The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: Beg-Oct-54-Hornaing.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Liberté, in its Douai edition for October 8, 1954, reported that "last week", around 9 p.m., Mr. Jean Lebon, coffee shop owner, rue Jean-Jaurès, and Roland Leleu, were returning from Escaudain by car, when they were intrigued by a bright red light in the sky in the direction of Fenain.
The newspaper said that the driver of the Citroën had the impression that the engine of his car "stalled" and his passenger thought he felt a strange tingling on his body.
After a moment of emotion, they tried to better distinguish "the mysterious craft which was only the slag heap of the Agache pit which has been burning every evening and for a very long time, everyone knows it."
The same information appeared in the regional newspaper La Voix du Nord in the local issue of Douai on the same October 8, 1954.
[Ref. lib1:] NEWSPAPER "LIBERTE":
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Last week MM. Jean Lebon, coffe shop owner, rue Jean-Jaurès and Roland Leleu were returning from Escaudain by car, around 9 p.m., when they were intrigued by a bright red glow in the sky in the direction of Fenain: the driver of the Citroën had the impression that the engine of his car "stalled" and his passenger believed to feel a strange tingling on the body.
After a moment of emotion, our two fellow citizens tried to better distinguish the mysterious machine which was nothing but the slag heap of the Agache pit which has been burning every evening and for a very long time, everyone knows.
Our two friends were therefore off for fear; but, let's bet they'll never get caught with the "flying saucers" again.
[Ref. vdn1:] NEWSPAPER "LA VOIX DU NORD":
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Last week Mssrs. Jean Lebon, coffe shop owner, rue J-Jaurès, and Roland Leleu, were returning from Escaudain by car, around 9 p.m. when they were intrigued by a bright red glow in the sky in the direction of Fenain: the driver of the Citroën had the impression that the car's engine was "stalling" and his passenger felt a strange tingling sensation on his body.
After a moment of emotion, our two fellow citizens who did not flee, sought to better distinguish the mysterious craft; it was only the slag heap of the Agache pit which has been burning every evening and for a very long time, as everyone knows.
Our two friends were therefore quits for fear, but we bet that they will never be caught with the "Flying Saucers" again.
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Misinterpretation or journalistic invention.
During the whole "saucer" flap in the fall of 1954 in France, this newspaper only published stories of pranks or mistakes, vague at will, or mocked certain cases. It is quite possible that this story was just an invention of this newspaper.
One may wonder how this misinterpretation, explained immediately by the witnesses themselves, would have been known to them: when one makes such a mistake - which is quite plausible - one certainly does not want to see one's name in the newspaper as an "imaginative" person...
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Hornaing, Nord, night, Jean Lebon, Roland Leleu, coffee shop owner, Escaudain, car, glow, red, Fenain, breakdown, tingling, craft, slag heap
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | November 2, 2020 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | October 13, 2021 | Additions [vdn1], Summary. |
