The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 9-Nov-54-CousolreLeChâteau.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The press reported on November 13, 1954, from an Agence France Presse (AFP) newsbrief from Lille evoking a flying saucer in the Nord, in these terms:
At Cousolre, near Maubeuge, Mr. and Mrs. "Leclerq" had declared having seen, "yesterday morning", shortly before sunrise, over a meadow distant from less than 100 meters from their dwelling, a machine diffusing a reddish glow, having sometimes the shape of a cigar, sometimes that of a disc. After changing for a few minutes, the machine quickly gained height and disappeared to the southwest.
In the newspaper L'Observateur for November 17, 1954, it was specified that Mrs. Leclercq was born Marthe Hellecart, that she was 42 years old, was a grasslander, had gone out before daybreak in front of her home when, to her great fright, she saw passing in the meadow less than a hundred meters from her, a craft "diffusing a reddish gleam and having, while oscillating from right to left, sometimes the shape of a cigar, sometimes that of a disc."
She had called her husband who saw the thing, which then rose and went away to the southwest, after "a good five minutes" of observation.
This newspaper added that the gendarmes had come to the scene, did not find any trace but wrote a report of the statements made by Mr. and Mrs. Leclerq.
In the 1970s, ufologists Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier gave their version: which they say came from their documentation and a gendarmerie report:
The landing took place on November 9, 1954, at 6 o'clock in the morning. Mrs. Leclercq, a farmer whose farm was located at a place called Le Moussey, 1 km and a half southwest of Cousolre-le-Château, had left her home to milk her cows, and had seen a luminous craft "having the volume of a blimp" which rested on the ground about fifty meters from her. She said:
"It seemed to me like a disc, sometimes like a cigar, it seemed to swing, and when I went into the yard it rose obliquely to the south-east and then turned southwest and quickly disappeared."
[Ref. nmn1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-MATIN":
|
A gap is now filled in Cousolre where we had not yet seen saucers. Since yesterday, in fact, there has been no noise in the village except for the mysterious craft that appeared to a stacker, Mrs. Leclercq, born Hennecart who, waking up very early for her work, claims to have seen in the meadow behind her house a "thing" of ovoid shape, posed within 100 m and diffusing a reddish light.
Mr. Leclercq, called by his wife, was able to observe the same phenomenon which, after five minutes, disappeared in the sky.
The gendarmerie wrote a report of the facts.
[Ref. lib1:] NEWSPAPER "LIBERTE":
|
Mrs. Leclercq, born Berthe Hennecart, 42, farmer at the place called "Le Moussey", in Cousolre, claims to have seen, Friday morning, posed in one of her meadows, a saucer. She called her husband who made the same observations. An intense and reddish light reigned inside this craft, which oscillated and which was visible 5 to 6 minutes, before taking off, without emitting the slightest noise, to disappear towards the Southwest. The gendarmerie, alerted, found no clues, no trace. The farmers are however positive.
[Ref. vdn1:] NEWSPAPER "LA VOIX DU NORD":
|
A resident of Cousolre and her husband saw a saucer!...
Mrs. Leclercq, born Marthe Hellecart, 42-year-old, grasser, had gone out before daybreak in front of her house when, to her great fright, she saw passing, in the meadow, less than a hundred meters from her, a craft "diffusing a reddish glow and having, oscillating from right to left, sometimes the shape of a cigar, sometimes that of a disc.
Mrs. Leclercq called her husband who could see the phenomenon before seeing it gain height and move away towards the Southwest. The "thing" had moved for a good five minutes.
The gendarmes came to the scene but did not find any trace. They nevertheless prepared a report of the statements made by Mr. and Mrs. Leclercq.
[Ref. lpl1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PROVENCAL":
|
Lille (A.F.P.).
In Cousolre, close to Maubeuge, Mr. and Mrs. Leclerq stated to have seen, yesterday morning, little before the rising of the day, above a meadow distant less than 100 meters of their dwelling, a machine diffusing a reddish gleam, having sometimes the shape of a cigar, sometimes that of a disc. After having evolved a few minutes, the machine took height quickly and disappeared towards the South-west.
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
|
LILLE, November 13 (spec. corr.). -- The saucers reappeared in the Nord. Before daybreak, Ms. Leclercq, 52, saw a craft in Cousolre, diffusing a reddish glow, pass close to the ground a hundred meters from her. The craft oscillated from right to left, successively taking the form of a cigar and that of a disc. Mrs. Leclercq went to wake up her husband who could contemplate the apparition for five minutes.
[Ref. obs1:] "L'OBSERVATEUR" NEWSPAPER:
|
A resident of Cousolre and her husband saw a saucer!...
Mrs. Leclercq, born Marthe Hellecart, 42 years old, grasser, had gone out before daybreak in front of her house when, to her great fright, she saw passing, in the meadow, less than a hundred meters from her, a craft "diffusing a reddish glow and having, oscillating from right to left, sometimes the shape of a cigar, sometimes that of a disc.
Mrs. Leclerq, called her husband who was able to see the phenomenon before seeing it gain height and move away towards the Southwest. "The thing" had moved for a good five minutes.
The gendarmes came to the scene but did not find any trace. They nevertheless produced a report of the statements made by Mr. and Mrs. Leclerq.
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 406 | 09 | 11 | 1954 | 06 | 00 | 1 | COULSOU | F | 0011 | E |
[Ref. gal1:] CHARLES GARREAU AND RAYMOND LAVIER:
As a part of their demonstration of their theory that there is a non-random distances relation between the landing place of saucers, the two authors mention that such a landing took place on November 9, 1954, at 6 o'clock, in Cousolre-le-Château in the North.
The authors indicate as being their source a report of the gendarmerie, and personal file.
They indicate that Mrs. Leclercq, a farmer whose farm is in the locality of Moussey, at 1 kilometer and half in the south-west of Cousolre, left home to go milk her cows. She then saw a luminous machine "having the volume of a tethered balloon" which rested on the ground at about fifty meters of her.
The authors give elements of her account:
"It appeared to me sometimes as a disc, sometimes as a cigar. It seemed to swing. When I advanced in the court, it rose in an oblique manner towards south-east, then it veered towards the south-west and quickly disappeared."
[Ref. gni1:] GNEOVNI:
|
10/12/1954 - COUSOLRE 58 type I
Madame Leclercq, before daybreak, saw passing in front of her house, in the meadow a hundred meters from her, a craft diffusing a red glow and having, oscillating from right to left, sometimes the shape of a cigar, sometimes that of a disc. Her husband was able to observe the phenomenon and see the object gain height and move away towards the Southwest. Maneuver for a good five minutes.
(Newspaper Voix du Nord for 11/13/54)
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two ufologists and authors indicate that on November 9, 1954 at 6 o'clock in the morning, at the place called Le Moussey at 1.5 kilometers in the south-west of Cousolre, Mrs. Leclercq, farmer, went outside to go to milk the cows.
She then saw a luminous machine which was posed in a field within approximately 50 meters of her.
It changed shape while swinging. At the time when she advanced in the yard, the machine rose obliquely and "quickly disappeared."
The authors indicate Garreau and Lavier as sources.
[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
This ufologist noted:
| CASW Nr | CLASSIFICATION | DATE | HOUR | PLACE | ZIP CODE | CREDIBILITY SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 276 | CE0 | 11 09 1954 | 06.00 | Cousolre "le Moussey" | 59149 E8 | RS, (OVNI : p. 212) |
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates that in 1954, on November 9 in Cousolre (Nord), France, "At 6 hours of the morning Mrs. Leclercq comes out to milk the cows. She sees at 50 m a luminous machine, having the volume of a tethered balloon, which rests on the ground. 'It seemed to me sometimes a disc, sometimes like a cigar. It seemed to swing. When I advanced in the yard, it rose in oblique towards the south-east, then it veered towards the south-west and disappeared quickly."
The source is indicated as "GARREAU and LAVIER: 'Face aux extra-terrestres' - DELARGE 1975 - J'ai Lu, p. 211".
[Ref. jdt1:] JEAN-PIERRE D'HONDT:
This ufologist indicates that on November 9, 1954 at 6 o'clock in Cousolre, in the Nord, according to "Face aux E.T." by C. Garreau page 204, according to a gendarmerie report, Mrs. Leclercq, a farmer whose farm is at the locality "Le Moussey", at 1,500 km [sic] in the south-west of Cousolre came out to milk her cows.
She then saw at about fifty meters of her, a luminous craft "having the volume of a tethered balloon" resting on the ground.
"It appeared to me sometimes as a disc, sometimes as a cigar. It seemed to swing. When I advanced in the yard, it rose in oblique towards the south-east, then it veered towards the south-west and quickly disappeared."
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Nord in Cousolre le Château on November 9, 1954 at 06:00 hours, "At the location Moussey a woman comes outside to go to milk her cows. She then observes a luminous object having the form sometimes of a disc, sometimes of a cigar and swinging. It is very near to the ground. At the time when the witness advances in the yard, the object rises in oblique and dissapears quickly."
The source is indicated as "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 9 November 1954 at 06:00 in "Coulsou", France, "An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. One object was observed by one witness."
The sources are indicated as Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Preliminary Catalog (N = 500), (in JVallee01).
[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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541109 | 09.11.1954 | Coulsou [sic] | France | 06.00 | CE I | |||||
| 19541109 | 09.11.1954 | Coulsou [sic] | France | 06.00 | CE I |
|
The question is: was this an extraterrestrial craft or a helicopter? Unfortunately there is not enough information to decide for sure; for example, we are not told whether this supposed "craft" was silent or not.
There is yet another possible explanation that should be checked: the Moon.
Indeed on November 9, 1954 at 6 a.m. in Cousolre, the Moon was in the sky at the low elevation of 1° 38', suitable for misinterpretations.
However it was in direction 290° (West-North-West) instead of South-West, and as 96.8% of its surface was lit, it was a full Moon. It can obviously be argued that it was distorted by clouds, and that the direction given was not correct.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Cousolre-le-Château, Nord, landing, field, cigar, disc, luminous, manoeuver, oblique, fast, swinging, farmer, Leclercq
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | December 4, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | May 25, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [jdt1], [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | July 1, 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | November 30, 2016 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | December 24, 2018 | Addition [mft1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | December 24, 2019 | Addition [ppe1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | January 21, 2020 | Addition [gni1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | March 16, 2020 | Addition [nmn1]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | March 27, 2020 | Additions [obs1], [lib1]. In the Summary, addition of the part from L'Observateur. |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | April 20, 2020 | Addition [vdn1]. |
