The 1954 French flap:

According to a astronomer from Kenia

"Visitors from another world
make a map of the earth"

One continues to report everywhere the appearance of mysterious craft that sometimes have the shape of saucers, luminous balls, incandescent discs. But all these testimonies add nothing new to the question. On the other hand, a scientist has just spoken to publicize the result of a personal observation.

Mr. G. Duncan Fletcher, vice-president of the Kenya Astronomical Association, himself recently observed an object flying over Nairobi. He was in his observatory (which is very well equipped), with four friends. It was 7:40 p.m., very low in the East, appeared a great gleam which had nothing to do with astronomy, nor with the planes which had just landed on the airport. The object was at a height of about 700 meters and was stationary. When Mr. Fletcher and his four friends saw it, he emitted a bright orange glow. This glow intensified until light yellow and the object rose, descended and rose again to finally disappear in the clouds.

Mr. Fletcher reports that saucers have been reported by highly experienced observers from all over the world and says "visitors from another world are observing the earth and probably mapping it."

Citing in support of his thesis the opinion of Dr. P. Foyle, professor of astrophysics at Cambridge and that of Sir James Jean, Dr. Fletcher declares that innumerable reasons militate in favor of existence many planets capable of harboring life, but life forms on other planets could be very different from anything we can imagine."

He adds that it may be just a coincidence, but he points out that these beings from other worlds have been interested in terrestrial activities since the first atomic explosion about seven years ago.

"There seems to be no doubt," Mr. Fletcher continues, "that these beings are extremely ahead of us. I think they approach us as we would if we were in their place."

A fireball in Sequedin

In the meantime, other mysterious craft have been reported over our region.

Sunday evening, at 9 p.m., Mr. Ferdinand Millecamps, 21, mason, living in Haubourdin, 22 rue Victor Loridan, on the bridge of Sequedin, saw, about 500 meters, between Sequedin and Hallennes, and on the railway, a ball of light, about the size of a tram. It was 4 or 5 meters above the ground and, after having remained motionless for a while, it set off vertically. Frightened by this fantastic appearance, Mr. Millecamps left the place precipitately, and later, still very moved, told his adventure while arriving at Haubourdin.

Two "Martians"
in St-Amand-les-Eaux

Saturday, Mr. Marcel Sénéchal, 20, living in St-Amand, at the place called "La Pannerie", had as usual spent the evening at Hauteville-Nivelle with his fiancée. He was returning by bicycle to St-Amand along the Scarpe canal, around 1 in the morning.

Arriving at the height of the Vandeville pasture in Nivelle, he suddenly heard a conversation held in an unknown language and seeming to come from his right. He turned his head to this side and to his great agitation then saw a luminous mass in the shape of a haystack as well as two human forms of 1.20 m. approximately in height, covered with a shiny garment. A ray of light came out of the craft.

The mysterious characters were probably unable to see the approach of the young cyclist who was riding in the dark, a breakdown having immobilized his lighting.

The frightened young man, went off with all pedals and returned to his home moved to the extreme and reported these facts to his family and neighbors.

Informed by public rumor, the Commissioner of St-Amand, Mr. Gravet and two inspectors in charge of the Air Police attached to Lesquin aerodrome went to the scene and carried out searches; but they couldn't find any traces.

A strange phenomenon
in the Somme

Residents of Boves in the Somme witnessed a strange phenomenon on Sunday evening.

It was 8:50 p.m., Mr. and Mrs. Dheilly who had visited friends, were going home. As Mr. Dheilly sought in the dark to open his door, Mrs. Dheilly suddenly noticed an orange half-disc, low in the sky, towards the end of the street. She alerted her husband and both could see the disc slowly moving towards a wooded ridge.

Two of their neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Quin, in turn warned, could also see the mysterious half-disc which, still slowly, moved away and disappeared behind the trees of the nearby marsh.

Confirmation, in indirect manner, of this "appearance" was given by residents of Demuin, Mr. and Mrs. Deslarides, workers farmers, who claim to have seen around 9:15 p.m., a kind of phosphorescent "flying lampshade" that moved silently and seemed to want to land.

A luminous ball in a
garden in Saint-Souplet

A resident of St-Souplet, in the Cambrai area, received an odd visit during the night from Sunday to Monday.

Awakened by a dry clickink sound, the witness said: "I first thought of a fire in the opposite building, but it was in fact a luminous ball, which rose to the sky. A door window was blown and the glass reduced to hundreds of small pieces was scattered in the adjoining room. At the place where the craft had just left, the vegetables from the garden were all lying in the same direction, a few being uprooted, just where the ball had landed. Apart from the broken glass which can be explained by the movement of air from the craft, no other damage was done to the property."

Sequedin and Haubourdin had
their "Sunday saucers"...

This time, we get it! The canton of Haubourdin can record in its annals the appearance of its first saucer... and a Sunday saucer moreover.

It is not a hallucination, because it has been seen, more or less distant, by dozens of pairs of eyes.

Let's get to the facts.

Sunday evening, several municipalities in the region, which do not have much opportunity to be talked about, were brought to the attention of the press by the appearance of saucers.

In Lille, a large group of walkers could attend, at the Canteleu bridge, the exhibitions of a flying machine successively taking the shape of a sphere, magnifying visibly, to split into two cigars, and return to its original shape.

The most astonished of the inhabitants of the canton of Haubourdin was, without question, Mr. Ferdinand Millecamps, 21, mason, living at 22, rue Victor Loridon. Passing Sunday, around 8 p.m., on the Sequedin bridge, he saw, some five hundred meters from him, a large luminous object placed on the rails, between Hallennes and Sequedin. The object rose vertically, and Mr. Millecamps came to tell Haubourdin people of the event. Residents of Sequedin confirmed Mr. Millecamps' statements.

At around the same time, a group of inhabitants of "P'tit Belgique" could, in this populous district, witness the evolutions of a mysterious luminous craft moving in the sky.

The facts are there. More than one resident promised to explore the sky in the evening to witness an identical fact. The future chronicle of "Flying saucers" may bring us other revelations at short notice.

... AND MARCQ-EN-BAROEUL

The good town of Marcq was beginning to look poor among the communes which had the honor of receiving the visit of the Martians. Since the saucers crisscross the skies of France, they seemed completely unaware of the existence of Marc-en-Baroeul!

Let the Marcq residents console themselves, the honor is safe, because the city has finally seen its flying saucer. It appeared in the sky on Sunday, around 8 p.m., seeming to come from the direction of the Citadel of Lille.

Mr. Lucien Lemaire, head of department at Marcq's town hall, was at the time on rue des Lilas, in the company of other people. He saw very clearly the round-shaped object, which emitted orange gleams. At some time a second disc detached from the first, lit up and then resumed its place.

The flying saucer
was the size
of... a tramway!

If, at 8 p.m., one thought to have seen a flying saucer in Chéreng, Sunday evening, at 9 p.m., Mr. Millecamps Ferdinand, 21 years old, mason, residing in Haubourdin, 22, rue Victor-Loridan, located on the Sequedin bridge, saw, at about 500 meters, between Sequedin and Hallennes and on the railway line, a ball of fire the size of a tram, standing 4 or 5 meters above the ground which, after standing still for a while, went away vertically.

Frightened by this apparition, Mr. Millecamps hurriedly left the scene, and later, still very moved, recounted his adventure when he arrived in Haubourdin.

The Fabulous day of October 3, 1954

[...]

Chronology of the observations of October 3.

We give here only a summary of what was published in the press of the time, for the nord region, regardless of what the ufologists could later say. We have numbered all these observations, the first of which have nothing to do with the setting of the moon, in order to be able to study them globally in a table. Some are already the subject of a special file.

[... other cases...]

12) 20 h (N.E.) ou 21 h. (N.M.), SEQUEDIN (59)

- Mr Ferdinand Millescamps, 21, saw at 500 m on the railway, between Sequedin and Hallennes, a luminous object of the size of a tramway at 4 or 5 m. from the ground; which after having stayed motionless for a while, rose, vertically. Other witnesses reportedly confirmed this observation.

(Nord Matin 10/6 page 10, Nord Eclair 10/6 page 10. La Voix du Nord-Lille++ issue page 6)

[... other cases...]

All this is only a compilation of the information given by all newspapers of the time, including local editions, and of which ufologists only used a part.

We will see that the analysis of this information makes it possible to eliminate the hypothesis of a flying saucer, in favor of those of multiple observations of the moon, whose image was reddened and deformed by clouds, which also gave it a illusory apparent movement.

Analysis of the observations of October 3, 1954

[... other cases...]

12) 20 h (N.E.) ou 21 h. (N.M.), SEQUEDIN (59)

Same direction than the moon

[... other cases...]