The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 23-sep-54-Le-Jou.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
Several newspapers on September 27 and 28, 1954, reported an observation near Bourges on September 23, 1954:
Mr. Robert Patient, 35, assistant PTT (National Mail Services) inspector, residing in Bourges, drove to Vasselay, accompanied by his wife and his children, aged 10 and 11.
In the hamlet of Jou, north of Bourges, he saw a strange object of extreme brilliance that seemed to descend into a field. At the spot where it could have landed, a reddish glow appeared, with a glowing filament of about 50 meters in the center of the hemispherical object, whose diameter was about 15 meters.
For 20 to 30 seconds, it was darkness, then there was a new glow over the horizon. Mr. Patient, who had stopped his car, left, followed silently for a few hundred meters by the object that then disappeared.
Other witnesses, in Bourges, Saint-Doulchard, Vierzon, Asnières-les-Bourges, had claimed to have seen at a concordant time, a luminous object, according to these newspapers.
In his 1954 book, ufologist Jimmy Guieu gave the same story; Aimé Michel told more in his 1958 book, probably from a local newspaper that he did not specify. The observation took place at 09:00 p.m. near Bourges, Robert Patient resided at 32, rue Diderot, in Bourges, and they drove on the departmental road 58 to go to Vasselay, 7 kilometers north of Bourges.
They had been driving for a few minutes when Mrs. Patient remarked that there were strange gleams like magnesium flashes in the sky, whose source was not apparent. But they did not attach importance to it.
They had already forgotten the incident when they suddenly saw an extremely bright object appearing north, facing them, above the hamlet of Jou, 5 kilometers north of Bourges. Robert Patient reported:
"Precisely because of the sharp light that it released, it was impossible for us to define the form and the size of it. It moved by jolts, died out sometimes in a point, to re-ignite a little away two or three seconds afterwards."
"Suddenly, it dove towards the ground and disappeared in our eyes as if it had landed, and at once, at the supposed point, a vast and hemispherical reddish luminosity took off, covering a surface on the ground of which I am tempted to evaluate the diameter as about fifteen meters, insofar as my subjective appreciation of the distance can be correct. Perhaps in the center of this luminous hemisphere, a long incandescent filament spouts out towards the sky, with the same reserve, of about fifty meters. The display lasted twenty to thirty seconds, then all died out. One moment later, the ball seen first of all re-ignited, and we could see that it was in the air again the air, because it was above the horizon."
"We had pulled up on the side of the road since the beginning of the phenomenon. The night was dark, without moon, with a half covered a sky, and a rather low cloud ceiling. When it was lit, the object spread more light than the moon, illuminating the countryside and the ceiling of the clouds. It was always above Jou, having resumed its first position and its first manoeuvers, and we had looked at it for a few minutes after its "landing", when we suddenly had the impression that it approached us full speed. We saw it indeed growing bigger very quickly, while its luminosity increased and the shades projected on the ground moved and became divergent. I acknowledge that we were not very reassured. Whereas it was within perhaps two hundred meters, we went up in the car in a hurry and I started without waiting more towards the hamlet close to Fonland, where we have parents. While we drove, my wife could see it through the trees of the forest of Villaines: it seemed to follow us, and that lasted several hundreds of meters. When we arrived at Fonland, it was still visible. But, in one minute, it faded and we did not see anything anymore. It was approximately 09:20 p.m."
Arrived at their relatives' house in Fonland, they had told what they had seen.
They departed at 10:00 p.m., on the national road 144 this time, and while they were still commenting with excitement what they had already seen, they passed again near Jou, and while they were watching the sky to where they had seen things an hour before, another object suddenly popped up and crossed the distance in a few seconds, parallel to the horizon.
They thought it was another object because this time it was flat and elongated, and the glowing color was not dazzling anymore.
Aimé Michel indicated that he chose to present the report of the Patient family because it was the most complete for this observation, but that Asnières railway workers between Jou and Bourges, a postal worker, and other witnesses from Bourges and Saint-Doulchard, one kilometer north of Bourges, also saw sharp shining lights on the side of Jou.
Among all these witnesses, Aimé Michel told, the closest to the phenomenon were the Patients, but the others confirmed that in the region where the latter drove and at the hour the latter indicated, they saw strange luminosities that seemed to spring from the ground or a place too low to be seen directly, which may be due to the presence of the Villaines forest.
Ufologists Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier gave another account of Mr. Patient in their 1975 book:
They indicate that at Jou, near Bourges, on September 23rd, 1954, at 9 p.m., according to newspaper clippings and their personal file, Robert Patient, 35, assistant inspector of the PTT, residing in Bourges, had gone spend the evening with his wife and young children at his parents' home in Vasselay. The family had just left this village to go to Fonland, where they had other relatives. At that moment, an extremely bright object appeared in the sky, above the hamlet of Jou. The authors give this account of Robert Patient:
"Because of the sharp light that it released, it was impossible for us to define its shape and size. It was certain that it was not a large star. The object moved while wavering slightly, died out suddenly to be re-ignited a little further. Suddenly, the craft went down towards the ground and disappeared from our sight, as if it had landed. At the same time, at the spot of the supposed landing, an hemispherical reddish reflection appeared, of orange color, of a diameter of maybe 15 meters approximately, as much as it is possible to judge some because of the distance. In the center, a long incandescent filament of about fifty meters rose, high in the sky. At the end of 20 to 30 seconds, all disappeared. Almost at once, the luminous ball was re-ignited above the horizon. This could in no way have been an atmospheric phenomenon."
"The night was dark, without Moon, with a half covered sky, and rather low clouds. However, when it was lit, the craft gave a luminosity much sharper than that of the moon. It goes without saying that this appearance produced on us a certain emotional shock, which can have made us make errors of appreciation as for the distance and the luminous intensity."
"I had stopped our car at the entry of the small way which leads to Fonland. Little after having taken altitude again, the machine dove to us. It grew bigger quickly, while the light projected on the ground approached at a sharp pace. We became frightened. Whereas it was within approximately 200 meters of us, I started without more waiting and I went in direction of Fonland. My wife saw for one moment, through the trees of the forest of Villaines, the craft that followed us, parallel to the road. When we arrived at Fonland, the luminous craft was still there, although a little more distant. It fainted one minute after, and did not reappear."
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
More saucers and flying cigars: In Lencouacq (Landes), Mrs. Vignolles stated she saw a flying cigar which landed gently in a meadow behind the presbytery. In Mansles (Charente), Mr. Martin saw the other night at around 2 a.m. a luminous disc heading from south to north. Several inhabitants of Villebois-Lavalette (Charente) also saw a craft which, after being immobilized for a few moments, quickly moved away.
Finally a P.T.T. employee of Bourges, Mr. Robert Patient, revealed that on the road to Vasselay he had been followed for several hundred meters by "a hemispherical and shining object" which had landed in a field and immediately left.
[Ref. jps1:] NEWSPAPER "LE JOURNAL DU PAS-DE-CALAIS ET DE LA SOMME":
Bourges, 27. -- Mr. Robert Patient, assistant inspector of the PTT, living in Bourges, who, on Thursday evening, drove to Vasselay, with his wife and children, aged 11 and 10, said he had seen, that night, in the hamlet of Jou, north of Bourges, a singular object of extreme brilliance, seeming to come down into a field.
At the alleged landing point, a glowing reflection appeared. An incandescent filament about fifty meters long was in the center of the hemispherical object, the diameter of which approached fifteen meters.
For twenty to thirty seconds, it was dark. Suddenly there was a new light above the horizon. Mr. Patient, who had stopped his car, left, followed silently for a few hundred meters by the object; which then disappeared.
Other witnesses from Bourges, from Saint-Dolchard and from Vierzon, claim to have seen a luminous object at concordant hours.
[Ref. lcx1:] NEWSPAPER "LA CROIX":
For several hundred meters, a flying saucer followed a car, at least that is what Mr. R. Patient, assistant inspector of the P.T.T in Bourges, says.
Thursday evening, Mr. Patient going by car, to Vasselay, in the company of his wife and children, aged 11 and 10 years old, saw, that night, in the hamlet of Jou, north of Bourges, a peculiar object of extreme brilliance, seeming to descend into a field.
At the alleged landing spot, a glowing reflection appeared. An incandescent filament about 50 meters long was in the center of the object, hemispherical, the diameter of which approached about fifteen meters.
For twenty to thirty seconds it was darkness. Then suddenly there was a new glow above the horizon. Mr. Patient, who had stopped his car, left followed silently, for a few hundred meters, by the object which then disappeared.
Other witnesses in Bourges, in Saint-Dolchard and in Vierzon, claim to have also seen a luminous object at concordant hours.
Also, Mr. Besse, designer at the E.D.F., in Tulle, saw, distinctly, Friday evening, around 11 p.m., above the city, a flying saucer. Using powerful binoculars, he was able to follow, for a few moments, the maneuvers of the craft which changed, he said, three times its color in a few moments.
[Ref. vmr1:] NEWSPAPER "VAR-MATIN REPUBLIQUE":
Bourges, September 27. -- Mr. Robert Patient, 35 years old, assistant inspector of the postal and telecommunications authorities, resident of Bourges, who, Thursday evening went by car in Vasselay, in company of his wife and of his children, aged 10 and 11, states to have seen, that night there, in the hamlet of Jou, in the north of Bourges, a weird object of an extreme brilliance, which seemed to go down in a field. At the apparent spot of the supposed landing, a reddish reflection appeared. An incandescent filament long of 50 meters approximately, was in the center of the object, hemispherical, which diameter approached about fifteen meters.
During 20 to 30 seconds, it was the darkness. Suddenly, there was a new gleam above the horizon. Mr. Patient, who had stopped his car, started again followed silently during a few hundreds of meters by the object which then disappeared. Other witnesses of Bourges, St Dolchand [sic] and Vierzon claimed to have seen, at concordant hours, a luminous object.
[Ref. cpd1:] NEWSPAPER "LE COURRIER PICARD":
BOURGES, September 27. -- Mr. Robert Patient, 35, assistant inspector of the P.T.T., living in Bourges, who, Thursday evening, drove to Vasselay, with his wife and children, aged 11 and 10, declared that he had seen, that night, in the hamlet of Jou, north of Bourges, a singular object, of extreme brilliance, seeming to descend into a field.
At the alleged landing spot, a glowing reflection appeared. An incandescent filament, about 50 meters long, was in the center of the hemispherical object, the diameter of which approached about fifteen meters.
For twenty to thirty seconds, it was dark. Suddenly there was a new light above the horizon.
Mr. Patient, who had stopped his car, left, followed silently for a few hundred meters by the object, which then disappeared.
Other witnesses from Bourges, from Saint-Dolchard and from Vierzon, claim to have seen a luminous object at concordant hours.
[Ref. nnm1:] NEWSPAPER "LE NOUVEAU NORD MARITIME":
BOURGES, September 27. --Mr. Robert Patient, 35, assistant inspector of the P.T.T., living in Bourges, who, Thursday evening, drove to Vasselay, with his wife and children, aged 11 and 10, declared that he had seen, that night, in the hamlet of Jou, north of Bourges, a singular object, of extreme brilliance, seeming to descend into a field.
At the alleged landing spot, a glowing reflection appeared. An incandescent filament, about 50 meters long, was in the center of the hemispherical object, the diameter of which approached about fifteen meters.
For twenty to thirty seconds, it was dark. Suddenly there was a new light above the horizon.
Mr. Patient, who had stopped his car, left, followed silently for a few hundred meters by the object, which then disappeared.
Other witnesses from Bourges, from Saint-Dolchard and from Vierzon, claim to have seen a luminous object at concordant hours.
[Ref. lqh1:] "LE QUOTIDIEN DE LA HAUTE LOIRE" NEWSPAPER:
Visitors of another world landed on Friday September 24, at 10:00 in the morning in a point located in the mounts of Gardunha, at the Spanish-Portuguese border: This is what reported a Portuguese peasant to the newspaper Diaro de Lisboa, who, with three others of his comrades, worked in the area. A sphere appeared in the sky, in the east, claims the witness. It flew at an incredible speed and launched multicolored flashes. It landed without noise at with 200 meters of us and two tall figures of approximately 2,50 meters went out of there. They looked like aluminum men. These visitors initially collected grass and collected stones which they deposited in one limps of a plugging glare. Then, when they saw us, they came to us and emitted some sounds. Face with our incomprehension, they invited us by gestures to go up in their machine. On our refusal, they went up in the craft which took off vertically and disappeared towards the south as quickly as it had arrived. The witness specified that only the "poles" of the sphere rotated and that the equatorial part was transparent and let see moving shades inside.
[On the next day, it was discovered that the above story was a hoax. This newspaper informed its readers about this.]
Mr. Robert Patient, 35, assistant inspector of the P.T.T. [State post and phone company], resident of Bourges, which, Thursday evening, was driving to Vasselay with his wife and children of eleven and ten years, stated to have seen this night, in the hamlet of Jou, in the north of Bourges, an extremely brilliant object, seeming to go down in a field. At the point of the supposed landing, an reddish reflection appeared. An incandescent filament of a fifty meters length approximately was in the center of the hemispherical object, whose diameter approached approximately fifteen meters. During twenty to thirty seconds, it was all dark. Suddenly, there was a new gleam above the horizon. Mr. Patient, who had stopped his car, started it again, followed silently during a few hundreds meters by the object which then disappeared. Other witnesses of Bourges, Saint-Dolchard [sic] and Vierzon claim to have seen a luminous object at concordant hours.
Below is a damaged part of the article transcripted above.
[Ref. jgu1:] JIMMY GUIEU:
Science fiction writer and pioneer of ufology in France Jimmy Guieu reports that on September 22, 1954, during the night, an assistant of the P.T.T., the French postal services, named Robert P., went to Vasselay by car in the company of his wife and his children.
At the hamlet of Jou, which is in the north of the town of Bourges, he saw "a strange craft, extremely shiny" which seemed to go down towards a field.
At the supposed place where this machine would have landed, a reddish glow appeared.
Progressively, the witnesses saw the shape of a hemispherical machine of about fifteen meters in diameter, with a kind of incandescent filament a 50 meters length which was stretched above a cupola on the machine.
The craft, that Jimmy Guieu designates as a spacecraft, abruptly ceased irradiating the red gleam, and the darkness reigned during 20 to 30 seconds. After what, suddenly, the machine became luminous again. Mr. Robert P, who had stopped his car, then restarted it. He was then followed on a hundred meters by the machine which had just taken off. The machine moved away then while taking altitude.
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel reports that on September 23, 1954, at 09:00 p.m., close to Bourges, Robert Patient, inspector of the post offices, his wife and their two children, living 32 Diderot street in Bourges, were in their car on the secondary road 58 to go to Vasselay, 7 kilometers in the north of Bourges.
They had been driving for a few minutes when Mrs. Patient pointed out that there were odd gleams similar to magnesium flashes in the sky, whose source was not visible. But they did not care too much for this.
They had already forgotten the incident when they suddenly saw an object of an extreme brilliance which appearing towards north and moved opposite them, above the hamlet of Jou, 5 kilometers in the north of Bourges. Robert Patient said:
"Precisely because of the sharp light that it released, it was impossible for us to define the form and the size of it. It moved by jolts, died out sometimes in a point, to re-ignite a little away two or three seconds afterwards."
"Suddenly, it dove towards the ground and disappeared in our eyes as if it had landed, and at once, at the supposed point, a vast and hemispherical reddish luminosity took off, covering a surface on the ground of which I am tempted to evaluate the diameter as about fifteen meters, insofar as my subjective appreciation of the distance can be correct. Perhaps in the center of this luminous hemisphere, a long incandescent filament spouts out towards the sky, with the same reserve, of about fifty meters. The display lasted twenty to thirty seconds, then all died out. One moment later, the ball seen first of all re-ignited, and we could see that it was in the air again the air, because it was above the horizon."
"We had pulled up on the side of the road since the beginning of the phenomenon. The night was dark, without moon, with a half covered a sky, and a rather low cloud ceiling. When it was lit, the object spread more light than the moon, illuminating the countryside and the ceiling of the clouds. It was always above Jou, having resumed its first position and its first manoeuvers, and we had looked at it for a few minutes after its "landing", when we suddenly had the impression that it approached us full speed. We saw it indeed growing bigger very quickly, while its luminosity increased and the shades projected on the ground moved and became divergent. I acknowledge that we were not very reassured. Whereas it was within perhaps two hundred meters, we went up in the car in a hurry and I started without waiting more towards the hamlet close to Fonland, where we have parents. While we drove, my wife could see it through the trees of the forest of Villaines: it seemed to follow us, and that lasted several hundreds of meters. When we arrived at Fonland, it was still visible. But, in one minute, it faded and we did not see anything anymore. It was approximately 09:20 p.m."
Arrived, very moved, at their parents' in Fonland, they told what they saw.
When the Patient family drove again on the road at approximately 10 p.m., they went on main road 144 this time, and whereas they still commented on with animation what they had already seen, they passed by again near Jou, and whereas they looked at the sky at the place where they had seen the things one hour before, another object suddenly appeared and crossed the distance in a few seconds parallel to the horizon.
They thought that it was another object because this time it had a flat and elongated shape, and the reddish color was not dazzling any more.
Aimé Michel notes that for this observation, he selected the report by the Patient family because it was the more detailed; however railwaymen of Asnières between Jou and Bourges, and an employee of the post offices, and other witnesses of Bourges and Saint-Doulchard, one kilometer in the north of Bourges, also saw sharp moving gleams in the area of Jou.
Among all these witnesses, the closeest to the phenomenon were the Patients, but the others confirmed that in the area where the Patients drove and at the time they said, odd luminosities seemed to spout out from the ground or from a point located too low to be seen directly, which can be due to the presence of the forest of Villaines.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
September 23, 1954
09:00 p.m.: Le Jou (5 km N.Bourges--Cher): round luminous craft seems to make a brief landing
[Ref. mcs1:] MICHEL CARROUGES:
Michel Carrouges, making some sorting in the French observations of 1954, notes that this observation was made with a distance witness-object of more than 200 meters.
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
134 | -002.40390 | 47.13660 | 23 | 09 | 1954 | 22 | 1 | LE JOU P.BOURGES | F | 0014 | C | 105 |
[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:
The author indicates that on September 23, 1954 close to a place named Jou in the north to Bourges, the Patient family sees a brilliant object emitting a light similar to that of magnesium. When it is on the ground, it emits a red gleam and a narrow ray of light. One moment later, it flies away again, becomes shiny again, moves towards the witnesses and follows their car until they reach the village of Fontland.
Vallée notes that independent observations were made by the police force of Plombières and several other people. The object flew in an erratic way during one hour.
[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
151) September 23, 1954 09:00 p.m., Le Jou (France).
The Patient family witnessed the landing of a bright object giving off a magnesium-like light, a red glow, and a narrow beam of light. It took off again a moment later and followed their car until they reached Fontland. Policemen in Plombieres and several independent witnesses observed the object as it flew erratically over the area for 60 min. (P 13, M 69).
[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
September 23, 1954, 09 : 00 p.m. Le Jou (France):
The Patient family witnessed the landing of a bright object giving off a magnesium-like light, a red glow, and a narrow beam of light. It took off again a moment later and followed their car until they reached Fontland. Policemen in Plombieres and several independent witnesses observed the object as it flew erratically over the area for 60 min. (Le Figaro, Sept. 27, 1954; Paris-Presse, La Croix, Sept. 28, 1954).
[Ref. amn1:] AUGUSTE MEESSEN:
A French family observed the fall of an extremely bright object and noted that "immediately from the presumed landing spot, a vast glowing and hemispherical luminosity rose, covering an area on the ground whose diameter was estimated at 15 m. From the middle of this luminous hemisphere sprung up towards the sky an incandescent filament, perhaps fifty meters long. The display lasted 20 to 30 seconds, then everything died out. A moment later, the ball first seen reignited and started off again" (09/23/1954, France: 28, 88).
The source "28" is detailed in the references as "A. Michel, À Propos des Soucoupes Volantes, Planète, 1966."
[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":
In a list of cases that the magazine called for investigation or re-investigation, there was:
"151 23-9-54 Le Jou"
[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON:
326 23 September 1954 2100 LE JOU (FRANCE)
The Patient family witnessed the landing of a bright object giving off a magnesium-like light, a red glow, and a narrow beam of light. It took off again a moment later and followed their car until they reached Fontland. Policemen in Plombieres and several independent witnesses observed the object as it flew erratically over the area for an hour.
(Ml51; Le Figaro, 27 September 1954; Paris-Presse, La Croix, 28 September 1954; Michel II, 69)
[Ref. gal1:] CHARLES GARREAU AND RAYMOND LAVIER:
The two authors indicate that in Jou, close to Bourges, on September 23, 1954, at 9 p.m., according to newspapers clips and their personal file, Robert Patient, aged 35, assistant inspector of the P.T.T. the French State Mail Services, resident of Bourges, had spent the evening with his wife and their young children at his parents' in Vasselay. The family had just left this village to go to Fonland, where they have other relatives. At this time, an extremely brilliant object appeared in the sky, above the hamlet of Jou. The authors provide the account by Robert Patient:
"Because of the sharp light that it released, it was impossible for us to define its shape and size. It was certain that it was not a large star. The object moved while wavering slightly, died out suddenly to be re-ignited a little further. Suddenly, the craft went down towards the ground and disappeared from our sight, as if it had landed. At the same time, at the spot of the supposed landing, an hemispherical reddish reflection appeared, of orange color, of a diameter of maybe 15 meters approximately, as much as it is possible to judge some because of the distance. In the center, a long incandescent filament of about fifty meters rose, high in the sky. At the end of 20 to 30 seconds, all disappeared. Almost at once, the luminous ball was re-ignited above the horizon. This could in no way have been an atmospheric phenomenon."
"The night was dark, without Moon, with a half covered sky, and rather low clouds. However, when it was lit, the craft gave a luminosity much sharper than that of the moon. It goes without saying that this appearance produced on us a certain emotional shock, which can have made us make errors of appreciation as for the distance and the luminous intensity."
"I had stopped our car at the entry of the small way which leads to Fonland. Little after having taken altitude again, the machine dove to us. It grew bigger quickly, while the light projected on the ground approached at a sharp pace. We became frightened. Whereas it was within approximately 200 meters of us, I started without more waiting and I went in direction of Fonland. My wife saw for one moment, through the trees of the forest of Villaines, the craft that followed us, parallel to the road. When we arrived at Fonland, the luminous craft was still there, although a little more distant. It fainted one minute after, and did not reappear."
"Our adventure however did not stop there. Having resumed out trip to Saint-Eloi in Bourges, and having arrived at the height of the pond of the Racines, we saw another craft. It was appreciably further; perhaps at 4 or 5 kilometers, still in the direction of Jou. It was this time a kind of spindle of orange color, not dazzling like the first. We could follow its trajectory during a few seconds, before its total disappearance. All this occurred without us hearing the least noise."
[Ref. gab1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "G.A.B.R.I.E.L.":
The "Jellyfish Saucers"
Perfectly observed, they are a particularly homogeneous whole.
[...other cases...]
No. 4. 09/23/1954 Le Jou (Cher) 9 p.m.; diameter less than 10m.
[...other cases...]
The "Jellyfish Saucers" are characterized by their hemispherical shape sometimes flattened into a mushroom cap. Their underside sometimes has an opening (No. 1). Their essential characteristic is the presence of antennae and stems (No. 3-6). They also sometimes release a smaller element (No. 2). Moreover, they are the ones who have the most amazing behavior towards the Earthlings (pursuits, approaches, "games"...
We are convinced that they should be studied "apart" within the whole phenomenon. These are the most astonishing, though, oddly enough, they are also the most "accessible".
[Ref. gab2:] UFOLOGY GROUP "G.A.B.R.I.E.L.":
10/21/1954 Jou (Cher)
Shortly after 9 p.m., a motorist, Mr. R. Patient, and his family who were driving around Bourges, observed above the village of Jou an object so bright that they could not distinguish either its shape or its size. It moved jerkily, going out at one point to come back on two or three seconds later a little further... (J. Giraud; "Centre Matin" for 09/28/1954)
The facts indicate that this "Flying Saucer" was bright when stationary but became dark each time it moved.
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors provide the following summary for the case in Vasselay on September 23, 1954 at 09:00 p.m.:
The Patient family drives towards the hamlet "Fonland" to see family members. Sudden gleams appear in the sky. Then they observe an extremely shining object which evolves above the hamlet. It moves while wavering slightly, turns off, re-ignites suddenly. Suddenly it goes down towards the ground and disappears, according to the witnesses as if it had landed. Just at this time a reddish hemispherical reflection of a diameter of 15 meters approximately appears, under which there are incandescent wires. The observation proceeds during twenty to thirty second, then all disappears. At once the luminous ball re-ignited above the horizon. It then seems to follow the family and disappears definitively after the forest of Villaine. At their return close to the pond of Racines (thus on the community of Saint Doulchard) the family sees a spindle of orange color which is not dazzling. They look at its trajectory until complete disappearance. During the entire observations, no noise was heard.
Elsewhere, the two authors indicate that in Saint-Doulchard in the department of the Cher on September 23, 1954 at 09:00 p.m., there was an observation of a luminous object, and they give no other information.
[Ref. via1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "VIMANA 21":
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 [Date of source publication]: A LUMINOUS OBJECT FOLLOWS A CAR NEAR BOURGE [sic] -
Mr. Robert Patient, 35, PTT inspector, who Thursday evening, driving to Vasselay in the company of his wife and children, declares having noticed that night, in the hamlet of Jou, north of Bourges, a peculiar object of extreme brilliance, seeming to descend into a field. At the presumed landing spot, a glowing reflection appeared. An incandescent filament about 50m long, was in the center of the hemispherical object, whose diameter was about fifteen meters. For 20 to 30 seconds, it was darkness. Suddenly, there was a new light above the horizon. He had stopped his car and he left, followed silently for a few hundred yards by the object, which then disappeared. Other witnesses from Bourges, from St-Dolchard [sic] and from Vierzon, claim to have seen at a concordant time, a luminous object.
The source is said to be the newspaper Le Bien Public.
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:
Jou (cher Department) 9:00 p.m.
"Moved in jerks."
Several miles north of Bourges, France, on Route D-58 (120 miles west of Lux) postal inspector M. Robert Patient and his family were motoring to their destination of Vasselay. Mme. Patient was the first to become aware of something strange. Off to the north, in the direction of the village of Jou, a brilliant, round, object flashed through the air, so bright the witness believed magnesium flares were being lauched. The vivid glare masked details of the UFO but the Patients still saw quite a show:
"It was moving in jerks, and would at times go out at one spot and then lightup again a little to the side two or three seconds later.
"All at once it dropped down toward the ground and disappeared from sight as if it had landed, and imnediately, at the point of the presumed landing, a great reddish hemisphere of luminosity arose, covering an area that I estimate as around fifteen yards in diameter, so far as my subjective calculation of distance can be correct. From the middle of this luminous hemisphere there spouted toward the sky a long incandescent filament, which might be - with the same reservation - about fifty yards long. This sight lasted from twenty to thirty seconds, then all the light went out. An instant later, the ball seen at first was relit, and we were able to see that it had taken to the air again, for it was above the horizon.
"We had stopped on the edge of the road at the beginning of the incident. The night was dark, without moonlight, with a sky half covered by clouds, and a rather low ceiling. When lighted, the object shone more brightly than the moon, illuminating both the countryside and the clouds. It was still above Jou, having resumed its orginal position and behavior, and we had been watching it for some minutes after its landing, when we suddenly had the impression that it was approaching us at full speed. We saw it, in fact, growing larger very rapidly, with increasing luminosity; the shadows that it cast on the ground were moving and converging. I must confess that we didn't feel very happy about it. When it was perhaps two hundred yards away from us, we rushed back into the car and drove without further delay to the nearby hamlet of Fonland, where we had relatives. While we were moving along, my wife was able to see the thing through the trees of the Forest of Villaines; it seemed to be following us, and that lasted for several hundred yards. When we reached Fonland, it was still visible. But a minute later it blacked out and we saw nothing more. It was then about 9:30 p.m." 109.
A few minutes later, a few miles west.
Plombieres police in a patrolcar on Route N-5 noticed a strange reddish ball in the sky to the southeast. The ball blacked out occasionally and moved in a jerky fashion. Over the village of Talaut the object gave the impression it was spinning in place for 10 minutes or so, finally it moved away over the northern horizon at 9:55p.m. 110.
Five minutes later, near Jou. Again the Patient family. The Patient family was driving down N-144 near the village of Jou at 10:00 p.m. still marvelling at the experience they had had earlier when suddenly the family became UFO witnesses for a second time that night. As they watched in wonder, a reddish elongated object flashed across the sky. 111.
The sources are noted as;
108. Michel, Aime. Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery. p.71.
109. Ibid, pp.69-70.
110. Ibid, p. 71.
111. Ibid
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3825: 1954/09/23 21:00 60 2:24:20 E 47:08:20 N 3333 WEU FRN CHR 7:8
Le JOU,FR:5 OBS:BRIGHT UFO LANDS:BEAMS:FOLOS CAR>NNW/FONLAND:/r67p31+/LDLN#102
Ref#217 Jean SIDER: Le DOSSIER 1954 (2 vol.) Page No. 131 : FARMLANDS
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates that in 1954, on September 23, in France, in Le Jou in the north of Bourges, "Towards 21:00, Robert Patient, in company of his wife and his children saw a strange shining apparatus go down towards a field. At the point of supposed landing a reddish glow appeared. Gradually the witnesses saw it take the shape of a hemispherical machine about fifteen m of diameter. A kind of incandescent thread 50 m length was stretched above the cupola. Suddenly the object ceased irradiating this red gleam and during 20 to 30 seconds there was darkness. Just as suddenly it was re-ignited and took off. Robert Patient who had stopped the car, restarted and was followed on a hundred meters by this machine."
The source is noted: "Jimmy GUIEU: 'Black-out sur les S.V.' - Fleuve Noir 1956 - p. 145, 146".
Another version is given: "The Patient family was the witness of the landing of a shining object, emitting a light comparable with that of magnesium, a red light and a narrow luminous beam. It took off again a moment later and followed their car until they reach Fontland. In Plombières police officers and several isolated witnesses then observed the object which flew over the surroundings in an erratic manner during one hour".
The sources are given as "Le Figaro, 27 September 1954; Paris-Presse, La Croix, 28 September 1954" with a thank to Wim van Utrecht.
[Ref. emt1:] ERIC MAILLOT:
Eric Maillot, seeking cases of "green rays" in the 1954 French flap, indicates that [...] "Vallées talks about an _orange_ gleam in 'Chronique des apparitions ET p.282! Note this detail 'magnesium' is found in a case of the Nord again in Feyzin on 15/09/1954 and in that of 23/09/1954 between Jou and Fontland (Patient family) who speaks about 'flashes of magnesium'. One can see there an influence of the readings of the witnesses in the press."
[Ref. jnf1:] JAMES NEFF:
James Neff says that on September 23, 1954, in Le Jou, France, the Patient family witnessed the landing of "a bright object giving off a magnesiumlike ight, a red glow, and a narrow beam of light. It took off again a moment later and followed their car until they reached Fontland. Policemen in Plombieres and several independent witnesses observed the object as it flew erratically over the area for 60 min."
[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:
Encounters with Aliens On this Day
September 23
[...]
1954 - At 9:00 p.m. in Le Jou, France the Patient family witnessed the landing of a bright object that gave off a magnesium-like light, a red glow, and a narrow beam of light. It took off again a moment later and followed their car until they reached Fontland. Policemen in Plombieres and several other independent witnesses observed the object as it flew erratically over the area for 60 minutes. (Sources: Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 69; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 210).
[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:
September 1954
Thu 23
21:00 Close to a place named Le Jou, in the north of Bourges, the Patient family sees a brilliant object emitting a light similar to that of magnesium. When it is on the ground, it emits a red gleam and a narrow beam of light. One moment later, it flies away again, becomes shining again, moves towards the witnesses and follows their car until they reach the village of Fontland. Independent observations are made by the police force of Plombières and several other people. The object flies in an erratic manner during 1 h.
The sources are noted as Le Figaro, September 27, 1954; Paris-Presse; La Croix, September 28, 1954; Vallée, J., case #15, "Rapport sur l'analyse de 200 observations documentées faites en 1954".
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the Cher in Vasselay on September 23, 1954 "A family drives towards the hamlet 'fonland' to visit relatives. Sudden gleams appear in the sky, Then they observe an object extremely brilliant which moves above the hamlet. It moves while wavering slightly, turn off, is re-ignited suddeny. Suddenly the latter goes down towards the ground and dissapears according to the witnesses as if it had landed. Just at this time a reddish hemispherical reflection of a diameter of 15 meters approximately appears under which incandescent threads come out. The observation proceeds during twenty to thirty second, then all disappears. At once the luminous ball is re-ignited above the horizon. It seems to follow the family then after the forest of Villaine dissapears definitively. At the return close to the pond of Racines (thus on the nearby commnunity of Saint Doulchard Saint) the family Sees a spindle of orange color not dazzling. They follow its trajectory with the eyes until complete disappearance. For the whole of the observations no noise was heard."
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 22 September 1954 at night in Bourges, France "An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. One object was observed by one male witness for 30 seconds (Robert)."
The source is indicated as Guieu, Jimmy, Flying Saucers Come from Another World, Citadel, New York, 1956.
[Ref. uda2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 23 September 1954 at 21:00 in Le Jou, France, "The Patient family witnessed the landing of a bright object giving off a magnesium like light, a red glow, and a narrow beam of light. Explanation: Re-entry."
And: "At 9:00 p.m. in Le Jou, France the Patient family witnessed the landing of a bright object that gave off a magnesium-like light, a red glow, and a narrow beam of light. It took off again a moment later and followed their car until they reached Fontland. Policemen in Plombieres and several other independent witnesses observed the object as it flew erratically over the area for 60 minutes."
And: "The Patient family witnessed the landing of a bright object giving off a magnesium like light, a red glow, and a narrow beam of light. It took off again a moment later and followed their car until they reached Fontland. Policemen in Plombieres and several independent witnesses observed the object as it flew erratically over the area for 60 minutes."
And: "An object was observed from a car. Multiple independent witnesses."
And: "One red delta-shaped object, about 20 feet across, was observed by four witnesses on a farm for over 60 minutes (Patient)."
The source is indicated as Vallee Magonia Database.
[Ref. mlr1:] MARC LEMONNIER:
Ten appearances of UFO in the French sky in 1954
1 - Vasselay (Cher)
On September 22, 1954 a post-office employee and his family moving in the countryside by car are witness of strange luminous phenomena in the sky. A shining object moves above a hamlet then seems to land land, before flying away again while frequently changing aspect. A luminous ball hovers above their vehicle and follows the family which crosses the forest of Villaine then, before disappearing in the sky while having taken the just as strange shape of an orangeish spindle.
[... Other cases ...]
More about this:
Le Dictionnaire de la France Insolite et Bizarre, Marc Lemonier, City Publishers, 2009
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
*Sep. 23, 1954 - At 9:00 p.m. in Le Jou, France the Patient family witnessed the landing of a bright object that gave off a magnesium-like light, a red glow, and a narrow beam of light. It took off again a moment later and followed their car until they reached Fontland. Policemen in Plombieres and several other independent witnesses observed the object as it flew erratically over the area for 60 minutes. (Sources: Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 69; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 210).
[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:
Date: September 23 1954
Location: Le Jou France
Time: 2100
Summary: The Patient family witnessed the landing of a bright object giving off a magnesium like light, a red glow, and a narrow beam of light. It took off again a moment later and followed their car until they reached Fontland. Policemen in Plombieres and several independent witnesses observed the object as it flew erratically over the area for 60 min.
Source: Magonia 151
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case 8 times:
Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
19540923 | 23.09.1954 | Vasselay | France | 21.00 | CE II | |||||
19540923 | 23.09.1954 | Le Jou | France | 21.00 | CE II | |||||
19540923 | 23.09.1954 | Jou | France | 21.00 | CE I | |||||
19540923 | 23.09.1954 | Jou | France | 22.00 | CE I | |||||
19540923 | 23.09.1954 | Jou | France | 21.00 | ||||||
19540923 | 23.09.1954 | Jou | France | 22.00 | NL | |||||
19540923 | 23.09.1954 | Jou | France | 22.00 | ||||||
19540923 | 23.09.1954 | Le Jou | France | 21.00 | CE II | |||||
19540923 | 23.09.1954 | Fontland | France | 21.00 |
[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":
September 23 1954. 2100hrs.
LE JOU (CHER : FRANCE)
Postal inspector Robert Patient, his wife and two children were driving from Bourges to Vasselay on Rte 58. They had been driving a few minutes when Mrs Patient drew her husband's attention to flares, like magnesium flares, in the sky. They thought nothing of this, but then saw, in the north, over Le Jou, 5km north of Bourges, an extremely brilliant round object, the luminosity of which was too great to make out a clear shape, which progressed in jerks. Suddenly it dropped to the ground and disappeared from sight, as if it had landed. From the presumed landing site, a huge red luminous hemisphere, 15m in diameter, arose. From the centre of this hemisphere an incandescent filament, 50m long, stretched up to the sky. After 20-30 seconds this light went out, and a second later the luminous ball reappeared above the horizon, illuminating the area, and the clouds brighter than the moon. They had stopped to watch the object, but when it started moving towards them, and got within 200m, they ran back in to the car and drove off toward Fonland, where they had relatives. As they did so9 Mrs Patient saw the object through the trees, apparently following them. A minute after the reached Fonland it blacked out again. When they continued their journey at 2200hrs., passing Le Jou again, they saw a second flattened elongated object rise up and move off at speed parallel to the horizon.
[Ref. jqy1:] JEAN DE QUERCY:
Around 9 p.m. near Bourges, Robert Patient, postal inspector, his wife and two children, living at 32, rue Diderot in Bourges, were driving on departmental road 58 to go to Vasselay, 7 kilometers north of north of Bourges.
They had been driving for a few minutes when Mrs. Patient alerted about bizarre gleams similar to "magnesium" lightning in the sky, the source of which was not apparent. But they did not attach more importance to it than that.
They had already forgotten the incident when they suddenly saw an extremely bright object appear to the north, moving in front of them, above the hamlet of Jou, 5 kilometers north of Bourges. Robert Patient reports:
"Because of the very bright light it gave off, it was impossible for us to define its shape and size. It moved by jerks and was fading to a dot to light again at another close psot two or three seconds later. Suddenly it swooped down to the ground and disappeared from view as if it had landed, and immediately, from the presumed point of landing, a vast glowing, hemispherical luminosity rose, covering on the ground a surface of which I am tempted to estimate the diameter at about fifteen meters, as far as my subjective appreciation of the distance could be correct. From the middle of this luminous hemisphere springs towards the sky an incandescent filament perhaps, subject to the same reservation, fifty meters long. The show lasted twenty to thirty seconds, then everything died out. A moment later, the ball first seen reignited, and we could see that it had resumed air, for it was above the horizon. We had been stopped on the side of the road since the beginning of the phenomenon. The night was dark, moonless, with a half-overcast sky, and a fairly low ceiling. When lit, the object shed more light than the moon, illuminating the countryside and the cloud ceiling. It was still above Le Jou, having resumed its first position and its first ride, and we had been watching it for a few minutes after its "landing", when we suddenly had the impression that it was approaching us at full speed. We indeed saw it grow very rapidly, while its luminosity increased and the shadows projected on the ground moved and became divergent. I admit that we were not very reassured. When it was perhaps two hundred yards away, we hurried back into the car and I drove off without further delay towards the neighboring hamlet of Fonland, where we have relatives. While we were driving, my wife could see it through the trees of the forest of Villaines: it seemed to be following us, and it lasted several hundred meters. When we arrived at Fonland, it was still visible. But, in a minute, it disappeared and we saw nothing more. It was around 9:20 p.m.."
Arrived very moved at their parents' home in Fonland, they talk about what they saw.
When the Patient family got back on the road around 10:00 p.m., this time they drove on the national 144, and while they were still commenting animatedly on what they had already seen, they passed by Le Jou, and as they looked at the sky at the place where they had seen the things an hour before, another object suddenly appeared and crossed the distance in a few seconds parallel to the horizon.
They thought it was another object because this time it had a flat, elongated shape, and the glowing color was no longer dazzling.
Aimé Michel indicates that he chose to present the report of the Patient family because it is the most complete for this observation but railway workers from Asnières between Le Jou and Bourges, a postal worker, and other witnesses from Bourges and Saint-Doulchard, a kilometer north of Bourges also saw bright moving lights on the Le Jou side.
Of all these witnesses, the closest to the phenomenon were the Patients, but the others confirmed that in the region where they were driving and at the time they reported it, strange luminosities seemed to spring from the ground or from a point located too low to be seen directly, which may be due to the presence of the Villaines forest.
This case is referenced under Le Jou, Vierzon, Bourges or Vasselay depending on ufologists.
(Sources : In Le Berry Républicain for September 27, 1954 - Var-Matin République for September 28 1954 – In "Mystérieux Objets Célestes" A Michel Seghers Pub. pp.97-98)
Vallée cumulates different sightings in one event. For Plombières, see the separate file for the same day, be aware that other sources indicate the Plombière sighting duration as 10 minutes not one hour.
There were several sightings - with approximate witnesses locations - that same nightin the Bourges area:
Locations for the Patients sightings:
The Moon had set at 05:00 p.m. and rose only at 2:45 a.m. the next morning.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Jou, Le Jou, Cher, Robert Patient, Bourges, Vasselay, brilliant, luminous, landing, hemispheric, car, Saint-Doulchard, Vierzon, Fontland, Plombières, family, police, multiple
Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
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0.1 | Patrick Gross | April 6, 2007 | First published. |
1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 28, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [emt1], [jnf1], [jbu1], [lcn1], [uda2]. |
1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 17, 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
1.2 | Patrick Gross | November 15, 2014 | Additions [nip1], [tai1]. |
1.3 | Patrick Gross | November 22, 2016 | Addition [ubk1]. |
1.4 | Patrick Gross | May 11, 2019 | Additions [via1], [lhh1], [prn2]. |
1.5 | Patrick Gross | September 23, 2019 | Additions [prn1], [mlr1], Summary. |
1.6 | Patrick Gross | February 20, 2020 | Additions [cpd1], [nnm1]. |
1.7 | Patrick Gross | April 24, 2020 | Addition [jps1]. |
1.8 | Patrick Gross | January 23, 2021 | Addition [lcx1]. |
1.9 | Patrick Gross | February 3, 2021 | Addition [ppe1]. |
2.0 | Patrick Gross | March 14, 2021 | Additions [gqy1], [lgs1]. |
2.2 | Patrick Gross | March 26, 2022 | Additions [ldl1], [jqy1]. |
2.3 | Patrick Gross | June 24, 2022 | Addition [amn1]. |
2.4 | Patrick Gross | July 13, 2022 | Additions [gab1], [gab2]. |