The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 5-Oct-54-Moulin-de-Rafalle.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper La Voix du Périgord for October 9, 1954, reported that on October 5, 1954, at approximately 09:45 p.m., Mr. Jules Nicolas, resident at the mill of Rafales (or Rafalec?), heard a noise "as powerful as sudden", in front of his house.
He came out, scanned the sky, and then saw at a height of about 200 meters, and growing as if it were doing a maneuver to descend, a whirling luminous sphere that suddenly changed color.
He called his wife, who "also noticed the presence of the craft which, suddenly taking height, began to spin at a vertiginous pace towards Lajemaye, leaving behind three luminous trails."
The newspaper added that Mr. Nicolas, who is a city councilor, was absolutely certain of what he saw.
[Ref. lvp1:] NEWSPAPER "LA VOIX DU PERIGORD":
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The Dordogne could not fail in its touristic reputation. This is why its sites being known worldwide and even beyond, the mysterious craft trailing no less mysterious characters, came to visit the area...
Mr. Roger Ravidat has just worked with the Progil factory, in Lardin, saw, whereas he was in Lavalade, a sphere of one meter to one meter fifty of diameter flying over the valley of Vézère. This sphere was very luminous and seemed to be a phosphorescent round which moved while whirling in the sky.
The same phenomenon reproduced towards the Chambon, but then it appeared much more closer.
On October 5, around 09:45 p.m., Mr. Jules Nicolas, domiciled at the mill of Rafalle, perceived a noise as powerful as sudden, in front of his place. He went outside and scanned the sky. He then saw at a height of approximately 200 meters and magnifying as if it made an operation to go down, a whirling and luminous sphere, which suddenly changed color. He called his wife who also noted the presence of the machine which, suddenly taking height, started to slip by at a vertiginous pace in direction of Lajemaye, leaving behind itself three luminous trails.
Let's add that Mr. Nicolas, who is a city council man, is absolutely certain of what he saw.
In addition, Mrs. Lamothe, farmer in Trémolat, experienced, on her part, one of these "big scare" that one remembers all his life...
In the early morning of Tuesday October 5, at one o'clock exactly, whereas she had just spent the evening with parents and friends and as she was alone on her doorstep, she was suddenly dazzled by three "balls connected by a luminous cord", very illuminating, one white, the other green, the third red, superimposed, but definitely separate.
This trio, in a perfectly synchronized movement, rose, went down, swung... Then red two new "balls" appeared, each one of the size of the full moon, providing a tender green light lighting perfectly the details of the summits of the close slopes (trees, thickets). The two spheres had just disappeared after an upswing, when the first three balls emerged.
In front of their fast forward movement, Mrs. Lamothe retreated hurriedly and double closed the door of her kitchen.
One of our sympathetic compatriots, Mr. Mathias, electrician on street Limogeanne, returned by car yesterday evening, Friday, from Bergerac, when at the famous well known turn, a little before Bordas: "I saw - it is Mr. Mathias himself who speaks now - a large spinning top which occupied the entire width of the road and of 3 meters height approximately. My engine was fixed stalled. Hardly one second after, the object that had become luminous disappeared by flying away above the trees.
"When I started my car car again it started normally. It was impossible to me to know if the famous saucer had occupants or not. I arrived too early or too late and its disappearance above the forest withdrew it from my sight."
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Dordogne in Jemaye on October 5, 1954 at 21:45 hours, "the witness is at the mill of Rafalec (??) When he hears a powerful noise. He comes out and scans the sky. He then sees at a height estimated as 200 meters a rotating and luminous sphere that seemed to go down. It changed color suddenly. The witness called his wife who also noted the phenomenon. The object rose again and dazed away fast in direction of Jemaye, leaving three luminous trails behind."
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Lumières dans la Nuit".
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I did not find a "Rafalle Mill" nor "Rafallec" nor "Rafales" nor "Rafales". "Lajemaye" is actually "La Jemaye" in Dordogne. There is a "Etang du Moulin" ("pond of the Mill") 2 km south of La Jemaye.
If we take into account other cases of October 5, 1954, or the beginning of October, in the Dordogne department, sometimes better documented, it seems that there was an event of some strangeness widely observed in this region. So far I have:
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Moulin de Rafalle, La Jemaye, Dordogne, Jules Nicolas, city council man, noise, sound, low, ball, luminous, color, maonoeuvre, descent, rapid, trails, night
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | March 9, 2006 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 5, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Addition [lcn1]. |
