At approximately 04:00 a.m. on August 16, 1955, Ernest Suddards, a lorry driver, accompanied by his 13-year-old son, drove in Roundhill Street, Bradford, Yorkshire, U-K. when both suddenly saw something in the gleam of their headlights. Mr. Suddards described it as a 4-feet tall boy in black skin-tight clothes, arm along the body, jumping with joined feet. He shone in the headlights, and apparently had some circular silver disc with holes below the neck.
After having crosses a few meters, he suddenly went in a passageway where he could not be seen any more.
Mr. Suddards also spoke thereafter about one Joseph Wood, who told him he saw a humming shining bullet-shaped object in a field three days later.
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[Ref. jv1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
In his catalogue of UFO landings, Jacques Vallée indicates that on August 16, 1955, at 04:00 a.m. in Bradford, England. Mr. Ernest Suddard, 35, and his 13-year-old son were in a lorry on Roundhill Street when they saw what seemed to be a human being about 1.20 meters tall, dressed in skin-tight black clothes. It held its arms close to its sides, its feet close together, and walked by a series of jumps. On its chest was a silver disk perforated with holes. It turned off suddenly into a passageway and was lost to sight. The witnesses were too amazed to follow it.
Vallée indicates that his source is "Constance 222."
[Ref. mu1:] MERSEYSIDE UFO RESEARCH GROUP:
This ufology group wrote about cases taken from "The Humanoids", the Flying Saucer Review's special issue edited by Charles Bowen. They tell:
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At about 0400 in the morning of August 16th, 1955, a Mr. Ernest Suddards, lorry driver, accompanied by his 13 year old son, was driving down Roundhill Street, Bradford, Yorkshire, when the two of them suddenly saw something in the glare of the headlights. (2) Mr. Suddards described it as being like a boy, 4 ft. tall, dressed in skin tight black clothes, arms down by sides and feet together. It jumped, in jerky movements, both feet together and seemed dazzled by the headlights.. Shining in the headlamps was a circular, silvery disc perforated with holes and situated just below the throat of the being. The thing moved forward a few yards, then turned abruptly into a passageway. Mr. Suddards later claimed to have met a Mr. Joseph Wood, who told him of seeing a strange light in a field. The investigator of Mr. Suddards's story, Mr. Jack Ibson, called on Mr. Wood, who described how he was taking a short cut near Bowling Park, on August 19th (1955) at about 23.30, when he saw, reflecting a nearby street lamp, a bright silver bullet-shaped object, standing upright behind a small hillock. He estimated the height as about 12 ft. and the diameter as about 4 or 5 feet. From it was coming a high-pitched buzzing noise - like a radio set out of order. Mr. Wood hurried away as fast as he could, but passed there again on his return journey (he had been visiting a friend) and the object was still there. (Reference: Flying Saucer News, Autumn 1955) |
[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that in Bradford, England, on August 16, 1955, at 04:30 a.m., Ernest Suddards, a lorry driver, and his 13-year old son were driving home when their headlights illuminated a strange being in the street and moving toward them. 4 ft tall, it was dressed in a skintight black garment covering even the head, with a shiny perforated disc on the chest. It was moving forward by jumping, the feet remaining together; then it turned up a passageway and was lost to view. Around the same time a silvery bullet shaped craft had been seen low over the area.
Albert Rosales indicates that the source is Jack Ibson, FSR Autumn, 1955, and Humcat 1955-16.
[Ref. dj1:] DONALD JOHNSON:
Donald Johnson indicates that on August 16, 1955, Mr. Ernest Suddard, age 35, and his 13-year-old son, were driving in a truck in Bradford, England at 4:00 in the morning when they saw what seemed to be a short human being about 1.20 meters tall, dressed in skin-tight black clothes. It held its arms close to its sides, its feet close together, and walked by a series of jumps. There was a silver disc perforated with holes on its chest. It turned off suddenly into a passageway and was lost from view. The witnesses were too amazed to follow.
Donald Johnson indicates that the sources are Arthur Constance, The Inexplicable Sky, p. 222; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, pp 250-251.
The source "Jack Ibson" in the "Flying Saucer Review" of autumn 1955 does not exist; it was another bulletin, the Flying Saucer News for the Fall of 1955.
The Arthur Constance book which is the source indicated by Vallée was a sensationalist book under "scientific" pretext, that capitalized on the topics explored by Charles Fort as soon as 1919, discussing mysteries on the Moon, fish and frog rains, strange flying animals, alleged mysterious celestial phenomena of all kinds, and also natural phenomena such as meteors, aurora borealis, mirages. The "flying saucers" occupy only a modest place in there and consist in stories generally without references. But it did not obstruct Jacques Vallée, who once again catalogued a story as a "UFO landing" whereas there was neither landing nor UFO.
The probable scenario is that Jacques Vallée found the story in Arthur Constance's book and that all the other sources took it from Vallée, with no further checking of any kind, the only ones providing a little more details being MUFORG in 1966.
It is apparent that Vallée speaks of a being of human appearance, without any saucer, it later becomes "a strange being", with some saucer story, nobody taking care of specifying at what "same time" it was seen, MUFORG excepted. Actually it was not a "being" but a boy, and the UFO a few days later has nothing to do with that, unless one needs to believe it has.
Finally, it seems that nobody thought of asking whether this jumping boy were not simply playing hopscotch.
| Id: | Topic: | Severity: | Date noted: | Raised by: | Noted by: | Description: | Proposal: | Status: |
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| None. | ||||||||
Possible boy playing.
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author: | Patrick Gross |
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| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Created/Changed By: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | February 19, 2008 | Creation, [jv1], [mu1], [ar1], [dj1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 19, 2008 | First published. |
