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November 20, 1954, Blaison, Maine-et-Loire:

Reference for this case: 20-Nov-54-Blaison.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

Journalists from Le Courrier de l'Ouest, a regional newspaper, told about an encounter which occurred to Mrs. Besnier, a farm woman in her sixties, at her a farm of Le Petit Cotillon, Blaison, the Maine-et-Loire, France, on November 20, 1954, in the middle of the afternoon around 03:00 p.m. and no later than 03:30 p.m.

After fetching onions and some cloves of garlic in her attic she was at the bottom of the stone staircase which she had just walked down, When she saw a circular object of the size of a "respectable round table" in the farm yard. She had difficulties finding the words to describe the material it was made of, saying that she can't tell if it Was it made of wood, or aluminum or anything else.

Then, at the time when she descended the last step, a small "mannequin" of the child-size rushed onto her and took the onions which she held in a side of her apron, and she also saw an unspecified of other such beings in the court. They had a human appearance but their skin was yellow and they had small, black and piercing eyes. They were dressed with a brown costume which entirely wrapped them, with some kind of back pack, "as some sort of small sulfate sprayer which they had on the back", and on their mouth, a kind of pipe was fixed; which came from a sort of hood.

As the being rushed at her and took her onions, and as she saw the other beings, she fell on her back and hurt herself, so that she could not see them go up in their saucer; but after she stood up again and looked up in the sky, she saw, very high "a brilliant star" which sprang in the air.

The journalist or journalists indicate that they met Mrs. Besnier and asked her for some specifics about her testimony. She answered Without any hesitation. They noted that she is a quiet woman who is afraid of nothing and had heard of flying saucer only by bits of conversations.

The journalist or journalists indicate that the neighbors, and the mayor of Blaison, whom they asked for their opinion, were unanimous in stating that as Mrs. Besnier is a calm woman who "never made any fuss", and that the story was not invented.

After the encounter, Mrs. Besnier did not eat during 48 hours, and "trembling, stiff with cold and seizure", remained confined to bed some time.

Reports:

[Ref. mbm1:] "LES NOUVELLES DE BRETAGNE ET DU MAINE" NEWSPAPER:

Scan.

"Martians" in Anjou!

In broad daylight, they took
...onions to a country woman

Our colleagues from "Le Courrier de l'Est" tell the strange adventure which has just arrived at a woman in a farm of Blaison (the Maine-and-Loire), Mrs. Besnier. Here is the account of our colleagues:

Mrs. Besnier returned from fetching onions and some cloves of garlic in her attic when at the bottom of the stone staircase which she had just walked down, she finds herself in the presence of space visitors. Mystification? Hallucination? We could not tell, and for this reason it appeared useful to us to go to the location of this short encounter and to get Mrs. Besnier who give some specifics about her testimony. She is a quiet woman of about sixty years old who is afraid of nothing and had heard of flying saucer only by snatches of conversations.

- A what time did "the thing" occur? We asked her.

- In the full afternoon, at about 03:00 p.m., not later than 03:30 p.m.

- How did you see the craft?

- While leaving the attic, I saw a circular object of the size of a respectable round table in the court. Was it made of wood, or of aluminum or of anything else, I do not know at all.

- And then?

- Then, at the time when I descended the last step, a small "mannequin" of the size of a child rushed onto me and took the onions which I held in a side of my apron.

- Did it have a human appearance?

- Yes. They were dressed with a brown costume which entirely wrapped them. On their mouth, a kind of pipe was fixed which came from a sort of hood, as some sort of small sulfate sprayer which they had on the back.

- How was their face?

- Their skin was yellow and they had small, black and piercing eyes.

Without any hesitation, Mrs. Besnier answered the questions that we asked her without slackening. She did not see the strange "mannequins," as she calls them, go up in their saucer; but "when I arrived in the yard after standing up again - for I fell on my back when I saw them and it hurt - I looked in the sky and I saw very high a brilliant star which sprang in the air."

The neighbors, the mayor of Blaison, which we asked for their opinion on the strange report, were unanimous. "It is not an invented story. This person is calm and never made any fuss." And as an ultimate proof that she really saw something, Mrs. Besnier did not eat during 48 hours, and, trembling, stiff with cold and seizure, she remained confined to bed some time.

[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:

The French ufologist Jean Sider is the researcher who found out about this case in the regional press. He gives a summary in his book "Le dossier 1954 et l'imposture rationaliste," sticking to the source.

In the catalogue part of his books, he wrote:

100 - November 20, 3:00 p.m., Le Petit-Cotillon, Blaison, Maine-et-Loire.

Mrs. Besnier, 60 years old.

Mrs. Besnier, who is in her sixties, had gone up to her attic (by an outside staircase), to look for onions and a few cloves of garlic. On her way down she saw a strange object in the courtyard of her farm, a sort of giant mushroom, the height of a good round table (sic), made of a material she could not identify. From this apparatus emerged two small "mannequins", characters of reduced size, approximately 1.10 m. tall. They were dressed in a brown suit that completely wrapped them. On their mouths, a sort of pipe was fixed, which originated in a kind of hood, like a small tank of sulphate, which they carried on their backs. Their skin was yellow and they had small, piercing black eyes. They approached Mrs. Besnier, who felt unable to move, as though paralyzed by a strange force. One of the little men grabbed the onions that the farmer was holding in the hem of her apron. Then, according to Mrs. Besnier, the beings unmasked themselves (sic) and spoke a few words that she did not understand. It seems that the witness has lost track of the time elapsed or that she has fallen unconscious (point poorly clarified by my sources). Anyway, when the brave lady came to her senses, it was to see a luminous dot rising in the sky with a brilliant trail behind it.

Journalists who have met Mrs. Besnier present her as a quiet woman who does not read newspapers and only heard about flying saucers through snatches of conversation. The Mayor and the neighbors interviewed have certified that Mrs. Besnier is a most calm person who has never been talked about. My second source specifies that following this incident, Mrs. Besnier did not eat for 48 hours and that "frozen with cold and shock, she remained bedridden for a while."

Local sources: Le Courrier de l'Ouest, Angers, 24 November, p. 2, and November 28, 1954, p. 4; Les Nouvelles de Bretagne et du Maine, Rennes, November 26, 1954, p. 4.

Note: This is a summary of my first two sources (Le Courrier de l'Ouest) because reporters came on site to question the witness and carry out the neighborhood investigation. A counter-investigation made in 1989 by Mr. Roger Chéreau (member of LDLN at the time), established that Mrs. Besnier had died a few years after the incident and that her descendants were scattered in the Angers region. A few residents vaguely remembered the affair and had always believed it was a journalistic hoax. When they were made aware of the reality and the magnitude of the 1954 wave, they were surprised and reconsidered their initial judgment.

This case is one of the most extraordinary and the most certain that we have, the personality of the witness ruling out any idea of a prank. A 60-year-old farm woman has indeed other concerns than the desire to mystify her neighborhood, especially with such an "implausible" story. Finally, this CE3 looks a bit like that of Cennina, Italy, which occurred twenty days earlier (see Appendix I, the file on the 1954 wave in Italy).

At the end of the catalog, Jean Sider explains that he cannot rule out that there are two or three misintrepretations or hoaxes in his catalog. He then explains that the "absurd" content of the stories "reinforces" his theory: these are not extraterrestrials but "decoys", that a "superior intelligence distills to us to abuse our judgment". In this case, for example, he wonders why extraterrestrials would have landed in broad daylight in a farmyard to steal onions from an old lady, when they could have collected them in the fields at night without being seen.

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":

4408: 1954/11/20 15:00 60 0:22:00 W 47:24:00 N 3333 WEU FRN M&L 9:6

BLAISON,FR:SCR ^/FARM:2 OIDS EXIT:1 TAKES ONIONS fm PRLZD OBS!:MST?:/LDLN#325

Ref#217 Jean SIDER: Le DOSSIER 1954 (2 vol.) Page No. 226 : FARMLANDS

[Ref. ars1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

233.

Location. Blaison Maine Et Loire France

Date: November 20 1954

Time: 1500

A Mrs. Besnier was returning from fetching onions and some garlic cloves in her attic at the bottom of the stone staircase and as she walked out of the attic she saw a circular metallic object apparently on the ground in her courtyard. It appeared to be made out of aluminum. As she descended the last step a small figure the size of a child rushed onto her and took the onions, which she held in a side of her apron. Other humanoids now became visible. The humanoids were human in appearance and were totally wrapped in a brown custom. On their mouths they carried a kind of pipe that connected into a sort of hood and apparatus attached to their backs. Their skin was yellow and they had small black piercing eyes. The witness ran and apparently did not see the humanoids return to their "saucer". Mrs. Besnier did not eat for 48 hours after the incident and remained confined to bed for some time.

HC addition # 2398

Source: LDLN # 325

Type: B?

[Ref. edr1:] EMMANUEL DEHLINGER:

The author indicates that in Le Petit-Cotillon, in Blaison in the Maine-et-Loire, on November 20, 1954, an object in the shape of a mushroom and two small dressed up mannequins of 1.10 meters appeared, and the farm woman who witnessed it was paralysed. One of the beings took the onions that she held in the hand and she lost the notion of time, which evokes for the author a period of "missing time". When she becomes conscous again, she observed a luminous point with a trail in the sky, and she felt a faintness during 48 hour. The author adds that the investigation seems to make it possible to exclude the idea of a hoax and that similar cases in Italy exclude an hallucination, and thus, it was the military who secretly shot at the witness with microwaves or maser rays to make her have these hallucinations. The author does not indicate sources.

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates that in Maine et Loire in Blaison on November 20, 1954 at 15:00 hours, "an old woman goes up in her attic by an external staircase at the lcoation Le Petit Cotillion, to get onions and garlic. While going down again she sees in the yard of her farm an object in the shape of a mushroom and the height of a table. From the object emerge two entities of a size of approximately 1 m 10. They are dressed of a maroon costume entirely wrapping them a pipe is fixed on their mout e which starts from a kind of small tank that they carry on the back. Their skin is yellow and they have small black eyes. They a approach the old woman who is paralysed by a strange force. One of them seize the onions which the woman held in the side of her apron. Then they remove their pipes (uncover themselves according to the witness) and pronounce some words that she does not understand. The woman loses consciousness. When she recovers she then observes a luminous point which goes up in the sky with a trail behind. The woman remained 48 hours without eating and stiff with cold she remained with the bed during some time."

The source is indicated as "Lumières dans la Nuit".

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 20 November 1954 at 15:00 in Blaison, France, "Disc lands at farm, two short humanoids exit. one takes onions from puzzled witness. Possible missing time."

The website adds: "Close encounter with an unidentified craft and its occupants. One disc was observed on a farm for over 60 minutes. Two dwarves were seen."

And: "A metallic mushroom-shaped object landed in a barnyard, two short humanoids wearing silvery combination suits and helmets exit the object, and one takes some onions from the paralyzed witness. The beings speak several unintelligible words. Possible missing time."

The sources are indicated as "Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002" and "Rosales, Albert, Humanoid Sighting Reports Database".

[Ref. dfk1:] FABRICE ET DANIEL KIRCHER:

The authors indicate that on November 20, 1954 in the Maine-et-Loire, Mrs. Besnier, aged 60, was climbing in her attic by an external staircase to get some onions and cloves of garlic when while coming down again she saw in the farm yard an object resembling a giant mushroom. Two beings in diving-suit with breathing apparatuses, approximately 1.10 meters tall, came out and approached the old lady who noted that she could not move. One of the beings him took her onions. The only thing that Mrs. Besnier next remembers is a luminous point in the sky with a shining trail behind.

The witness was unable to eat during 48 hours and stiff with cold and seizure she remained confined to bed for some time.

The authors indicate as source "Jean Sider, 'Le Dossier 1954', Ramuel, 1997".

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

*Nov. 20, 1954 - At three o'clock in the afternoon Mrs. Besnier was returning from fetching some onions and garlic cloves from storage in Blaison, Maine-et-Loire, France. As she walked out from the cellar she saw a circular metallic object that had landed in her farm's courtyard. It appeared to be made out of aluminum. A small being, the size of a child, rushed at her and took the onions, which she held in a fold of her apron. Other short humanoids now became visible. The humanoids were human in appearance and were totally wrapped in a brown costume. In their mouths they carried some kind of pipe that connected to a sort of hood and breathing apparatus attached to their backs. Their skin was yellow and they had small black piercing eyes. Mrs. Besnier ran away and did not see the humanoids return to their “saucer”. Mrs. Besnier could not eat for 48 hours after the incident and remained confined to her bed for some time. (Sources: Jean Sider, Dossier 1954 et l'Imposture Rationaliste, p. 226; Lumieres dans la Nuit, issue # 325; Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database # 2398, citing LDLN).

[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

Location: Blaison Maine Et Loire France

Date: November 20 1954

Time: 1500

A Mrs. Besnier was returning from fetching onions and some garlic cloves in her attic at the bottom of the stone staircase and as she walked out of the attic she saw a circular metallic object apparently on the ground in her courtyard. It appeared to be made out of aluminum. As she descended the last step a small figure the size of a child rushed onto her and took the onions, which she held in a side of her apron. Other humanoids now became visible. The humanoids were human in appearance and were totally wrapped in a brown custom. On their mouths they carried a kind of pipe that connected into a sort of hood and apparatus attached to their backs. Their skin was yellow and they had small black piercing eyes. The witness ran and apparently did not see the humanoids return to their “saucer”. Mrs. Besnier did not eat for 48 hours after the incident and remained confined to bed for some time.

Source: LDLN # 325?

[Ref. jgz1:] JULIEN GONZALEZ:

The author indicates that there was a close encounter of the third kind in Blaison-Gohier, in the hamlet "Le Petit Cotillon", in the Maine-et-Loire, on November 20, 1954, at 3:00 p.m.:

Mrs. Besnier, 60, climbed into her attic by an outside staircase to look for onions and some garlic cloves. Going down the staircase she saw a strange object in the courtyard of her farm, a sort of giant mushroom of the height of a good round table made of a material that she could not identify.

Two small figures about 1.10 m tall were dressed in a brown costume that enveloped them completely. A kind of hose was fixed on their mouth, which arose from a kind of hood like a small sulphate tank which they carried on their backs. Their skin was yellow and they had small, sharp black eyes.

They approached Mrs. Besnier, who felt unable to move, as if paralyzed by a strange force. One of the little creatures got hold of the onions that she held in the side of her apron. Then the beings unmasked (?) and uttered some words that she did not understand. It seems then that she lost the notion of time elapsed or that she fell unconscious. In any case, when she came back to her senses, she saw only a luminous dot rising in the sky with a brilliant trail behind.

Julien Gonzalez remarks that the journalists who met Mrs. Besnier presented her as a quiet woman who did not read the newspapers and only heard of the flying saucers by snatches of conversation. The mayor and the neighbors, questioned, certified that Mrs. Besnier is a calm person who never caused any fuss. One of the articles states that as a result of this incident, she did not eat for 48 hours and that "chilled of cold and seizure, she remained bedridden for some time."

The sources are indicated as Le Courrier de l'Ouest for November 24, 1954 and November 28, 1954; Les Nouvelles de Bretagne et du Maine dor November 26, 1954; Jean Sider, "Le dossier 1954 et l'imposture rationaliste", pages 226-227.

[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

November 20 1954. 1515 BLAISON (MAINE ET LOIRE : FRANCE)

Mrs Bernier of " Le Petit Cotillon" was coming down from her attic when she saw a circular object the size of a good sized dinner table, sat in the farm yard made of some indescribable material. As she reached the bottom step a small being rushed at her and took her onions. She also saw a number of other beings in the yard. They looked human but had yellow skin, small, dark, piercing eyes and were dressed all over in brown, hooded, coveralls, with a sort of pack on the back, and with a sort of pipe in their mouths. The shock of the thing grabbing at her knocked her over, and by the time she got up the object was just a distant point in the sky. She was so shaken she was in bed for a couple days, cold, trembling and off her food. (URECAT citing Les Nouvells du Bretagne et du Maine 26 November 1954. p4 + Jean Sider in Lumieres dans le [sic] Nuit 325 and Sider 1997 p271)

Note: The source reference "URECAT" is my file as it appears in my CE3 catalogue URECAT; the file content is the same as this page of my France 1954 catalogue.

Explanations:

Map.

Not looked for yet.

Keywords:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

Blaison, Maine-et-Loire, Le Petit-Cotillon, Besnier, saucer, object, occupants, humanoids, onions, pipe, brown, daylight, round, small, mouth, eyes, yellow, black, luminous, fast

Sources:

[----] indicates sources which I have not been able to read yet.

Document history:

Version: Created/Changed by: Date: Change Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross September 6, 2007 First published.
1.0 Patrick Gross June 11, 2009 Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [uda1], [dfk1].
1.1 Patrick Gross October 19, 2014 Addition [nip1].
1.2 Patrick Gross November 22, 2016 Addition [tai1].
1.3 Patrick Gross February 21, 2017 Addition [jgz1].
1.4 Patrick Gross November 26, 2018 Additions [lhh1], [prn2].

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