The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 4-Oct-54-Saint-Souplet.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The newspaper La Voix du Nord, in the local issue of Cambrai for October 6, 1954, reported:
We have generally remained more or less skeptical to the stories of "saucers" "cigars" and other unknown craft which had been crisscrossing our skies for some time and sometimes came without any embarrassment, to land here or there, in a field, a garden, or by the roadside.
Skeptical ourselves, we were quite astonished, when one of our compatriots told us 48 hours ago about his adventure and that of the members of his family who received this unexpected visit "of the unknown thing" to this day on our territory.
The declarer, is, of course, not a bluffer, he has all his wits if we do not want to name him, we will simply say that he is notably known and esteemed, and he remains the first surprised by this unforeseen visit.
The case took place at the end of the night from Sunday to Monday, the same night, during which many people also saw these bizarre craft.
Awakened by a sharp snap... the witness adds: "I first believed in a fire in the opposite building, but it was in fact a luminous ball, which rose towards the sky. A door window was blown and the glass, reduced to hundreds of very small pieces, was scattered in the adjoining room, outside and in the place where "the thing" had departed the vegetables from the garden, were all lying in the same direction, some were uprooted, just where the craft had landed.
While the blown glass can be explained by the movement of air from the craft, no other damage was done to the property, nor any break-in and it was necessary not to question the statement thus made, which is plausible, and is consistent with other testimonies filed in our region.
The facts having been related as above and the traces and damage as well, we will not add any comments and wait for the future to provide us with an answer.
The newspaper Nord-Matin, in the Cambrai issue for October 13, 1954, reported a case of prank that took place in Saint-Souplet on a date that the newspaper did not specify.
Around midnight, Mr. A, who had just politely escorted visitors to the door, was going to bed when his wife alerted him.
There was a strange, seemingly spherical object in the vegetable garden, on the ground, among a vegetable park. The object was throwing bright lights all around.
Convinced that there was something there, Mr. A. had taken his stick and walked into his property. The saucer was still there, it seemed to oscillate.
But the "craft" turned out to be a beautiful and large Venetian lantern well lit from the inside, surrounded by a metal circle, and tied in the park at a sufficient distance from the house.
Mr. A... went back to bed, but laughing heartily "because he's a charming boy who understands jokes."
The same thing was also reported in the regional newspaper La Voix du Nord, local issue of Cambrai for October 13, 1954.
[Ref. vdn1:] NEWSPAPER "LA VOIX DU NORD":
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We have generally remained more or less skeptical to the stories of "saucers" "cigars" and other unknown craft which had been crisscrossing our skies for some time and sometimes came without any embarrassment, to land here or there, in a field, a garden, or by the roadside.
Skeptical ourselves, we were quite astonished, when one of our compatriots told us 48 hours ago about his adventure and that of the members of his family who received this unexpected visit "of the unknown thing" to this day on our territory.
The declarer, is, of course, not a bluffer, he has all his wits if we do not want to name him, we will simply say that he is notably known and esteemed, and he remains the first surprised by this unforeseen visit.
The case took place at the end of the night from Sunday to Monday, the same night, during which many people also saw these bizarre craft.
Awakened by a sharp snap... the witness adds: "I first believed in a fire in the opposite building, but it was in fact a luminous ball, which rose towards the sky. A door window was blown and the glass, reduced to hundreds of very small pieces, was scattered in the adjoining room, outside and in the place where "the thing" had departed the vegetables from the garden, were all lying in the same direction, some were uprooted, just where the craft had landed.
While the blown glass can be explained by the movement of air from the craft, no other damage was done to the property, nor any break-in and it was necessary not to question the statement thus made, which is plausible, and is consistent with other testimonies filed in our region.
The facts having been related as above and the traces and damage as well, we will not add any comments and wait for the future to provide us with an answer.
R.M.
[Ref. nmn1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-MATIN":
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It was around midnight and our compatriot A..., who had just politely escorted visitors to the door, was about to go to bed when his wife alerted him.
What was going on?
Over there, in the vegetable patch, a strange appaatus was on the ground among a vegetable park. This strange machine, which seemed to be a sphere, formed in its periphery a semblance of a disc and it threw all around quite bright lights. One had to face the facts... there was no doubt, it was one of these bizarre craft which one wonders what they came to do on our planet and by whom they were sent to us?
Finally convinced, since he had seen it from behind the kitchen window, our friend A..., who is not in the habit of being fooled, wanted to be sure about it (and let's pay this tribute to him here that not everyone would have done the same). He took his stick and walked into his property. The saucer was still there, vaguely, it seemed to oscillate and our friend wondered if he would arrive in time to apprehend these strangers from our world or from another world.
Surprise! The object was a very beautiful and large Venetian lantern well lit from the inside, surrounded by a metal circle and tied in the park at a sufficient distance from the dwelling house...
Farewell, saucer... Farewell, Martians, Venusians or others!
Our compatriot came back and went to bed, but he still laughs because he is a charming boy who understands jokes.
Sulpicians, rest assured! It was not a real saucer, but simply a farce inspired by a few happy lads attentive to the story of the real saucer that we told you last week. This one (this story) was real and it was not a pure invention, as far as we could judge for ourselves by the seriousness of the witnesses, the concordance of their statements and other facts. - R. M.
[Ref. vdn2:] NEWSPAPER "LA VOIX DU NORD":
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It was around midnight, when our compatriot A..., who had just escorted visitors to his doorstep, was getting ready to go to bed... When his wife alerted him.
- What's going on? - Over there, in the vegetable garden, a strange craft was on the ground among a park of vegetables. This bizarre device seemed to be a sphere and it threw quite a bright light all around it which lit up the surroundings.
One had to face the facts... there was no doubt, it was one of those weird craft about which we wonder what they come to do on our planet and by whom they are sent... Finally, our friend, who is not used to being told about it, wanted to be clear about it (and we pay him this tribute here, not everyone would have done that); it was then that he took a club and walked into his property. The saucer was still there, vaguely it seemed to oscillate and our man wondered if he would arrive in time to catch these strangers from our world or from another world.
Surprise! He finally apprehended the machine which was only a very beautiful Venetian lantern, well lit from the inside, surrounded by a metal circle and attached in the park at a sufficient distance from the dwelling house ...
Farewell saucer... Farewell Martians... Venusians or others. Our compatriot came home and went to bed, but he still laughed about it.
It was therefore a farce inspired to a few happy fellows by the story of the real saucer (the one we told you last week). This one seemed real as far as we could judge ourselves by the seriousness of the witnesses, the consistency of their statements and other facts...
R.M.
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Negative case, lantern prank.
The case of the "real saucer" which would have inspired this farce according to the newspaper [vdn2] could be that of Saint-Souplet on October 2, 1954.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Saint-Souplet, Nord, negative case, prank, lantern, night, luminous, craft, couple
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | May 10, 2020 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | October 13, 2021 | Addition [vdn2]. In the Explanations, addition of the paragraph "The case of the 'real saucer' which..." In the Summary, addition of tha pragraph "The same thing was also reported..." |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | October 27, 2021 | Addition [vdn2]. Case date changed from beginning of October to October 4. In the Summary, addition of the information from [vdn1]. |
