The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 3-Oct-54-Lacelle.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Populaire du Centre, in its Limoges issue for October 12, 1954, reported that a SNCF (national railway co.) railcar driver, André Clavaud, of the Limoges depot, had been surprised by a luminous object on Sunday, October 3, 1954, around 07:10 p.m.
He was driving the 1547 train that departed from Ussel around 06:00 p.m.. On his way, between the stations of Lacelle-Corrèze and Plainartige, between kms 445 and 444, coming out of a curve at 70 km/h, he suddenly arrived on a large luminous circumference of about 100 meters in diameter.
In his surprise and emotion, he slowed his convoy with a violent brake, which allowed him to better observe this phenomenon, he turned off his headlights and was completely dazzled by the power of this beam of pink light, and as he drew closer, the circumference moved slowly to his right, overlooking a deserted hill where only heather grew and where he could distinguish, in these powerful rays, the few pine trees existing in this country as if they had been made of crystal.
When he reached the place of this phenomenon, everything went out, leaving a trail of white smoke rising to the sky.
According to reports, the newspaper said, several residents of the region also saw this.
[Ref. pce1:] NEWSPAPER "LE POPULAIRE DU CENTRE":
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Munster (Westphalia). 11 August (A.O.P.). - Mr. Hoge, a film operator in his trade, told DPA that he saw four men leaving a flying saucer near Munster on Saturday night.
These men, about 1 m 20 tall, have a highly developed thorax and a large head. On the other hand, their lower limbs are small and lean.
Mr. Hoge was returning home when he saw a blue light in a field sixty meters off the road. He thought it was a crashed plane and then he realized that the brightness came from an object with a cigar shape. Four men, in rubber suit, worked under the machine. None of them uttered a word.
Hoge watched them work for 10 minutes, without getting closer, because he was afraid. Finally the four men, using a sort of ladder, returned into the cigar, which, a few meters after taking off, took the form of a saucer throwing a dazzling light.
Sunday evening October 3, around 7:10 p.m., train driver Clavaud André, from the Limoges depot, was driving the train 1547, which leaves Ussel around 6 p.m. On his trip, between the stations of La Celle-Corrèze and Plainartigue, between km 445 and 444, at the end of a curve at 70 km-h, he was suddenly surprised to arrive on a large luminous circumference of about 100 meters in diameter.
In his surprise and his emotion, he slowed down his convoy by a violent stroke of the brake, which enabled him to better observe this phenomenon, he extinguished his headlights and was completely dazzled by the power of this pink light beam and as he approached, the circumference moved slowly on the right, overlooking a deserted hill where only heather grows and where he was able to distinguish the few fir trees existing in this country, as if they had been in crystal so powerful these rays were, and when he reached the place of this phenomenon all went off and disappeared leaving a trail of white smoke rising towards the sky.
According to collected information, several residents of the area also saw it.
We have mentioned that a ball of fire had been seen from the heights of the road to Eyburie in the direction of Espartignac.
Today we must point out that another ball of fire similar to those seen everywhere was seen Sunday evening October 10 by many residents of Uzerche in the direction of Saint-Ybard.
The phenomenon has been observed of the heights of La Pomme, as well as the terraces of the street of Justice (west side), between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. approximately.
The ball of fire seemed to oscillate up and down and then disappear after a lateral movement. It was wrapped in a glowing halo. This "apparition" is discussed at length in our walls.
Saucer or not saucer the residents of Uzerche were not the victims of a collective hallucination in several districts at the same time.
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
French ufologist and author Jean Sider learned in an article from the newspaper "Le Populaire du Centre" for October 12, 1954 that on October 3, 1954, at 07:10 p.m., there was the following sighting between La Celle in the department of the Corrèze and Plainartige in the department of Haute-Vienne:
André Clavaud, a railwayman of the Limoges station, led a rail-car on the line from Ussel to Limoges and was between the km No 445 and 444, his convoy moving at 70 km/h and coming into a curve.
The witness is then surprised to see "a large luminous circumference" of approximately 100 meters in diameter. He braked down violently and extinguishes his headlights.
He is then dazzled by a powerful beam of light of pink color.
While the train approaches it, the luminous phenomenon moves slowly towards the right, dominating a deserted hill. When the rail-car arrives at the height of the phenomenon, everything extinguishes "and disappears leaving a white trail which goes up in the sky."
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Limoges | France | |||||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Limoges | France |
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Unidentified.
Below: Lacelle, in the Corrèze department (not "La Celle", in the Var department), and Plainartige (not "Plainartigue"), in the Haute-Vienne department. The distance between them is 4.8 km in straight line. The railway is the black line.
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(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Lacelle, La Celle, Plainartige, Plainartigue, Corrèze, Haute-Vienne, train, railwayman, light, phenomenon, circle, circular, beam, pink, dazzled, slow, trail, white, Plainartige, André Clavaud
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | October 27, 2005 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 9, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | December 23, 2016 | Additions [pce1], [ubk1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 12, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
