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The 1954 French flap:

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September 26, 1954, Wimereux, Pas-de-Calais:

Reference for this case: 26-Sep-54-Wimereux.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

The source that seems to be the primary source for this case is the regional newspaper La Voix du Nord, writing on page 2 for September 29, 1954:

We know how carefully we should welcome news relating to the appearance of "flying saucers". Nevertheless, Mr. Raoul Baptiste, 72, a retired entrepreneur, living with his daughter, Mrs. Griois, a nurse, on rue des Dunes in Wimereux, emphatically declared to his relatives that, Sunday evening, at exactly 11 p.m., as he was on a balcony on the first floor, he clearly saw a "flying saucer", heading at a very low altitude towards the North.

Mr. Baptiste enjoys the unanimous consideration of the Wimereusians.

To the best of our knowledge, no other person has witnessed this phenomenon.

The regional newspaper Nord-Matin for September 29, 1954, and the regional newspaper Le Nouveau Nord Maritime for September 30, 1954, reported that Mr. Raoul Baptiste, 72, a retired entrepreneur domiciled in Wimereux, had stated he saw on "Sunday" therefore on September 26, 1954, around 11 p.m., "a craft, which could be a flying saucer, heading at very low altitude towards the North."

Reports:

[Ref. vdn1:] NEWSPAPER "LA VOIX DU NORD":

Scan.

Flying saucer
in the sky
of Wimereux?

We know how carefully we should welcome news relating to the appearance of "flying saucers". Nevertheless, Mr. Raoul Baptiste, 72, a retired entrepreneur, living with his daughter, Mrs. Griois, a nurse, on rue des Dunes in Wimereux, emphatically declared to his relatives that, Sunday evening, at exactly 11 p.m., as he was on a balcony on the first floor, he clearly saw a "flying saucer", heading at a very low altitude towards the North.

Mr. Baptiste enjoys the unanimous consideration of the Wimereusians.

To the best of our knowledge, no other person has witnessed this phenomenon.

[Ref. nmn1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-MATIN":

Scan.

"THE TRAVELERS
FROM ANOTHER WORLD"...
WERE
HOAXERS

LISBON. - "The travelers from another world", which a Lisbon newspaper had announced they visited Portugal, were not even born of an imagination exacerbated by the countless visions of flying saucers. They were just the creation of hoaxers, whom the same newspaper denounced yesterday.

A FLYING SAUCER
IN WIMEREUX?

Mr. Raoul Baptiste, 72, a retired entrepreneur, living with his daughter, Mme Grivois, rue des dunes, in Wimereux, reportedly saw, Sunday evening, a quite special craft circulating in the sky.

The nature of the craft Mr. Raoul Baptiste reportedly saw cannot be assessed currently. Perhaps it is a flying saucer?...

[Ref. nnm1:] NEWSPAPER "LE NOUVEAU NORD MARITIME":

Scan.

The mysterious craft continue their round

An "interplanetary diver" appears to a farmer

Châtellerault, 29. -- Mr. Yves David, 28, farmer in Les Brouloux, commune of Vouneuil-sur-Vienne (Vienne), said he saw advance towards him on the road from Cenon to Vouneuil, on September 19 at 10 p.m., a kind of "diver".

The latter, he said, came to caress his arm, made unintelligible sounds and withdrew towards a craft (which Mr. David cannot describe). A green beam of light was projected in his direction, nailing him on the spot, then the craft disappeared in the sky, vertically, without any noise.

Mr. David declares that he told nothing about this bizarre encounter for fear of being laughed at. He did, however, share it with a friend, asking him if anyone else had seen the "diver". That's how the whole country found out.

A luminous sphere photographed in the sky of Sweden

Stockholm, 23. -- A luminous sphere, which left behind a trail of fire, was photographed last night in Djuv, in the south-east of Sweden. The object, which was moving north, said the witness, was flying quickly, "as high, he said, as a jet plane but without making any noise".

At the Lund Observatory, it is stated that no meteor was observed at the time when the witness photographed the said phenomenon with the telephoto lens.

Luminous objects in the sky of the Roussillon...

Perpignan, 29. -- A baker from Canet-Plage, Mr. Etienne Err, said that after returning from a tour of delivery with his van, he had seen above this locality, a brilliant disc which, after having flown in large circles, moved away in direction of the sea.

Also, seven workers from a factory in the suburbs of Perpignan claim to have also seen an object of indefinite color, moving at high speed and which would have crossed the Pyrenees towards Spain.

... And in the sky of Haute-Garonne

Toulouse, 29. -- Three residents of Lanta, near Villefranche du Laurageais (Haute-Garonne), Mr. and Mrs. Brunet and Mr. Garda, a teacher in the locality, claim to have seen, last night, above the village, a luminous disc of orange color.

The object moved at a great height and moved in a North-South direction.

After being visible for thirty to forty seconds, the luminous disc disappeared on the horizon.

The "Martians" of Lisbon never existed

Lisbon, 29. -- "Travelers from another world", whose visit to Portugal was announced by a Lisbon newspaper, were not even born from an imagination exacerbated by the countless visions of flying saucers. They were just the creation of hoaxers, which the same newspaper denounced yesterday.

A FLYING SAUCER SEEN IN WIMEREUX

Boulogne-sur-Mer, 29. -- Mr. Raoul Baptiste, 72, a retired entrepreneur domiciled in Wimereux, said he saw a craft, around 11 p.m. Sunday, which could be a flying saucer, heading very low to the north.

[Ref. bre1:] NEWSPAPER "LA BOURGOGNE REPUBLICAINE":

Scan.

SEVERE "SAUCERITIS"?

Flying machines by the dozen
in the sky of France...

Paris, 29 (A.C.P. - A.F.P). - Testimonies are multiplying about flying saucers. Three different people phoned the other night, around 10 p.m., to a Parisian daily, to which they told more or less the same story:

"I saw a luminous craft above the Sacré-Coeur: it was heading north."

Doctor Martinet, dermatologist in Chambéry saw a flying saucer move above the Croix du Nivolet.

"About fifteen people," he said, "can testify to this."

The doctor and his wife were returning by car from the Col du Chat when they saw, directly above the Croix du Nivolet, at an altitude of about 2,000 meters, a dark aluminum gray mass. The doctor stopped his vehicle to follow the maneuvers of the craft. Three other cars also stopped:

"I observed my watch, said the doctor. It was 5:14'30" p.m.. The moves of the saucer lasted until 05:18'40" p.m.. At 5:16 p.m., as it was presented from the front, that is to say in the form of a disc I discerned a lighter zone in the center of the craft and dark spots all around. The craft descended directly to the Revard cable car station, then suddenly disappeared at lightning speed."

In the meantime, around fifteen people had gathered around Doctor Martinet and made the same observations as him.

In the Vienne, a 28-year-old farmer, Mr. Yves David, residing in Les Brouloux, commune of Vouneuil-sur-Vienne, met on the road from Cernon [sic] to Vouneuil, a sort of "scuba diver." The latter came to "caress" his arms, emitted intelligibile sounds, went towards a craft that Mr. David cannot

Continued on pages 3, under the headline
SAUCER

Scan.

SAUCER

describe and which rose silently vertically, then disappeared at full speed.

A resident of Wimereux (Pas-de-Calais), Mr. Raoul Baptiste, 72 years old, retired entrepreneur, stated he had seen, Sunday evening a flying saucer heading north at very low altitude.

In the Drôme, a resident of Valence, Mrs. Leboeuf, who was walking near Chabeuil, claims to have met on the path she followed, a small being and dressed so oddly that at first she thought it was a cellophane scarecrow. The dog accompanying the walker barked furiously, seized with terror. As for Mme Leboeuf, also terrified, she hid behind a hedge.

It was then that she saw a disc rising from the maize field that bordered the path, whistling emanating from it. Shortly after, the witness and the peasants went to the field, where, according to them, there was clearly a circular trace about 3 meters in diameter, with ears of maize lying down and broken branches on the edge.

Other residents of Chabeuil also said they saw a flying saucer that day flying over the countryside.

Explanations:

Map.

Totally insufficient information.

Keywords:

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

Wimereux, Pas-de-Calais, Raoul Baptiste, entrepreneur, retired, night, craft, saucer, low

Sources:

[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.

Document history:

Version: Created/Changed by: Date: Change Description:
1.0 Patrick Gross March 1, 2020 First published.
1.1 Patrick Gross March 28, 2020 Addition [nmn1]. In the Summary, "The regional newspaper" changed to "The regional newspaper Nord-Matin for September 29, 1954, and "
1.2 Patrick Gross April 18, 2020 Addition [vdn1]. In the Summary, addition of the part from [vdn1].
1.3 Patrick Gross January 7, 2021 Addition [bre1].

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