The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 21-Oct-54-Morlaix.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The local newspaper Le Télégramme de Brest, in the local pages for Morlaix, October 23, 1954, reported that on Thursday, October 21, 1954, at 07:25 p.m., a "flying saucer", which was "neither a shooting star nor a meteorite" had moved into the skies of that city, observed by many locals "whose truthfulness is indisputable." The newspaper had interviewed several witnesses on October 22, 1954 in the vening.
Mr. Texier, "the sympathetic butcher of the street of Villeneuve" told:
"Thursday evening, I was talking on Quai de Leon with my neighbor, Mr. Abgrall, a grocer at the bottom of the Rue de la Villeneuve in front of the door of his shop. We were both facing the pond. And suddenly, appeared in the sky that was clear, above Pen-an-Ru, approximately, a sort of brilliantly illuminated globe spinning at a vertiginous pace and leaving behind a very luminous trail. That globe disappeared in a few seconds without making any noise above the viaduct, which left me with a strong impression, as it did to Mr. Abgrall."
"It could not be a shooting star, because I saw a lot of them, and there is no confusion, nor was it a meteor. The flying saucer to use the consecrated name - was spinning horizontally, while a shooting star or a meteorite describe a curve in the sky, giving the impression of a fall. In fact, the machine did not seem to move at a very high altitude, because I thought for a moment that it would hit the trees of the Guichen district. In my opinion, it did not seem to be at more than 600 to 700 meters, but it is difficult for me obviously to give more precision because the extraordinary phenomenon only lasted a few seconds."
A Mr. Abgrall confirmed Mr. Texier's observations, saying that he saw exactly the same globe of fire, stating: "I did not believe in flying saucers, but this time I have to believe in it."
Two other people, "whose statements cannot be doubted", Miss Ch... and Mr. S..., who were in conversation at the edge of the basin, facing the street of the Villeneuve, also saw at the same jour "this globe of fire, followed by an extremely luminous tail, whizzing horizontally in the sky of Coatserho, towards the viaduct." They were very impressed by the phenomenon.
A Mr. Berniel, "son of Mr. Berniel, pork butcher on Saint-François lane in Saint-Martin-des-Champs, saw this luminous globe, from the alley Saint-François advancing quickly without noise in the sky", and a young girl, "cousin of Madame Bourles, the new owner of the cafe des sports, Place des Jacobins, who was returning by car from the direction of Sainte-Seve, had perceived at Bagatelle a "ball of fire" she could observe only for a very little time, trees hindering visibility.
On the same October 23, 1954, the local newspaper La Liberté du Morbihan reported more briefly that several residents of Morlaix who were in different places had observed on October 21, 1954, around 07:15 p.m. a huge globe of a bright whiteness; which had flown over the city of Morlaix from north to south. The "craft" took only a few seconds to pass over Morlaix; it had an apparent diameter a little larger than that of the full moon and "it also seemed to have a fuselage."
This obvious passage of meteor did not get the honors of the ufological literature, except that it appeared, after my publication, and despite my explanation, in a French UFO "database" on the web, without the explanation.
[Ref. ltb1:] "LE TELEGRAMME DE BREST" NEWSPAPER:
"The Telegram" had announced some time ago that several of our fellow-citizens wishing to keep anonymity - what is extremely regrettable - had seen a cigar flying above Morlaix.
Thursday at 07:25 P.M., it is a flying saucer which evolved in the sky of our city. The phenomenon was observed by several morlaisians whose good faith is unquestionable. The witnesses whom we interviewed yesterday agreed to tell us of their observations and authorized us to quote their names, that on which congratulate we them. Such testimonys can, indeed, only serve the truth.
It was neither a shooting star nor a meteorite
Here is what Mr. Texier, the sympathetic nerve butcher of the street of Villeneuve, told us:
"Thursday evening, I was chatting with my neighbor, Mr. Abgrall, quay of Leon, grocer at the bottom of the street of Villeneuve in front of the door of his store. We were both facing the basin. Suddenly, above Pen-year-Ru, roughly, a kind of brilliantly illuminated sphere appeared in the sky which was clear, slipping by at a vertiginous pace and leaving behind a very luminous trail. This sphere disappeared in a few seconds without making noise above the viaduct, which left me a strong impression, as it did on Mr. Abgrall."
"It could not have been a shooting star, for I saw many of those, and there is no possible confusion. It was not a meteor either. The sphere - or the flying saucer to use the devoted name - slipped by horizontally, whereas a shooting star or a meteorite describes a curve in the sky, giving the impression of a fall. Moreover, the machine did not appear to move at a very high altitude, for I believed at one moment that it was going to run up against the trees of the Guichen district. With my appreciation, it did not appear to be with more than 600 to 700 meters [high], but it is obviously difficult for me to give more precision, because the extraordinary phenomenon lasted only a few seconds."
Mr. Abgrall confirmed the observations of Mr. Texier for us. He saw exactly the same fire ball and told us: "I did not believe in the flying saucers, but this time, I am indeed forced to believe."
Other witnesses
The flying saucer was also seen by two other people, whose declarations cannot be questioned. Miss CH... and Mr. S... who were in conversation at the edge of the basin, facing the street of Villeneuve, also saw at the same time this fire sphere, follow-up by an extremely luminous tail, slipping by horizontally in the sky of Coatserho, towards the viaduct. They too were extremely impressed by the phenomenon.
Other witnesses also saw what appeared to them to be a flying saucer. Thus Mr. Berniel, son of Mr. Berniel, pork butcher on Saint-François lane in Saint-Martin-des-Champs, saw this luminous sphere, from Saint-François lane, advancing quickly without noise in the sky. A girl, cousin of Mrs. Bourlès, the new owner of the coffee house of the sports, Jacobins square, who returned by car from the direction of Sainte-Sève, also saw in Bagatelle a "fire ball" which she could observe only very little time, because of trees obstructing the visibility.
[Ref. llm1:] "LA LIBERTE DU MORBIHAN" NEWSPAPER:
MORLAIX. Several residents of Morlaix, being in different places, observed towards 07:15 P.M., an enormous luminous sphere, of a bright whiteness, which flew over the town of Morlaix from the north to the south. The machine needed only a few seconds to pass above Morlaix.
It had an apparent diameter a little larger than that of the full moon and it also appeared to be equipped of a fuselage.
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Finistère at Morlaix on October 21, 1954, at 19:15 "Several residents, being in different places, observed, towards 19:15, an enormous luminous sphere, of a bright whiteness, which flew over the town of Morlaix from north to south. The object spent only a few seconds to pass above Morlaix. It was followed of an extremely luminous tail. It had an apparent diameter a little larger than that of the full moon and it appeared also provided with a fuselage."
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is my website: "Les OVNI vus de près par Gross Patrick ** http://ufologie.net" (This is the old URL of my website's home page).
[Ref. voi1:] "ARCHIVES VIGIE OVNI 29":
Morlaix ( 29 600 ), 21 October 1954, 19 h 25 ...
Testimony nr. FR 29 600 1954 10 21 19 25
Available documents:
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Not looked for yet.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Morlaix, Finistère, sphere, ball, fire, luminous, trail, tail, fast, silent, meteor, Texier, Abgrall, Berniel, Bournès, butcher, globe, craft, saucer, white, fuselage, horizontally, direction, brief, duration, Sainte-Sève, Bagatelle, Saint-Martin-des-Champs, Coatserho
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | October 23, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 12, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Addition [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | February 7, 2017 | Addition [voi1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | January 2, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. |
