The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
November 4, 1954, Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine:
Reference for this case: 4-Nov-54-Redon.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In his 1997 book on the French wave of 1954, French ufologist and author Jean Sider stated that he found during his research in the Press archives on the 1954 wave an article from Ouest-France for November 6-7, 1954.
This article indicated that Mr. Gaulay, sawyer in La Diunnay, probably a tiny hamlet of Redon, Redon district, was in the woods next to his home, when he was surprised as if had a car headlight was directed at him, whereas there was no car on the road.
A Mr. Jean Bébin had been dazzled the same way.
Jean Sider noted that the report in this journal was unfortunately brief. Jean Sider apparently reported on this case a few years earlier in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit.
Jean Sider did not mention other newspapers that suggested or asserted that on that day in that region, it was a meteor that had been observed.
[Ref. grn1:] NEWSPAPER "LA GAZETTE DE REDON":
|
After the passage of a flying saucer (?) over the St-Nicolas marsh, seen by two S.N.C.F. employees and whose report caused a stir at the time, the sky over Redon was recently again the scene of a luminous phenomenon.
Around 7:15 a.m., more than fifty workers from the Garnier factory, on their way to work and living in the Morbihan (Aneler, Rieux, St-Jean-la-Poterie), saw above them a glowing ball moving at high speed and emitting sparks.
At the same time, a driver from the C.G.E.A. bus, on his way to Muzillac, was surprised by the light spread abundantly along his route, wondering what kind of vehicle could produce headlights with such intensity. It was the famous phosphorescent object he saw for a few seconds.
The ball must have traveled across the sky of the Redon region for several minutes, as Messrs. Guyot and Jolivet, postmen in Bains-sur-Oust, saw it heading south; people from Laillé and Maure reported it moving from west to east; and Mr. Cavard, tobacconist on Grande-Rue in Redon, saw it head west.
Additionally, the phenomenon was also observed at around the same time in Sables-d'Olonne, Nantes, St Nazaire, La Baule, La Roche Bernard, Pontivy, and Brest.
To date, no one has been able to determine the nature of the object, except our colleague La Résistance de l'Ouest, who, appearing well-informed, writes:
"The flying saucers, streaking, blazing, or detonating, seen in the sky last Thursday would in reality be nothing more than a peaceful 'anti-fog' rocket currently being tested at a secret location, which we know is situated between St-Nazaire and Donges. This rocket, now in development, is expected to provide great service to navigation."
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
French ufologist and author Jean Sider found during his research in the press files on the wave of 1954 an article of Ouest-France for November 6-7, 1954.
He reports that the article indicates that Mr. Gaulay, sawyer in La Diunnay, a district of Redon, was in the wood beside his place, when he was surprised as if one had projected on him a car's headlight, although there was no car on the road. One Mr. Jean Bébin was dazzled in the same way.
Jean Sider notes that Diunnay must be quite a small hamlet of Redon, and that the newspaper gives unfortunately sparse information on the event.
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Ille et Vilaine in Redon on November 4, 1954, an unknown hour," at the place named La Diunnay a witness being in a wood found himself suddenly illuminated like by headlights of a car. But no car is on the road. Another witness was dazzled in the same manner."
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Lumières dans la Nuit".
|
Although this was then probably not a car headlight, there is no reason to state that it was a beam projected by an extraterrestrial craft; I even think it may have been a meteor, maybe the one seen in the region that day at 07:15 a.m.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine, La Diunnay, Gaulay, Jean Bébin, dazzled, light, road
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | October 24, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 18, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | November 7, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | April 27, 2026 | Addition [grn1]. |
