper article in La Haute Marne Libérée for October 19, 1954, indicating it as source, without additional comments.
[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
The ufologist noted in a version of his FRANCAT listing, as additions to FRANCAT:
| Case Nr. | 218a |
|---|---|
| Classification | CE3 |
| Date | 10.16.1954 |
| Time | 06:00 |
| Place | Neuilly sur Suize |
| Zip code | 52000 C4 |
| Credibility sources | NI La Haute-Marne Libérée for 10/18/1954 |
[Ref. rre1:] RAOUL ROBE:
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October 15 in Chalindrey (52) - (CP: T2).
An employee mason of Neuilly-l'Evêque who goes to his work in Chalindrey, by bicycle, sees, at 150 m at the edge of the roadway, a strange homunculus tall of 1,50 m only. Surprised, the witness slows down. He sees the small individual then moving towards a machine in the shape of a reversed bowl. He affirms that the object is 1 m high and 2,50 m in diameter. The small being exceeds of more than one head the disc in which he takes seat. As soon as he is in there, the machine slips gently on the ground of the pasture, on a distance from 20 to 30 meters, then suddenly rises in the airs without emitting any sound. The object is lost in the fog which covers the valley, that morning around 6 hours. There was no of investigation of gendarmerie. (Ref.: Magazine #2 of the 5255 Group based on la Haute-Marne Libérée for 10/18/54).
[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
| CASE Nr | CLASSIFICATION | DATE | HOUR | PLACE | ZIP CODE | CREDIBILITY SOURCES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 218a | CE3 | 16.10.1954 | 06:00 | Neuilly-sur-Suize | 52000 C4 | NI [=Unidentified] La Haute Marne Libérée for 18/10/1954 |
[Ref. rre2:] RAOUL ROBE - CNEGU:
Case nr l2:
On Friday, October 15, 1954, a mason employee from Neuilly-l'Evêque who goes by bicycle to work in Chalindrey (52) sees, 150 m from the edge of the road, a strange homunculus (barely 1.50 m tall). Surprised, the witness slows down. He then sees the little individual heading towards a craft in the shape of an overturned bowl. He claims that the object was 1 m high and 2.50 m in diameter. The little being was more than a head above the disc in which he took place. As soon as he is installed inside, the craft slides gently on the grazing ground, for a distance of 20 to 30 m, then suddenly, rises in the air without emitting a sound. The object is lost in the fog that covers the valley that morning around 6 o'clock local time.
There was no investigation by the gendarmerie.
Source: magazines nr 1 of the GROUPE 5255 citing the newspaper Le Haut-Marnais Républicain for 10/09/1954 and nr 2 according to La Haute·Marne Libérée for 10/18/1954
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
Jean Sider indicates that on October 16, 1954 at 6 o'clock in the morning in Neuilly-l'Evêque in the department of the Haute-Marne, Mr. César, then 60 years old, was riding a bicycle to go to his work in Chalindrey, in the fog, which did not prevent it from seeing a "homunculus of 1 m 50" in a pasture at the edge of the road at the exit of Neuilly-l'Evêque.
He slowed down for better seeing it and noticed that "the small character" moved towards a "machine in the shape of an inverted bowl of one meter height" on two meters broad, that "the homunculus" exceeded by more than one head in height. The homunculus seated himself in the machine which gently slipped on the meadow on a distance from 30 to 40 meters then rose without noise and disappeared in the fog.
Jean Sider indicates that his local source is the newspaper "La Haute Marne Libérée" of Chaumont on page 3, for October 19, 1954.
He specifies that the rival newspaper "Le Haut-Marnais Républicain" had maintained a controversy on another case and had taken a revenge in their October 21, 1954 issue, on page 4 by writing that what Mr. César had seen was a 4CV car and its driver a gendarme who came to pick up mushrooms, the fog having maintained the mistake.
He charges that tenants of the sociopsychological theory ("socio-psychos") of the East (of France) have jumped on this explanation without seeking of to know more, but that their reducing version does not hold for two reasons:
He writes that a gendarme can absolutely not be mistaken for a homunculus or a dwarf, and in addition, a car cannot fly away.
[Ref. rre3:] RAOUL ROBE:
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The case of Chalindrey (52) of October 16, 1954 is also rehabilitated by J. Sider who takes the opportunity to give us a lesson in ethics, without naming us of course (the Eastern debunkers and sociopsychos of the East). According to him, it is a "petty war" between rival newspapers that would explain that the Haut-Marnais Republicain for 10/21/54 proposed the mistake with a policeman and his Vedette car. However, we will recall the poor visibility conditions of that day: at 6 am, a thick fog covered the valley and the Andilly road on which the witness pedaled...
... the witness sees 150 m from the edge of the roadway ... the object would measure 1 m by 2.50m (which by far may correspond to the dimensions of a vehicle), the head of the character exceeds the disc of more than one head.
If the size of the man (1.50m) was underestimated at first, the fact that he exceeds the roof of the car then corresponds perfectly to a human being close to an automobile of this type. The craft slides gently on the ground on 30m and the object is lost in the fog. This is a bit like the case that occurred near Metz, on October 8th of the same year (1954) (Républican Lorrain for 10/10/54, cat CNEGU N° ll p 15 of MDE Nr 1 as well as that of Tronville-en-Barrois (55) of January 3, 1994, both of which turn out to be misinterpretations with perfectly identified automobiles.
J. Sider's humorous (?) arguments about the size of the gendarmes and the fact that a 4CV does not fly, fall immediately.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
4156: 1954/10/16 06:00 1 5:26:00 E 47:55:00 N 3333 WEU FRN HMR 8:6
NEUILLY l'EVEQUE,FR:OID/ROAD RUNS to 2.5M SCR:GLIDES 30M+^^:SLNT://r217p204
Ref#194 LUMIERES dans la NUIT.(LDLN France) Issue No. 260 : PASTURE
[Ref. pgs1:] PATRICK GROSS:
I received this e-Mail; which explains the case:
Date: 31.05.2004 18:16:14 PM Romance Daylight Time
From: [anonymized]@nomade.fr
Hello,
I was born in Neuilly l'Evêque in 1943, I was thus 11 years old at the time of the facts, and I remember it perfectly.
César had an admirable spouse (Maria) who was a washerwoman, and who met several days per week my aunt who was also a washerwoman, these meetings took place within the community launderette which is opposite the church, and which is now transformed into garages.
This story made a great fuss, the gendarmes came by from their squad of Rolampont.
It seems, according to an active witness of this appearance, that what César saw in all good faith, was in fact only this person who was picking mushrooms, and who had entered the pastures with his vehicle.
I point out that this day there indeed was a awful fog, and it is easy, after the explanations (made privately) of the author... the mushroom collector, to imagine the scene.
See you soon on the web.
[Ref. ars1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
170.
Location. Chalindrey, France
Date: October 16 1954
Time: 0600A
Stonemason M. Cesar De Neulliy was riding his "velo-moped" when he spotted on the road ahead a strange humanoid figure of about 1.50m in height. Surprised, the witness slowed down. He then watched the stranger walk towards an object shaped like an inverted bowl. The object was over 1 meter in height and 2.50 meters in diameter. The small entity appeared to install some kind of disc-shaped apparatus on the object. The figure then disappeared into the object, which then shot up at incredible speed.
HC addendum
Source: Raoul Robe, Regional Catalogue
Type: C
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
This catalogue indicates that in Neuilly L'Evêque in the Haute Marne on October 16, 1954 at 06:00 hours, a witness was on bicycle on the road going to Chalindrey. The fog covered the valley. A hundred meters before the level crossing, he observed on his left the presence of an entity of human form of approximately 1 m 50 size. He was surprised and slowed down. The entity then joined an object in the form of a reversed bowl of 2 m 50 broad by 1 m in height. He clearly saw that the entity had a size higher than the height of the object. After he took seat, the object slipped gently initially on a distance from 20 to 30 m, then rose suddenly in the airs without any sound.
The source is noted "Lumières dans la Nuit by **".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 16 October 1954 at 06:00 in Neuilly L'Eveque, France, "Humanoid in road runs to 2.5m diameter disc. UFO glides 30m, then shoots straight up. Silent." And: "Close encounter with an unidentified craft and its occupants. One disc, about 10 feet across, was observed in a pasture for over one minute. No sound was heard."
The source is indicated as "Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002".
[Ref. jgz1:] JULIEN GONZALEZ:
The author indicates that there was a close encounter of the third kind in Neuilly-l'Evêque, the Haute-Marne, on October 16, 1954, at 06:00, the witness being Mr. César, 60 years old at the time.
He drove by bicycle towards Chalindrey where he worked, there was fog, but this handicap did not prevent it from seeing in a pasture at the edge of the road, at the exit of Neuilly-l'Evêque, a "homunculus" of only 1,50 m.
He slowed down for better seeing and noticed that the small being moved towards a machine in the shape of a bowl turned upside down of a height of one meter by two meters fifty broad.
The homunculus exceeded his machine of more than one head, and it took seat inside. The machine slipped gently on the meadow on thirty to forty meters, then it rose without noise and disappeared in the fog.
The sources are indicated as Haute-Marne Libérée for October 19, 1954; Jean Sider, Le dossier 1954 et l'imposture rationaliste, pages 204-205.
[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":
October 16 1954. 0600hrs.
NEUILLY-L'EVEQUE (HAUTE MARNE : FRANCE)
A 64 year old mason, who came originally from Poland, was cycling to work in Chalindrey he saw in a field 150m away, through the fog, a small man about 1.5m tall. As he slowed down the witness saw the being walk towards an object shaped like an inverted bowl, 2.5m wide, 1m tall. The being seemed to be almost 50cm taller than the object into which it moved. The being then sat down in the object, which travelled about 20-39m along the ground and then took off into the air.
Evaluation - Turned out to be a mushroom picker and his car distorted by the thick fog.
Note: The source reference "P Gross URECAT" is my file as it appears in my CE3 catalogue URECAT; the file content is the same as this page of my France 1954 catalogue. Rogerson presents the case as if the "evaulation" was his own, and does not reflect the content of my file.
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Mr. César, 61 years-old Polish resident of a small house since 17 years in the top of Neuilly-L'Evêque, was employed as mason in Chalindrey and went from construction site to construction site. But every morning at the same hour, it went to the Chermude quarters in Chalindrey. He did just so on Saturday, October 16, 1954, at 6 o'clock, by bicycle.
He was under a thick fog which covered the valley and the road of Andilly, pedaling, when, arrived at some hundred yards of the railway crossing of the exit of Neuilly-l'Evêque, he saw, on his left, in a grazing ground, within 150 meters approximately, a strange "homunculus", who was "only" 1.50 meters tall. Surprised, he slowed down, and then saw the small individual moving towards a machine having the shape of a reversed bowl, high of a 2.50 meters meter and broad of 1 meter.
César was adamant about the precision of these various dimensions, specifying that the small man exceeded of more than one head the disc in which he took seat. As soon as the small man had settled there, his machine slipped gently on the grazing ground on 20 to 30 yards, then, suddenly, rose in the airs without emitting a noise.
Scared, César did not try to see some more, and passed the railway crossing as soon as possible.
Such are the facts reported at the time by the regional newspaper, in which we are also told that César's colleagues stated he is a serious person and a hard worker whom they much appreciated. His story was listened to with more or less seriously, which angered César, and he insisted: he saw what he told he saw, and it gave him one of the biggest frights of his life.
The case was then lost in oblivion, and was only exhumed in 1986, more than 30 years later, by ufologist Fernand Lagarde, in the form of the newspaper's article he found in his file.
Then in 1997, ufologist Jean Sider discusses the case again, adding that another newspaper had given the following explanation: Mr. César had actually seen a 4CV car and his driver was a gendarme who came to pick up mushrooms, and the fog allowed the misinterpretation. But Jean Sider rejects this explanation as due to an alleged jealousy between the two newspapers, and vituperates against some "socio-psycho of the East" of France who are said to have dared to accept the explanation.
I, from the East of France but not one bit of a "socio-psycho", had the chance in 2004 to be contacted by a resident of Neuilly L'Evêque who was aged 11 at the time of the event and remembers it perfectly. The affair caused a big fuss at the time, he told, and the gendarmes of the Rolampont squad were sent. My correspondent confirms that César, in all good faith, had indeed been deceived by the fog. It was indeed a person from our own planet whom my correspondent knows, who had left in 4CV car to pick up mushrooms, and who was not recognized as such under the very heavy fog that reigned on the location.
César had not lied one bit, he gave rather probable dimensions when the 150 meters observation distance is remembered, a 4CV is indeed a machine, it does look a bit like a saucer, and one does sit inside. Probably because of the flap of stories of flying saucers in the newspapers then and not knowing exactly what a flying saucer was supposed to be, Cesar had let himself been impressed by the ghostly and distant display, the silence due to the fog probably contributed, the car being in a pasture and not on the road adding to the confusion, and the newspaper probably added the "homunculus" notion for the man that Cesar specified to be one meter fifty all the same.
All this does not prevent the case from surviving without mention of the explanation in ufological catalogues here and there.
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Last but not least, the case is very similar to another such confusion in which a witness mistook a man and a car in foggy conditions for a flying saucer.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Neuilly-L'Evêque, Haute-Marne, César, fog, field, occupant, humanoid, machine, object, saucer, disc, bowl, landing, silent, confusion
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | April 13, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | December 28, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Addition [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | August 18, 2010 | Addition [rre1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | October 9, 2014 | Addition [ta1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | October 27, 2016 | Addition [jgz1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | December 8, 2019 | Additions [g521], [g522], [rre2], [rre3], [lhh1], [prn2], [mft1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | May 13, 2022 | Addition [clu1]. |
