The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 31-Oct-54-Ghyvelde.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Nouveau Nord Maritime for November 2, 1954, published on page 2 a letter from a reader written in Malo-les-Bains on October 31, 1954, to report to the Director of the newspaper the following sighting.
The witness considered that he had to give his testimony on the reality of the existence of flying craft which the public rumor was calling "flying saucers", on the reality of which he was previously skeptical.
He indicated that "this Sunday morning", therefore on October 31, 1954, he was going to Belgium, by car, with his 18-year-old daughter and his two boys of 15 and 13 years old.
Around 10:45 a.m., on the road along the Furne canal, between the French border post at Ghyvelde and the Belgian post at Adinkerque, under a clear sky with sunbeams, he suddenly saw in front of him on the left, quite high in the sky, at the altitude of jet planes, a luminous object of elliptical shape, "spindle" shape.
He saw very clearly a craft which shone with a silvery metallic luster, and which considering the distance, "must have been of rather good dimensions."
When this object suddenly appeared in his windshield, he had uttered an exclamation, which caught the attention of his children, who also saw it.
At first, the craft seemed to him not to move quickly, going in the same direction as his car, but it had tilted "straight to the right", which gave them the impression of great speed, because they were driving at almost 100 km/hour themselves.
The daughter, whose father said her eyesight was excellent, noted that the craft, initially horizontal, gave the impression that when moving to the right, it descended slightly with a slight title to the right.
The glow quickly diminished, the object suddenly disappearing behind a small light cloud. This disappearance seemed abnormal to them, "because the decrease was progressive and the luminosity of the craft could not have been suddenly masked by the light cloud" which they had observed.
The sighting lasted about 40 to 60 seconds.
He concluded:
"Obviously, you have to take into account the optical effects, but I am formal about the appearance of this craft which does not resemble an airplane in any way. The sharpness of its shape, its brightness, and its displacement preclude any idea of condensation phenomenon or the presence of a known aircraft."
The man explained that he did not think he should sign his letter since there had been so many identical testimonies, and that he did not want to risk being bothered by curious people.
The newspaper then called for witnesses.
[Ref. nnm1:] NEWSPAPER "LE NOUVEAU NORD MARITIME":
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We found the following communication in our mailbox:
Malo-les-Bains, Oct. 31, 1954
Mr. Director of the "Nouveau Nord"
"I think I have to give you my testimony on the reality of the existence of flying machines that public rumor has described as "flying saucers", to which I have so far not given much credit, being like many of our fellow citizens, skeptical and only waiting for St. Thomas' test.
"Now, this Sunday morning, going to Belgium, by car, with my children, I put my hand in the wound.
"Around 10:45 a.m., on the road along the Furne canal, between the French border post at Ghyvelde and the Belgian post at Adinkerque, the sky was clear with sunbeams, I suddenly saw in front of me on the left, quite high in the sky, at the altitude of the jet planes, an elliptical luminous object.
"The vision was very clear, the craft shone with a metallic silver shine. Considering the distance, it must have been of quite important dimensions.
"It affected the shape of a spindle, and perhaps it is only the shape of a saucer seen in profile.
"This very bright object suddenly registering in my windshield made me utter an exclamation; which attracted the attention of my children, my 18 years old daughter two boys 15 and 13 years old, who witnessed the phenomenon, which lasted about 40 to 60 seconds.
"At the beginning of the vision, the craft did not seem to move quickly, but moving in the same direction as my car while obliquing squarely on the right, we had the impression of a high speed, because we were driving ourselves at almost 100 km / hour, and the glow quickly diminished, the apparatus disappearing even suddenly behind a small light cloud. This disappearance seemed abnormal to us, because the decay was progressive and the luminosity of the machine could not have been suddenly masked by the light cloud we observed.
"My daughter, whose eyesight is excellent, remarked that the craft, which was initially horizontal, gave the impression that when moving on the right, it descended slightly with a little tilt to the right.
"It is obviously necessary to take into account the optical effects, but I am formal about the appearance of this craft which does not resemble any plane at all. The sharpness of its shape, its brightness, and its displacement rule out any idea of condensation phenomenon or the presence of known airctaft.
"I thought I should bring this modest testimony to my now well-established conviction of the existence of extraordinary craft whose provenance and movement obviously escape me completely. Relating this vision to a Belgian merchant, the latter made allusion to a gyroscope which would give the necessary impetus to these craft, perhaps should be linked to this thought the idea that they are also liberated from the law of gravity.
"These are pure assumptions.
"As my testimony cannot be doubted, since it corroborates other identical observations, I do not think it necessary to authenticate it with my signature, this in order to possibly avoid the disturbances caused by the curious.
"Please believe, Mr. Director, my heartfelt greetings."
N.D.L.R. - Those of our readers who have also observed this phenomenon are asked to inform us.
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I have no obvious prosaic explanation to propose; however, the report is of unknown credibility, and without angular size for the object seen.
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The place is somewhere between Ghywelde and Adinkerke in Belgium. The distance between the two places is about 5.8 km. The yellow line is the border. It is not possible to tell whether the sighting was in France or Belgium.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Ghyvelde, Nord, Adinkerke, Adinquerque, Belgium, anonymous, multiple, family, car, craft, shining, silver, metallic, maneuver, fast, high, tilt
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
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| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 9, 2020 | First published. |
