The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 23-Oct-54-Comines.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Nord-Matin, in the October 28, 1954 edition of Armentières, reported that people who asked to remain anonymous said they saw "Saturday", therefore on October 23, 1954, around 9:15 p.m. and for several minutes, a "mysterious craft, elongated in shape and bright red in color."
The regional newspaper Nord-Eclair, Tourcoing and Lys issue of the same day, reported the same thing, only adding that the rason that the witnesses had wanted to remain anonymous was that previously they thought the "saucer stories" were "unfounded" and had now changed their minds.
Nord-Eclair, still in the Tourcoing and Lys issue, said on October 31, 1954, that psome eople had expressed the opinion that it was their local correspondent who had invented the story, and denied this: their correspondent had seen nothing, but there had been witnesses, two, who had wanted to remain anonymous, and the local correspondent still thinks that they had been sincere.
[Ref. nmn1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-MATIN":
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People, who asked to remain anonymous, say they saw Saturday around 9:15 p.m. and for several minutes, a mysterious craft, elongated and bright red in color.
One more...
[Ref. ner1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-ECLAIR":
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Contrary to what any attentive reader expects under this title, we will not quote the name of "seers". We will also not specify a place where some residents of Comines have seen and actually seen something. But we will say here that these people, whose names we will keep under wraps, are trustworthy and in no way hallucinated.
It is common to hear people say, since the newspapers have been abundantly talking about mysterious craft: "I would not believe in saucers and stuff until I had seen it...!
This reasoning, authentic seers held it; they have been speaking in a completely different way for the past few days.
This was on Saturday evening, around 9:15 p.m. The mysterious object had an elongated shape and a fairly bright reddish color. They were able to observe the thing for several minutes. They saw no "Martians"; nor did the craft land near them. But one fact is certain: it is that in the sky of Comines - several witnesses attest it - Saturday evening, a new fact came to enrich this chronicle.
We will add that there is no point in trying to find out who saw. We promised to be discreet.
Some of our readers will say to themselves, after reading these lines: but why do the names and quality of the seers so matter? It is precisely that, the people in question were among those who until Saturday "pretended that all these stories were not at all true." Their opinions have changed...
P. L.
[Ref. ner2:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-ECLAIR":
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After reading the "paper" reporting the appearance of a flying cigar in Comines, on Saturday October 23, at 9:15 p.m., more than one reader - many echoes have reached us - believed himself authorized to attribute the fact to the imagination of the local correspondent.
When we say imagination, the fact is somewhat watered down. They believed more exactly that the "seer" was none other than the one who is responsible daily for bringing to life the facts which mark the existence of a city. Let everyone think again. The "seers", because there were two of them, revealed the thing to us only with the certainty that we will never reveal their identity. The local correspondent did not see anything, but he believed and still believe in the sincerity of these two honest people.
On October 23, 1954, at 9:15 p.m. in Comines, the Moon was not visible, having set since 4 p.m.. It was therefore not a "red moon" sunset.
Mars was in the sky, at 212°, elevation 11°, but it is quite unlikely that it would have been described as of "elongated shape."
So this is, for me, an "unidentified", but of low strangeness and with very insufficient information.
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(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Comines, Nord, multiple, anonymous, night, duration, craft, elongated, red, sharp
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | April 21, 2020 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 15, 2020 | Addition [ner1]. In the Summary, addition of the paragraph "The regional newspaper Nord-Eclair..." |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 25, 2020 | Addition [ner2]. In the Summary, addition of the paragraph "Nord-Eclair, still in the Tourcoing and Lys issue..." |
