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October 9, 1954, Erbray, Loire-Atlantique:

Reference for this case: 9-oct-54-Erbray.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

The affair was initially published on October 13, 1954 in the form of a news release by the Agence France Presse, and was rehashed in many newspapers articles, with sometimes more information, in the following days. The witness is Gilbert Lelay, 13, a young schoolboy, described as shy person and not very imaginative, who claimed that the last Saturday, that is to say on October 9, 1954, he was riding his bike at 10:30 p.m. under moonlight.

He was returning from an uncle's in Rousselière, his parents driving their car ahead of him. He arrived close to the village of Les Garrelières, when in a meadow, on his left, he saw a weird object; which he described as being similar to a ball of fire posed on the grass.

He stopped. By seeing it upfront, the object was lengthy, like a "phosphorescent cigar"; when he saw it "from the side" it appeared very round.

The boy crossed the meadow's barrier, and when he was within ten meters of this "ball", a "chap" came to him, put his hand on the boy's shoulder and told him: "Look at it but do not touch it!" Some sources indicate that the chap had initially put off his hat and had scraped his own head.

This man spoke in French, with an accent that the boy indicated to be similar to that of "those Britton who come on our premises to sell horses."

He was tall, dressed grey pants and jacket, capped a darker gray hat, and wearing boots.

In a hand, he held a ball, the size of a large apple; which gave off purple reflections, or purple "fires".

This man opened some sort of door in the ball-shaped object, which made it possible to the boy to see that there were two seats of red color inside, and opposite the seats, many buttons of all the colors. The man again said something that the boy could not clearly hear, then noisily slammed the door.

Sheaves of fire started to all the directions, on top, bottom, the sides, and the object rose very gently in complete silence, vertically, with a "circle which turned at high speed in its lower part." when about fifty meters high, the object "turned twice in round, which is described in certain sources as "two loopings", then it "disappeared like a shooting star."

The boy went up on his bicycle to go home, having difficulties to pedal and I not being able to speak, explaining that he was like paralyzed by the fear. He told his parents what he had just seen, but they called him nuts.

It was the British Harold Wilkins who gave a first ufological version of the case, dating it to the beginning of November 1954, and speaking of several "entities". In the US, Gray Barker called the witness "Gilbert Lefay".

The first French ufological mention of this case is in the unpublished manuscript of Guy Quincy, a director of departmental archives who had produced a catalog of landing cases; but he gave a wrong of date of October 16, 1954, and he put it at the wrong place of Sainte-Marie-d'Herblay in Seine-et-Oise. These errors will be reproduced by Jimmy Guieu, who gives the age of 12 to the witness; then Michel Carrouges, Henri Durrant and many others.

The error of location comes from the fact that it happened in the hamlet "Sainte-Marie" near the town of Erbray; Sainte-Marie in Erbray became Sainte-Marie d'Herblay, a town unrelated to the case.

In 1964, Jacques Vallée included these errors in a listing, and made it follow by a correction of place, but still a wrong date; h commented that it was a hoax. But in his subsequent publications he uses again the case with the errors and no longer mentions that it was a hoax.

Although some aspects of the case given by the press may suggest a description distorted by the child or by the press of the observation of a helicopter and his pilot, the case has remained largely published as genuine, or as a hoax.

Reports:

[Ref. lcx1:] NEWSPAPER "LA CROIX":

Scan.

Saucers, cigars, etc.

Finally a "Martian"
(in full jacket)
who speaks French

A 13-year-old boy, the little Gilbert Le Lay, claims to have seen, Tuesday evening, a mysterious craft in a meadow, some 600 meters from his parents' home, in the village of Sainte-Marie en Erbray, near Châteaubriand.

The child wreportedly stayed for ten minutes to observe this craft which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A passenger, but this time dressed in a suit and a gray hat, shod in boots, reportedly told him in French: "Look, but don't touch." This character put a hand on his shoulder, while, with the other, he held a ball throwing purple lights. On what could be the device's dashboard were several multicolored buttons.

Still according to the child, the craft slowly rose vertically, launching fires in all directions, made two turns in the air, and suddenly disappeared.

A motorist
reportedly saw "two Martians"
cross the road

A motorist from Briatexte (Tarn), Mr. Jean-Pierre Mitto, technical agent in a company currently exhibiting at the "Arts Ménagers" in Toulouse, declared to have met, at nightfall, on the national road nr 631, the passengers of a flying saucer.

"Returning from Toulouse with two parents, he said, I suddenly made out in the beam of my headlights, two small figures who crossed the road, just a few meters from my car. I stopped immediately and, to our great astonishment, we then saw a large red disc with a diameter of about six meters flying away from a neighboring meadow, rising vertically. The craft disappeared in the sky in a few seconds."

A giant rocket
in the sky of Toulouse!

Two residents of the Toulouse suburbs, Mssrs. Pierre Vidal and his nephew, Angel Hurle, were able to see, Tuesday morning, at dawn, barely a hundred meters from their house, a giant rocket which, starting from a field, quickly disappeared into the sky by creating a clarity of rare intensity.

The two men then went to the place where they located the starting point of the mysterious craft. There, they found that the grass had been packed onto a circular surface 5 meters in diameter. In the center of this area, they discovered four footprints in the ground that appeared to have been left by the feet of a heavy apparatus.

The grass was covered with droplets from oily vapor condensation, which smelled like petroleum.

Police attended the scene.

A "bell"
on the Evreux-Louviers railway line

A craftsman and his apprentice claimed to have seen around 3 a.m., on the Evreux-Louviers railway line, while they were driving on a motorcycle, a 2.50 meters to 3 meters high bell-shaped, which was one meter above the ground. The lower part of the craft was shaped like a ring. The craft emitted sparks with greenish and reddish reflections. It first did a 10 to 12 meter jump, while an orange glow shot from its base.

A farm worker joined the two men to observe the phenomenon. All three state that the "bell" remained visible for nearly an hour. Then the orange glow became brighter, and the craft rose very quickly vertically, heading east.

[Ref. afp1:] AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE:

AFP

Paris, Oct. 13 (AFP) -- Observations of flying saucers and cigars were again reported today from certain points of France and Europe. Inquiries into previous reports were also in progress.

Military authorities continue their investigation of the saucer which appeared in the beam of a searchlight installed at the Metz Fair-Exposition. The searchlight operators saw, at a distance estimated as 10 km, a luminous circle which remained immobile during several hours. However, the radar operators, who were alerted, were unable to detect anything. Military authorities are investigating the possibility that some peculiar meteorological phenomenon may have been responsible.

Near the locality of Chateaubriant, in the center of France, a thirteen-year-old boy claims to have seen a machine shaped like a phosphorescent cigar only a dozen meters away. A passenger, dressed in a suit and grey hat, and wearing boots, supposedly told him "Look, but don't touch." The man is said to have got back into the flying cigar, which took off vertically.

On the other hand, Anatolia [region of Turkey] had not previously had the privilege of seeing flying saucers above its territory. A report originating from Ankara [the capital] indicates that this gap is now filled. Several persons living in the Ulus quarter [suburb] of Ankara saw, about noon, an object which remained immobile above them a long time. Suddenly, it moved off at great speed, and disappeared.

[Ref. cpd1:] NEWSPAPER "LE COURRIER PICARD":

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FLYING SAUCER
in Tyrol

VIENNA, October 13. - Mr. Harald Kreutzberg, the Austrian "Serge Lifar", living in Seefeld, in Tyrol, observed, while he was in his garden, a flying saucer which flew over the small locality for a few seconds before heading towards the North and disappearing behind the mountains.

Some residents of Seefeld also observed the phenomenon and tried in vain to photograph the mysterious craft.

A "Martian" who speaks French

CHATEAUBRRIANT, October 13. -- A 13-year-old boy, little Gilbert Lelay, claims to have seen last night, around 10:30 p.m., a mysterious craft in a meadow, some 600 meters from his parents' home, in the village of Sainte-Marie-en-Erblay, near Châteaubriant.

The child declares that he stayed ten minutes to observe, about ten meters away, this machine which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A passenger, a man in a suit and a gray hat, wearing boots, reportedly told him in French: "Look, but don't touch." He put a hand on his shoulder while with the other, he held a ball launching purple fires. He got into the craft through a door which he slammed. On what could be a dashboard were several multicolored buttons.

Still according to the child, the craft rose slowly vertically, launching fires in all directions, made two turns in the air and suddenly disappeared.

[Ref. ads1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ARDENNAIS":

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The saucers chronicle

LOUVIERS. -- A craftsman and his apprentice claimed to have seen on the railway from Evreux to Louviers, as they drove a motorcycle, at about 3 a.m., a craft shaped like a bell, 2 m. 60 to 3 meters high, which was at one meter above the ground. The craft emitted sparks shimmering in greenish and reddish. First it rose a good 10 to 12 meters, while gushing from its base an orange glow.

The lower part of the apparatus had the shape of a ring.

A farm worker joined the two men to observe the phenomenon. All three state that the "bell" remained visible for about an hour. Then the orange glow became brighter, and the object rose very fast vertically, taking the direction of the east.

Lisieux. -- Mr. Bon, professor of mathematics at Lisieux, saw early in the afternoon in Saint-Germain-de-Livet, 2 or 300 meters from the road, over a wooden area, a silver disc with a diameter of 7 to 8 meters, which rose suddenly in the sky, without noise.

The disc was animated of a rapid movement of rotation. After diving to the ground from an altitude of about 800 meters it suddenly left horizontally at a tremendous speed.

LA ROCHE-SUR-YON. -- Mrs. Drouilard, residing in La Roche-sur-Yon, said she saw in the sky Monday night around 11:30 p.m., a luminous machine resembling a mushroom, moving silently and rapidly.

Nevers. -- Two residents of Clamecy (Nièvre), MM. Henry Gallois and Louis Vigneron, stallholders, stated to have seen in a meadow near Corbigny, a cylindrical craft.

They say that while they were about fifty meters from the object, they felt an electrical shock, while the engine of their truck stopped and the headlights went out. When the craft was gone the headlights came on again but they had to restart the engine.

LYON. -- Dr. Durand, general counsellor of the Township of Belleville-sur-Saône and Mr. Bourgeois, cafe owner in Saint-Georges de Reneins saw over the chapel of Brouilly, a flying saucer.

On the other hand, around 7:30 p.m. Monday night, MM. Dubois, rugby player and Coulon, swimming champion, saw, flying at low altitude, in the direction of Montgelas, a ball of fire that changed color several times.

TOULOUSE. -- Two residents in the Toulouse suburb, Mr. Pierre Vidal and his nephew Angel Hurle, saw yesterday morning at dawn, a hundred meters from their house, a giant rocket, fly away from a field and disappearing into the sky while producing a clarity of rare intensity.

The two men then went to the place where they thought the starting point of the mysterious craft was located. There, they found that the grass had been trampled on a circular area with a diameter of 6 meters. In the center of the area they found in the ground, four prints appearing to have been left by the feet of a heavy machine.

The grass was covered with droplets of fat steam condensation and smelled of oil.

The police went to the scene.

CHATEAUBRIANT. -- A 13-year-old boy, young Gilbert Lelay, said he saw on Tuesday night around 10:30 p.m., a mysterious craft in a field some 600 meters from his parents' home in the village of Sainte-Marie en Erbray near Chateaubriant.

The child claims to have spent ten minutes looking at ten meters this craft that was shaped like a phosphorescent cigar.

A passenger, a man wearing a suit and a gray hat, wearing boots, reportedly told him in French, "Look but do not touch." He put the hand on his shoulder, while with the other he held a ball launching purple lights. He climbed into the craft through a door that slammed. On what could have been a dashboard, there were several colored buttons.

Still according to the child, the machine rose slowly vertically, throwing light in all directions, flew two rounds in the air and suddenly disappeared.

Abroad

VIENNA. -- Harald Kreutzberg, the Austrian Serge Lifar, living in Seefeld in Tirol, observed while he was in his garden, a flying saucer that flew over the small town for a few seconds before heading north and disappearing behind mountains.

Several residents of Seefeld also observed the phenomenon and tried unsuccessfully to photograph the mysterious craft.

[Ref. vmr1:] NEWSPAPER "VAR-MATIN - REPUBLIQUE":

More and more amazing!

In the Lower Loire, a young boy meets a French-speaking Martian

The military authority opens an investigation into the presence of a mysterious craft above Metz

Chateaubriant, October 13. -- A 13-year-old young boy, little Gilbert Lelay, claims to have seen, yesterday evening towards 10 p.m., a mysterious craft in a meadow, at some 600 m of his parents' home, at the village of Ste Marie-en-Erblay, close to Chateaubriant.

The child states to have stayed ten minutes watching, at ten meters, this craft which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A passenger, a man dressed of a suit and a gray hat, fitted with boots, reportedly told him in French: "look at it, but do not touch!". He put his hand on the child's shoulder, while the other hand held a ball launching purple fires. He went up in the apparatus by a door which he shut noisily. On what could be a dashboard were several multicolored buttons.

Still according to the child, the craft rose slowly vertically, throwing fires of all the directions, made two turns in the airs and disappeared suddenly.

A mysterious craft above Metz

Throughout the Metz fair, a military projector is installed at the Army's exhibit, sweeping each evening the sky of Metz with its beam of light. Sunday evening, the users of the device saw, at a height estimated at more than 10 000 m, a luminous circle which remained motionless above their heads during several hours. The radar service, also set up at the army's exhibit, vainly tried to catch the strange circle in its device.

A local journalist having reported the facts, the General governor, in command of the 6th military area, ordered an investigation, which, until now, did not succeed. General Navereva awaits the report by commander Cottel, person in charge of the army exhibit.

According to the first information collected as of yesterday, it seems impossible that the projector set up at the Metz fair of Metz could catch an unspecified object placed so high. Indeed, this headlight hardly has a range of 5000 meters, distances which in very clear weather would perhaps make it possible to distinguish something. The luminous circle caught in the projector beam could be explained by the presence, at a great height, of an illuminated cumulus lit by the moon, full at that time, and hidden behind a curtain of clouds. One remains skeptical meanwhile, waiting on the presence of a round object which would have had, one estimated, fifty meters diameter and which would be remained perfectly motionless during several hours.

However, the military services continue their investigations and will draw the conclusions of this case as soon as they will be in possession of the report by commander Cottel.

[Ref. ouf1:] "OUEST FRANCE" NEWSPAPER:

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CIGAR OR FLYING SAUCER?

a ball of fire rested on a meadow

"LOOK BUT DO NOT TOUCH!"
said the pilot to the young Gilbert LELAY, of Herbray

ERBRAY (from our special envoy: P. DOUCET).

Without pretending to play smart, we were skeptical. Extremely skeptical.

Lastly, in its turn, Châteaubriant had, or held, "its" flying saucer!...

The hero of the affair, the "seer" was a teenager, he was still at this age when innocence is the most splendid aureole of which the most beautiful legend shine, he was a child from on our own premises, a pupil of the primary school, a modest and estimated circle. Then, addition of interest, our small visionary doubled as a pleasant and deferent listener. Not only he "had seen" the mysterious craft, not only he had contemplated it all at ease, but also, the strange pilot had spoken to him, and in French and using the plural person, as appropriate between educated people.

The good joke! That thing is pretty obvious!...

Either the child was victim of his imagination and a mirage, or he wanted to impress his young comrades, or even he dealt with a smiling hoaxer.

The picture would also not lack of a certain romantic touch: this ball of fire in a green meadow, under the moonlight.

A LITTLE PRANKSTER?

That sums up rather well the flood of thoughts which occupied us during this short trip which led us to the public school of Erbray, where we were ensured to meet the young pupil of the course of the Certificate of Studies: Lelay Gilbert, 13 years old.

We were well decided to put a term at this nonsense, to confuse the young joker or at least to make him hear that he had been the victim of a very well organized prank.

This means that we felt well armored, that with us at least, no tall tale would be believed!

A DISCONCERTING STORY

How is it done, then? How is it done that we are left completely dumbfounded here, vis-à-vis this little boy who tells us what he saw and... heard, vis-à-vis this shy child, almost apprehensive, who continuously lowers the head, who is known for his very average intelligence, for his rather restricted imagination, and who does not read the newspapers or barely, and never went to the movies?

The fact is, you see, under it most simplistic aspect a priori, this "story " that the child tells us has more than one disconcerting side, by its qualities, the general behavior of the storyteller, and by some of his declarations.

"A "MAN" PUT HIS HAND ON MY SHOULDER"

He speaks the language of his age and his condition:

- It was Saturday evening, he said. It was 10:30 p.m.. There was moonlight. I was on bicycle. I was returning from an uncle's, in Rousselière. My parents were in front in the 4CV [car]. I arrived close to the village of Garrelières, when in a meadow, on my left, I saw an odd object.

- Describe that object for us?

- It was as a ball of fire posed on the grass. When I stopped and when I saw it upfront, it was all in length; then, from the side I saw it as very round. I crossed the fence of the meadow and I was within ten meters of the "ball" when a "man" came to me, put his hand on my shoulder and tells me: "Look at it but do not touch!"

- and this "man", how was he?

- Tall, gray jacket and trousers, hat gray also but darker. He held in a hand a ball, large like a large apple, launching purple reflections. He had boots.

IN FRENCH WITH THE ACCENT OF... BRITANY

- So, he talked to you in French?

- Yes, very fast and with a strong accent!

- What kind of accent?

- That of the Britons who comes on our premises to sell horses!

- He didn't say anything else?

- No! Except at the time to leave but I did not understand...

- And how did he leave?

- He opened a kind of door which he then closed again with noise.

- Did you see the interior of the craft?

- Yes, there were two seats of red color and opposite them many buttons of all colors.

- Then the craft flew away?

- Sheaves of fire started from all the directions, at the top, at the bottom, on the sides. "It" rose up very gently in complete silence and vertically. Arrived at about fifty meters, it turned twice in circles then it disappeared like a "shooting star."

- And you not noticed no other particularities?

- I did, while it rose, a circle turned at full speed in its lower part!

- Then you returned home?

- Yes, but I had difficulty to pedal and I could not speak any more. I was like paralyzed by the fear.

- You told your parents what you had just seen?

- They called me ... crazy!

TO EACH HIS OWN CONCLUSION

What more is there to say? What comments?

During this entire interview, we warned the child against any attempt at trickery on his part, preventing him about the range, the seriousness of his testimony.

P. DOUCET

[Ref. lae1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ALSACE":

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In the flying saucers file

A MACHINE SEEN IN THE SKY OF METZ HOLDS THE ATTENTION OF THE MILITARY AUTORITIES

Metz, October 13. -- Throughout the fair of Metz, a military projector, installed at the army exhibit, swept, each evening, the sky of Metz with its beam of light. Sunday evening, the servants of the device saw, at a height estimated at more than 10.000 meters, a luminous circle which remained motionless above their head during several hours. The radar service, also set up at the army exhibit, vainly tried to catch the strange circle in their device.

A local newspaper having reported the facts, the General governor commanding the 6th military area ordered an investigation which, until now, did not conclude. General Navereau awaits the report by Major Cottel, person in charge of the Army exhibit.

According to the first information collected as of yesterday, it seems impossible that the projector set up at the fair of Metz could catch any object put so high. Indeed, this projector hardly has a 5.000 meters range, a distances at which, in very clear weather, it could perhaps make it possible to distinguish something.

The luminous circle caught in the projector's beam could be explained by the presence, at a great altitude, of a whirling cumulus lit by the moon, full, and hidden at this time behind a curtain of clouds. One remains skeptical, in expectation, on the presence of a round object, which would have had, one estimated, fifty meters in diameter, and which would have remained perfectly motionless during several hours.

However the military services continue their investigations and will draw the conclusions from this case as soon as they are in possession of the report by Major Cottel.

A little boy meets a French-speaking "Martian"...

Chateaubriant, Oct. 13. -- A 13 year old little boy, young Gilbert Lelay, claims to have seen yesterday evening, at about 10:30 p.m., a mysterious machine in a meadow, at a few 600 meters of the residence of his parents, at the village of Sainte-Marie-en-Erbray, close to Chateaubriant.

The child states he stayed ten minutes to observe, within ten meters, this machine which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A passenger, a man dressed of a suit and a gray hat, fitted with boots, reportedly told him in French: "Look, but do not touch." He put a hand on the boy's shoulder while, with the other hand, he held a ball throwing purple fires. He climbed in the apparatus through a door which he slammed. On what could be a dashboard, were several multicolored buttons.

Still according to the child, the machine rose slowly vertically, throwing fires in all the directions, made two turns in the airs and disappeared suddenly.

In Tyrol

Vienna, Oct. 13. -- Mr. Harald Kreutzberg, the Austrian Serge Lifar, Seefeld resident, in the Tyrol, observed as he was in his garden, a flying saucer who flew over the small city during a few seconds before moving towards the north and disappear behind the mountains.

Some residents of Seefeld also observed the phenomenon and vainly tried to photograph the mysterious craft.

[Ref. ner1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD ECLAIR":

Scan.

SAUCERS (CONTINUED)

Military services are investigating

... and a Martian
talked to a kid

The testimonies on the "saucers" accumulate. The details often agree on the appearance and disappearance of the "luminous craft". So, is it not astonishing to see the military services worrying... and children claiming to have spoken to a "Martian!"

Yesterday, we reported the astonishing appearance of a disc of fifty meters in diameter above the fair of Metz.

Indeed, this projector has only a range of 5,000 meters, a distance at which, in very clear weather, it could perhaps distinguish something. The luminous circle could then be explained by the presence of a whirling cumulus, lit by the moon, full at this time, and hidden behind a curtain of clouds. We remain skeptical about the presence of a round object which would have been fifty meters in diameter, and which would have remained perfectly still for several hours.

However, the military services are continuing their investigations, and will draw conclusions from this case as soon as they are in possession of the report by Commandant Cottel.

Imagination at work

Gilbert Lelay, aged 13, claims to have seen a mysterious object in a meadow, some 600 meters from his parents' home, near Châteaubriant. The boy declares to have remained ten minutes to observe, at ten meters this object, which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A man, dressed in a suit and a gray hat, wearing boots, reportedly said to him in French: "Look, but don't touch". He put a hand on his shoulder, while with the other he held a ball launching purple fires. He climbed into the craft through a door, which he slammed, and the craft slowly rose vertically, launching fires in all directions, made two turns in the air and suddenly disappeared.

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

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"Officials" saw a saucer
in an army projector...

... but, as usual
we won't know anything for a long time

General Navereau, commander of the 6th Region and Military Governor of Metz yesterday morning received the report from Commander Cottel, specialist in antiaircraft land forces, concerning the mysterious craft which, for three hours, last Sunday, remained in the beam of a powerful army searchlight in the Metz sky.

No information was communicated on the contents of this report, but one imagines with what prudent sagacity the commander Cottel had to analyze a "phenomenon" which had several dozen witnesses.

The Army had, in fact, set up a stand at the Exhibit-Fair in Metz. It was there that, at nightfall, a powerful searchlight kept running, sweeping the city sky.

Sunday therefore, around 8:10 p.m., the projector "ctahces" in its beam a strange motionless globe.

"It looked like a Christmas tree ball," said Commander Cottel afterwards.

First, one believed in the presence of a weather balloon. Soon, a dozen military experts surrounded the commander. They all agreed:

"It cannot be a weather balloon: its diameter is at least fifty meters."

The "thing" was still there

All kinds of hypotheses were then put forward, the specialists not daring to advance too much that of a flying saucer. It was decided to clean the windows and even change the coals of the projector. But when it was turned on again, the "thing" was still there. It stayed there until 11 p.m., when one resigned to turning off the projector. Meanwhile, the radar set which had constantly swept the sky had failed to detect the mysterious craft:

"The "thing", commented a technician, "is probably not metallic and that is why the radar could not detect it."

As usual, we won't know anything for a long time.

Many curious people who had gathered around the searchlight were also able to observe the "Christmas tree ball". Some residents of the Faubourg de Sablon were to say the next day that they too had noticed the phenomenon.

In the Loire-Inférieure
a boy meets
a French-speaking "Martian"

A 13-year-old boy, the little Gilbert Lelay, claims to have seen Tuesday evening, around 10:30 p.m., a mysterious craft in a meadow, some 500 meters from his parents' home, in the village of Ste-Marie-en-Erbray, near Châteaubriand.

The child declares that he stayed for ten minutes to observe, about ten meters away, this craft which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A passenger, a man dressed in a suit, a gray hat, wearing boots, reportedly said to him in French: "Look, but don't touch." He put his hand on the boy's shoulder while, in the other hand, he was holding a ball launching purple flashes. He got into the craft through a door which he slammed. On what could be a dashboard were several multicolored buttons.

Still according to the child, the object rose slowly vertically, throwing fires in all directions, made two turns in the air and suddenly disappeared.

Giant rocket in the sky
of Toulouse

Two residents of the Toulouse suburbs, MM. Pierre Vidal and his nephew Ancel Hurle, were able to see, yesterday morning, at dawn, barely a hundred meters from their house, a giant rocket which, departing from a field, quickly disappeared in the sky generating a clarity of rare intensity.

The two men then went to the place where they located the starting point of the mysterious object. There they found that the grass had been packed on a circular surface 5 meters in diameter. In the center of this area, they discovered in the ground, four prints appearing to have been left by the feet of a heavy craft.

The grass was covered with droplets from the condensation of fatty vapor and which smelled of petroleum.

An electric saucer

Two residents of Clamecy (Nièvre), MM. Henri Gallois and Louis Vigneron, fairground merchants, said they had seen a cylindrical craft in a meadow near Corbigny.

They state that while they were about 50 meters from the craft, they felt an electric shock while the engine of their truck stopped and the headlights went out. When the craft was gone, the headlights turned back on, but they had to restart the engine.

[Ref. jpc1:] NEWSPAPER "LE JOURNAL DU PAS-DE-CALAIS ET DE LA SOMME":

Scan.

The luminous circle seen
in Metz in the beam
of a military projector would be
a natural phenomenon

Metz, 13. -- During the duration of the Metz fair-exhibition, a military lighthouse, installed at the Army stand, swept the Metz sky every evening with its beam of light.

On Sunday evening, the operators of the device saw, at an estimated height of over 10,000 meters, a luminous circle which remained motionless above their heads for several hours. The radar service, also mounted at the army stand, tried in vain to seize the unusual circle in their device.

A local newspaper having reported the facts, the governor general, commander of the military region, ordered an investigation which has so far been unsuccessful. General Navereau awaits the report of Commander Cottel, who is in charge of the army stand.

According to the first information collected as soon as yesterday, it seems impossible that the projector installed at the fair in Metz could have caight any object located so high. In fact, this projector has only a range of 3,000 meters, a distance at which, on very clear days, it could perhaps distinguish something.

The luminous circle seized in the beam of the projector could be explained by the presence at a great height, of a whirling cumulus lit by the moon, full at this moment, and hidden behind a curtain of clouds.

One remains skeptical, meanwhile, about the presence of a round craft which would have had, it is estimated, 50 meters in diameter and which would have remained perfectly still for several hours.

However, the military services are continuing their investigations and will draw conclusions from this case as soon as they are in possession of Commander Cottel's report.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Scan.

The saucers

(Continued from the first page)

A young boy meets a "Martian" speaking... French!

Chateaubriand, 13. -- A 13-year-old boy, young Gilbert Lelay, claims to have seen around 10:30 p.m. last night, a mysterious craft in a meadow, some 600 meters from his parents' home, in the village of Sainte-Marie-en-Erbray, near Chateaubriand.

The child states that he stayed 10 minutes to observe, about ten meters away, this craft which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A passenger, a man, dressed in a suit and a gray hat, wearing boots, would have told him in French: "Look - put a hand on the shoulder, whn-, [sic, mixture of lines] but don't touch." He told that, on the other, he was holding a ball launching purple fires. He got into the craft through a door which he slammed. On what could be a dashboard were several multicolored buttons.

Still according to the child, the object rose slowly vertically, launching fires in all directions, made two turns in the air and suddenly disappeared.

Toulouse. -- Two residents of the Toulouse suburbs, Mssrs. Pierre Vidal and his nephew Angel Hurle, were able to see, at daybreak, barely a hundred meters from their house, a giant rocket which, from a field, quickly disappeared in the sky causing a clarity of rare intensity.

The two men then went to the place where they located the starting point of the mysterious object. There they found that the grass had been packed on a circular surface three meters in diameter. In the center of this area, they discovered four footprints in the ground that appeared to have been made by the feet of a heavy craft.

The grass was covered with droplets from the condensation of fatty vapor and smelled of petroleum.

[Ref. ler1:] NEWSPAPER "L'EST REPUBLICAIN":

"Look, but do not touch"!

The occupant of the "cigar" wore a hat and talked in French...

Paris. -- A "Martian" finally spoke in loud and intelligible voice! Gilbert Lelay, a 13-year-old kid, was the happy listener. Whatever one thinks of his story given to the gendarmes. "I live in Sainte-Marie-en-Erbray (Loire-Inférieure). Monday evening at about 10:30 p.p., I was out of my parents' home when, in a nearby meadow, I saw a phosphorescent craft that had the shape of a cigar. I observed it for ten minutes".

"All of a sudden, a man came down from it, he was wearing a suit and a grey hat and had boots on: he told me in French: "Look but do not touch". He put a hand on my shoulder while in the other hand, he was holding a ball. Then he climbed into the craft, there were several multicolored buttons like on the instrument panel of a plane.

[Ref. ppe1:] JOURNAL "PARIS-PRESSE":

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Near Toulouse, in a meadow

A "Martian" deposits
two printed sheets
in Annamese dialect

THE German professor Oberth, rocket specialist, affirms that Martians or Uranids are "plants endowed with reason". It's possible. But if their appearances multiply, it is humans who will lose their heads.

Mr. Olivier, a former aviation pilot, attended, yesterday evening, he said, the landing of a saucer, in a vacant lot, near his home, rue des Sontaines, in Toulouse.

- It was a spherical, reddish colored object. It came out of it a sort of diver, small, with a very large head and huge eyes.

"I saw him like that," he added, drawing the mysterious visitor with chalk on his door. He was shining like glass...

"I did not believe in it, specifies Mr. Perano, who accompanied Mr. Olivier, but I saw it like I see you..."

After a minute, the diver returned to his saucer which took off vertically without noise and quickly disappeared.

It is a few kilometers from Toulouse, too, in Léguevin, that a mechanic, Mr. Jean Marcy, saw, in a meadow, a luminous disc, orange yellow in color, which took off on its approach.

At the place where it had landed, he discovered, on the grass... two sheets of glossy paper, which he gave to the gendarmerie. The two sheets are written in KuocNu, an Annamite dialect. We read the words of Vietminh, Vietnam, Prince Buu Loc. It also talks about an arrival in Marseille on January 12, 1954. The two sheets paginated 9-10 and 59-60 looked not to have stayed on the grass for long. A translator will examine them more closely.

"Look, but don't touch"

This is all very strange. Much stranger than the appearance, near Châteaubriant (Loire-Inferieure) of a Martian with a soft, full gray hat, descended from a phosphorescent cigar in front of little Gilbert Lelay (13 years old) to whom he reportedly told in French: "Look, but don't touch..." According to the child, he held in his hand "a ball which launched purple fires" and climbed back into his machine, slamming the door. In the past, those under the age of fifteen were content to see fairies or ghosts.

But in Montluçon, an employee of the station who is well over the age of belief in fairy tales, says that he saw a metallic object placed a short distance from a diesel tank intended for the supply of railcars. Next to the torpedo-shaped craft, which could be four meters long, was a man covered in hair. Unless he was wearing a rather long coat. Mr. Laugère, surprised, asked him what he was doing. The stranger replied in unintelligible terms, but the railwayman seemed to distinguish the words "diesel", however.

Mr. Laugère did not want to listen to more. While he was going to get his comrades, the craft took off and disappeared.

[Ref. rdr1:] "RADAR" MAGAZINE:

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Ste-MARIE-D'ERBLAY

LELAY: "He told me "Look, but don't touch"

It looked like a cigar, and it shone like a glowworm shining in the grass at night, said little Gilbert Lelay, mimicking the length of the craft seen by him in a meadow. "I was ten meters from the thing and I did not dare to approach, but there was a man of average size next to it. He was dressed in gray. He had boots on the feet. He seemed sweet. he approached me. He took off his hat, he scratched my forehead, he put his hand on my shoulder and said very kindly, "Look but do not touch." In the other hand he had a ball which launched purple fires. Then he entered his craft, laughing, and it flew away.

[Ref. tsp1:] "THE STAR PRESS" NEWSPAPER:

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France, Too, 'Invaded' By Martians

Paris (UP) -- A flying saucer epidemic has Frenchmen seeing men from Mars.

The other evening in the Lorraine village of Walscheid a terrified band of youngsters stampeded homeward to report that the men from Mars had landed in a villager's garden. Womenfolk dashed into the village church, hoping for Divine sanctuary.

The men grabbed scythes, clubs, and the few available guns and marched against the Martians. They marched to the garden. There stood the invaders, half human size, heads glowing motionless. Turned out they were big-blossomed chrysanthemums the resident had covered with brilliant cloth against the frost.

The Standard Model

When the big scale visitation from the outer reaches began, the flying saucer was the standard model. Since then luminous cigars, frying pans, discs, cantaloup and even bells have hurtled through the French skies in increasing numbers.

Within the week the villagers of Momy (Basses-Pyrenees) took to the fields with makeshift weapons to deal with a flying saucer freshly arrived. They found a hollow pumpkin with a candle burning inside.

Two nights earlier a farmer in the Bordeaux area stopped to repair his car on a lonely road, and narrowly missed death when a resident mistook him for a celestial invader and fired both barrels of his shotgun at him.

Ten days ago Gilbert Lelay told his parents at Chateaubriant that a little Martian stepped from a flying cigar and readily gave him permission to look at it, but warned him not to touch it.

Near Toulouse, a mechanic, Jean Marty, 43, informed police he saw an orange saucer land near his home. It soon zoomed away into the night, but Marty found two sheets of paper on the ground, covered with cryptic markings which none could deny might be Martian literature.

The weekly magazine Express offered a reward of 10,000,000 Francs ($28.570) to the first person bringing a real live Martian to its office.

The more scholarly newspaper Le Monde, lamenting on the rash of flying saucers, mourned in print for "the days of our well beloved sea serpent."

[Ref. cgt1:] BULLETIN "LA REVUE DES TRAVAILLEUSES":

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Awestruck!

There is something to be left speechless: meet a Martian! To believe that they gave themselves the same goal, our (planetary)neighbors: visit to the earth, but where? On the small bit of France.

Think about it! The Martian of the Montluçon railway employee was covered in hair... only one word pronounced: gas oil.

At l'Ambroix (Gard), they were seven. Presumably it was a delegation going to the Ministry of Labor for better wages.

It is possible to get lost when traveling in saucers, cigars, barrels, discs, fireballs, mushrooms, circles, funnels and other contraptions.

Near Châteaubriand, he was dressed in a gray hat, shod in boots and reportedly said in French: "Look. But do not touch."

Gentlemen and ladies of Mars, do not be pretentious. If you have something to stun us, so do we:

Ah! Meet a Martian and stun him!

[Ref. tbg1:] NEWSPAPER "THE BOSTON GLOBE":

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France Abuzz Over Saucers

Craze Matches Witch-Hunting

PARIS (Reuters) -- Frenchmen have taken to the flying saucer craze with all the enthusiasm that their medieval forebears devoted to witch-hunting.

Not a day passes without reports from all over France of "flying saucers," "flying cigars," "flying mushrooms," and "flying bells" piloted by 20th century sorcerers.

Villagers seize shot guns and pitchforks and sally forth valiantly to meet any saucer reported landing nearby. Police spend hours following up reports.

Flying saucer stories and speculation about their origin fill the national press. They have even driven sex from the front pages of some popular weekly newspapers. One has offered a reward of 1.000,000 francs (about $2800) to the reader who sends in the first authentic photograph of a flying saucer.

The Mayor of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, a wine village of 1600 people has decreed that any flying saucer which lands in his village will be impounded.

Flying saucer stories come from all levels and ages of the population.

A select few claim that they have actually seen the creatures who pilot the saucers over France. They generally agree that the creatures, usually referred to as Martians, are shorter than human beings in size and appear to be very hairy. Most of these creatures, if they speak, utter unintelligible sounds, but some have made themselves understood in French and even Russian.

Thirteen year-old Gilbert Lafay [sic], of Chateaubriant, said that he saw in a field a flying saucer piloted by a man who spoke to him in French.

Baker's assistant Pierre Lucas of Loctudy claimed that he met a four-foot flying saucer pilot with a hairy oval face and eyes as big as crow's eggs.

A workman, Louis Ujvari, met a flying saucer pilot near Epinal who spoke Russian and asked how far it was from the German frontier.


Saucers with sirens

The saucers seem generally to be piloted by males. One exception was reported by a schoolmaster, Mr. Martin, who said he met two beautiful Martian girls on the island of Oloron [sic] off the French Atlantic Coast. They were about four feet, four inches, and wore leather helmets, gloves and boots.

The strange visitors from outer space are said to be equipped with "ray guns" which stop witnesses in their track with an electric shock effect and temporarily immobilize automobile engines, but no really unfriendly act by them has so far been reported.

Frenchmen are less well disposed towards their uninvited guests and some accidents have occurred in the hunt for Martians. At Sinceny, Jean Faisan fired two shots at his farmer neighbor, Maurice Ruan, who was repairing his car one night, narrowly missing his head but damaging the radiator.

Faisan explained that when he saw a figure illuminated by two lamps he thought he was in the presence of a "Martian repairing his flying saucer." He ran for his shotgun and fired.

In the village of Troussey, sugar beet gatherer Alexandre Ronneji, who had not had a haircut for several months, was manhandled by a crowd who mistook him for a hairy Martian.

At Tain-l'Hermitage, in central France, a vineyard worker decided that his neighbor, M. Neyret, looked "extraordinary" in the dusk and attacked him savagely, beating him so severely that one ear was torn off. Only then did he find that Neyret was not a Martian.

Press cartoonists and practical jokers are having a field day over the whole affair. Newspapers and popular weekly magazines fill their cartoon pages with saucer jokes.


Flying Saucer-ers

A worker at a Paris railway depot started his mates on a Martian hunt by capering about in a welder's helmet with a green light inside.

But the king of the saucer jesters was a retired miner of the village of Beuvry-Les-Bethunes, near Lille, who built some flying saucers in his backyard. He made his "saucers" out of gray paper on the fire-balloon principles and lit a paraffin-soaked rag at the base. The warm air lifted the "saucers", some of them over nine feet in diameter, and off they went with the wind showing orange and yellow lights from the flames.

Police found him out after one of his "saucers" had landed near a haystack and almost set it on fire.

Attempts to explain the saucer phenomena have varied from "mass hallucination" to a suggestion that they are new experimental aircraft built in cigar form which can take off vertically.

Another theory is that, under certain atmospheric conditions, exhaust fuel from jet aircraft solidifies and may form "saucer" shapes. It has been said to reach the ground in the form of a rubbery material which dissolved on being touched. Such a material has often be reported to have been found on saucer landing sites.

[Ref. hws1:] HAROLD T. WILKINS:

The author indicates that in the beginning of November 1954, an encounters with saucer entities was reported by Gilbert Lefay, aged 13, of Chateaubriant. He was told in French that he could look at but not touch the saucer, a large ball that radiated purple light.

[Ref. gbr1:] GRAY BARKER:

Thirteen-year-old Gilbert Lefay [sic] of Chateaubriant saw a saucerman with gray suit and hat, wearing boots and holding some sort of ball which gave out purple light. This saucerian, who had landed in a field, spoke perfect French to the boy. The boy was evidently curious about the thing in the spaceman's hand, for it was reported the saucerian said, "You can look at it, but do not touch!".

[Ref. jgu1:] JIMMY GUIEU:

The author indicates that during the afternoon of October 16, 1954, an apparatus landed in a meadow in Sainte-Marie d'Herblay in the Seine-and-Oise, under the eyes of Gilbert Lelay, aged 12, who declared exactly:

"It resembled a cigar, and it shone like a glow-worm in the middle of the night the child. I was within ten meters of the thing and I did not dare to approach, but there was a man of average size at its side. He was dressed in gray. He had boots at the feet. He seemed a nice person. He approached me. He removed his hat; he scraped his face, put his hand on my shoulder and said to me gently: 'Looks at it, but do not touch it!' In the other hand, he had a ball which launched purple fires. Then, he went up in his apparatus while laughing and it flew away."

Jimmy Guieu notes that the somehow naive testimony may seem suspicious, but the detail of the ball which launches purple fires appears in his opinion hardly "inventable" for a 12 year-old child, and since "various witnesses state" that flying saucers occupants hold in their hand a sort of lamp, sometimes fixed at the belt or on the chest; Jimmy Guieu finds it hard to believe that the child was informed of this detail.

Guieu indicates that the only thing that "shocks the 'reasonable' mind" is that the occupant spoke in the French language. But he explains that they could have learn the language by picking up our radio broadcasts and by reading our books, magazines etc. with special "televisionners" that he also calls "teleprojections," or by using telepathy.

He indicates that there is intent for him to completely admitting the last assertions of George Adamski in its new book "Inside the Space Ships" but he finds it not impossible that these beings can understand us and the possibility that there are aliens among us who resemble us and study and contact us is a "very plausible possibility."

[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:

Aimé Michel put the sighting location as "Erbray" for October 11, 1954, on a map supposed to demonstrate cases are lined up:

Map by Aimé Michel

[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:

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October 11 [1954]

10:30 p.m.: Erbray (6 km SSE.Châteaubriant--Loire-Atlantique): "cigar" on the ground + being

Guy Quincy noted the same case a second time in his catalogue with a wrong date again, and a wrong place:

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October 16 [1954]

afternoon: Sainte-Marie-d'Herblay (5 Km NNE.Maisons-Lafitte ?-- Seine-et-Oise): luminous cigar lands + grey pilot talks 12-year-old boy (suspicious testimony or misinterpretation with helicopter)

[Ref. gqy2:] GUY QUINCY:

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October 16 [, 1954]

afternoon: Sainte-Marie-d'Herlay(5 km NNE Maisons-Lafitte ?--Seine-et-Oise):luminous cigar lands + grey pilot talks 12-year-old boy (suspicious testimony or confusion with helicopter?)

[... other cases...]

[Ref. mcs1:] MICHEL CARROUGES:

Michel Carrouges indicates that on October 12, 1954, in Saint-Marie-d'Herblay in the Loire-Atlantique, the young Lelay, aged 13, is alone 600 meters away of the house of his parents. It is there that during 10 minutes, he looks at a machine in the shape of a "phosphorescent cigar" which is a meadow.

Carrouges indicates that in the Agence France Press (AFP) newsbrief for October 13 relating to this incident, the witness is within 10 meters of the machine.

The account says that that the pilot of this machine put the hand familiarly on the shoulder of the witness, and said to him "looks at it, but do not touch it." Carrouges notes that the description of the pilot, who is a man, is rather reassuring: he wears a gray hat, a suit and boots. The only strange detail, notes Carrouges, is that he holds "a ball launching of purple fires" in a hand.

At the end of the ten minutes, of which Carrouges wonders what they were used for, the pilot goes up on board and "maks the door bang." The witness had the time to look inside the machine: there was "a kind of dashboard with multicolored buttons."

The machine rose slowly, launched light in all the directions, made two turns in the airs and "disappears suddenly."

Carrouges notes that the witness could see the machine closely during ten minutes, but that it is not known whether he looked at it well. In particular, "there is no indication denying or confirming the presence of rotor blades; there is none either about the noise."

[Ref. mcs2:] "MICHEL CARROUGES":

Discussing the duration of "landing" type sightings, "Michel Carrouges" gives "Lelay" as the name of a witness of a 10-minute sighting.

[Ref. jve6:] JACQUES VALLEE:

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12 Oct., 1954 Erbray France a 13-year-old child midgets holding a flaming ball 2

[Ref. jve7:] JACQUES VALLEE:

By checking against original sources we have also found a mistake in the G. Quincy catalogue; the sighting at Ste Marie d'Herblay (October 16, 1954) should be disregarded, the child named Gilbert Lelay is the witness of October 12 case at Erbray, and the story is definitely another hoax.

[Ref. jve8:] JACQUES VALLEE:

Vallée introduced his article about the UFO occupants by indicating some cases he rejected from the study he proposed:

In Herblay, there was only one witness, a twelve-year-old boy.

[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:

309 001.31678 47.65500 11 10 1954 22 30 1 ERBRAY-LOIRE ATL. F 011 C** 271

361 -002.15721 48.98700 16 10 1954 HERBLAY S+O F 011144 G

[Ref. fle:] FERNAND LAGARDE:

Fernand Lagarde thought he demonstrated that the observations of "Mysterious Celestial Objects" occur on geological faults; in a list of cases taken in Aimé Michel's book [aml1], he noted the case "Erbray" as not being located on such a terrain.

[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:

The author indicates that on October 12, 1954, at approximately 10:30 p.m., in Sainte-Marie d'Herblay, on the Atlantic coast in France, Gilbert Lelay, aged 13 years, walked at 800 meters of his parents' house when he saw an apparatus in an enclosure that he described as resembling a phosphorescent cigar. A man in a grey suit, boots and a gray hat stood near the object.

The man familiarly put the hand on Gilbert's shoulder and told him in French: "Look, but do not touch."

The man held in the other hand a ball emitting of the crimson rays. He climbed in the apparatus little after and locked himself up there by slamming the door, but Gilbert had the time to see a kind of dashboard with many lights of color.

The apparatus rose with vertically, made two loops while sending light in all the directions, then disappeared.

[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:

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245 October 12, 1954, 10:30 p.m., Sainte-Marie d'Herblay (France):

Gilbert Lelay, 13, saw a phosphorescent cigar in a pasture and a man near it, wearing a gray suit, boots, and a gray hat. He held a flashing sphere and told Gilbert in French not to touch it. He went back inside the craft, which flew in loops and vanished. (Carrouges 103; Magonia)

[Ref. gep1:] GEPA - "PHENOMENES SPATIAUX":

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No DATE PLACE
TERRITORIAL DIV.
COUNTRY OR NATION
WITNESSES TYPES SOURCES
54 12.10.54 Ste-Marie-d'Herblay, L. Atl., Fr. Lelay 1 V1 6.103/C245

[Ref. agd1:] ALAIN GAMARD:

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Case # Date Time Locality Department Witness(es) name
051 12/10/1954 22.30 Sainte-Marie-d'Herblay. 44 Gilbert Lelay

[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

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420 12 October 1954 2230hrs

ST MARIE D'HERBLAY (FRANCE) Gilbert Lelay (13) saw a phosphorescent cigar in a pasture, and a man near it wearing a grey suit. He held a flashing sphere, and told Gilbert, in French, not to touch it. He went inside the craft, which flew in loops and vanished. (M254; Carrouges, 103; Magonia, 147)

[Ref. hdt1:] HENRI DURRANT:

This French journalist and author indicates that on October 16, 1954, at 04:00 P.M., the young Gilbert Lelay, aged 12, saw a flying machine landed in a filed in Sainte-Marie d'Herblay in the Val d'Oise, which he described as underneath to the press:

"It resembled a cigar and it shone like glow-worms in middle of the night; I was then within ten meters of this thing but I did not dare to approach it. There was a man at its very side, of average height, dressed in grey. He wore boots. He seemed gentle and approached me. He carried a ball which launched small purple flashes in the hand. He took off his hat and scraped his forefront, then he put the other hand on my shoulder and said to me nicely: "looks at it, but don't touch it." Then, while laughing, he entered his craft again it flew away."

Henri Durrant comments on the case by indicating that it is not likely that a 12 year old child invents the detail of the hand held ball launching sparks, but that the case is perhaps not documented enough nor convincing. He notes that the occupant of the machine speaks in French, acts with great calm and in a gentle and friendly way.

[Ref. gab1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "G.A.B.R.I.E.L.":

THE "MARTIAN" EQUIPMENT

We are going to devote ourselves here to a study of the different equipment with which the “Martians” are equipped. Although subtleties of classification are possible, we will consider two extreme cases.

10/12/1954 Sainte Marie d'Herblay (Seine et Oise)

That day, around 10:30 a.m., the witness, a 13-year-old boy, Gilbert Lelay, discovered a strange craft resembling a luminous cigar near his parents' home. Beside the craft stood a man of average height, dressed in a gray suit; wearing boots and wearing a gray hat. The witness approached (very close as the man gently put his hand on his shoulder saying, "Look, but don't touch..."). The man held in his left hand a ball emitting violet and purple rays, he returned to his craft, took off vertically, performed two "loopings" and disappeared. (J. Guieu; J. Giraud)

This sighting of a "Martian" of type A H [= of human appearance] is quite characteristic, it is "classic" and, moreover, it is excellent: proximity to the witness and good conditions of visibility. From all the observations made concerning the "Martians" of human appearance, it is possible to identify the following points: the human appearance is not limited to the morphology of the "Martian", it also extends to the costume. The behavior of the being is also human (words, explanations, handshakes, friendly gestures, caresses of dogs...). Any error of interpretation is impossible due to the very proximity of the witnesses who were faced with a "human" by appearances but who in fact was a "Martian" due to the very presence of the "Flying Saucer". Indeed, if the latter were not always there, such sightings could have been put down to confusion with airplane, helicopter, or airship pilots.

[Ref. tbw1:] TED BLOECHER ET DAVID WEBB:

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54-69 Oct. 12, 1954 2250 Sainte-Marie d'Herblay, France Type B

13-year-old Gilbert Lelay saw in a pasture a "phosphorescent cigar", and a man wearing gray clothing, boots, and hat, who put his hand on Gilbert's shoulder and said "Look, but don't touch." In his other hand he held a sphere emitting purple rays. Then he climbed aboard--G. could see a control console with colored lights--and the craft rose vertically.

Vallee wrote to FSR that this sighting "should be disregarded: the child Gilbert Lelay is the witness in the Oct 12 case at Erbray, and the story is definitely another hoax."

Investigator: Jacques Vallee

Sources: Vallee, Magonia, p. 147 FSR X-3, p. 22.

[Ref. bbr1:] JACQUES BARTHEL AND GERARD BRUCKER:

The authors indicate that in the area of Chateaubriant, the young Gilbert Lelay encountered a character wearing a jacket, boots, a hat, and speaking French.

They indicate that they found the witness and wrote to him twice and tried to reach him phone on several times, but "no answer, nothing positive" and that from the nature of what it had described, the idea that he would have really seen this did not even come to their minds, and that his behavior at the time of their investigation attempt consolidated this opinion. They all the same salute in him the inventor of the "Martian" in suit and hat, "French elegance obliges".

[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:

The two authors indicate that in Erbray in the Loire-Atlantique, on October 12, 1954 at 10:30 p.m., a 13-year-old boy, Gilbert Lelay, observed within 600 meters of his residence a phosphorescent machine in the shape of cigar posed in a meadow. The object was within ten meters of him. Close to the apparatus was a man dressed of of a suit, a gray hat and boots. He approached the child, removed his hat, scraped his forehead, put his hand on the shoulder of the child and told him: "Look at it, but do not touch it". In the other hand he had a ball launching purple fires. The man went up in his machine laughing. The machine took off vertically while launching fires in all the directions, it made two turns in the air and disappeared suddenly.

The sources are noted as case 245 of the Vallée catalogue; Michel Carrouges in "Les Apparitions de Martiens" page 103; Jimmy Guieu in "Black-Out sur les S.V." page 233; La Croix for October 14, 1954; Quincy.

[Ref. mft2:] MICHEL FIGUET:

Nr of the J.C. Fumoux list N° of the Francat list Localization Date Class Credibility Sources Number of W
073 186 Erbray 10/12 CE3 Ni but D [=Not identified but Dubious] 2-p. 156
4 p. 85
1W

[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS - UNKNOWN US NEWSPAPER:

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November 2, 1954

French Have Epidemic Of Disks

By Priscilla Buckley

PARIS, (UP). -- A flying saucer epidemic has Frenchmen seeing men from Mars.

The other evening in the Lorraine village of Walscheid a terrified band of youngsters stampeded homeward to report that the men from Mars had landed in a villager's garden. Womenfolk dashed into the church, hoping for divine sanctuary.

The men grabbed scythes, clubs, and the few available guns and marched against the garden. There stood the invaders, half human size, heads glowing motionless.

Turned out they were big chrysanthemums the resident had covered with brilliant cloth against the frost.

When the big scale visitation from the outer reaches began, the flying saucer was the model. Since then, luminous cigars, frying pans, disks, melons and even bells have hurtled through the French skies in increasing numbers.

Within the week the villagers of Momy (Basses-Pyrenees) took to the fled with makeshift weapons to deal with a flying saucer freshly arrived. They found a hollow pumpkin with a candle burning inside.

Two nights earlier a farmer in the Bordeaux area stopped to repair his car on a lonely road, and narrowly missed death when a resident mistook him for a celestial invader and fired both barrels of his shotgun at him.

Ten days ago Gilbert Lelay told his parents at Chateaubriant that a little Martian stepped from a flying cigar and readily gave him permission to look at it, but warned him not to touch it.

Near Toulouse, a mechanic, Jean Marty, 43, informed police he saw an orange saucer land near his home. It soon zoomed away into the night, but Marty found two sheets of paper on the ground, covered with cryptic markings which none could deny could be Martian literature.

The weekly magazine express [L'Express] offered a reward of 10 million francs ($28.570) to the first person bringing a real live Martian to its offices.

The more scholarly newspaper Le monde, lamenting the rash of flying saucers, mourned in print for "the days of our well beloved sea serpent."

[Ref. lgs2:] LOREN GROSS:

October 12th. Sainte-Marie d'Herblay, France. (10:30 p.m.)

"Gilbert's hoax."

In the Atlantic seacoast town of Sainte-Marie d'Herblay there lived thirteen-year-old Gilbert Lelay, a lad with considerable imagination. On the 12th of October this youth told authorities he had come across an odd machine- resting in a pasture, a sort of "phosphorescent cigar," and next to it was a man who came up to Gilbert and said (in French it is assumed) it was permitted to observe but not to touch anything. The man did not stay long, but before he left in the machine, Gilbert noticed that in the man's hand was a glowing sphere that sent out shafts of purple light. As the door on the cigar-shaped machine opened and closed, Gilbert got a glimpse, he said, of a console covered with colored lights. When the odd craft vaulted into the sky, it performed two loops. 113.

After inquiries were made, Gilbert's claim was determined to be bogus, but that did not discourage the boy who was associated with another false report on the 16th at Erbray. 114.

[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:

62 - October 12, 10:30 p.m., Erbray, Loire-Atlantique.

Mr. Gilbert Lelay, 13 at the time.

The witness returns home by bicycle. Near the Garrelières, he sees a strange object placed in a meadow. Seen from the side, it is all in length. Seen from the front, it is round. The witness crosses the fence and approaches about ten meters from the thing. Suddenly, a man appears in front of him, taps his shoulder and tells him in French with a Britton accent: "Look, but do not touch". He is tall, wears a gray jacket and pants, and a dark gray hat. He is wearing boots. In one of his hands he holds a ball that shoots purple gleams about the size of a large apple. Then, the man walks towards the object, opens a kind of door, and closes it on him with a noise. The witness could see two red seats in front of which there were many buttons of all colors. Then the craft takes off vertically, projecting sheaves of fire in all directions, but in the greatest silence. As it rises, a circle spins at top speed at its bottom. Arrived at about fifty meters high, the object turns twice in circles (sic) and disappears at very high speed.

Local sources: Ouest-France, Rennes, October 14, 1954, p. 9, article by J. Doucet, special correspondent, who interviewed the child; Les Nouvelles de Bretagne et du Maine, Rennes, October 14, 1954, p. 1.

Note: Figuet, p. 156, tells of a man who took off his hat and scratched his forehead, then climbed back into his craft laughing. There is none of that in the two provincial versions to which I referred (D.O. 57).

[Ref. bhh1:] ROBERT E. BARTHOLOMEW AND GEORGE S. HOWARD:

The authors indicate that on October 12, 1954, in Sainte-Marie d'Herblay, France, at 10:30 p.m., Gilbert Lelay was walking, and saw a "phosphorescent cigar" in a pasture and a man in a gray suit, boots, and gray hat nearby, holding a flashing sphere emitting purple rays in his other hand. The man put his hand on Lelay's shoulder and said in French: "Look, but don't touch." He then reentered the craft, which had colored lights and what appeared to be a control console. The door shut, the object rose up, made two loops, and flew off while radiating light.

The authors indicate that the source is Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia, Chicago, Henry Regnery, 1969, page 147.

[Ref. fbn1:] FABRICE BONVIN:

Fabrice Bonvin notes:

Case #003: 12/10/1954, p. 156 (Erbray)

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

4084: 1954/10/12 22:30 2 1:19:00 W 47:39:00 N 3333 WEU FRN LRA 8:5

ERBRAY,FR:BOY:CGR/FLD:PSH says LOOK but DON'T TOUCH:DOOR OPENS:/r217p197+/r30

Ref#197 WEINSTEIN, D: French Newsclips 1954 Page No. 80 : ROAD+RAILS

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

The Belgian ufologist indicates in her catalogue that on October 12, 1954, in France in Erbray close to Chateaubriant in the Loire Atlantique, but on October 16, 1954 in Sainte Marie d'Herblay in the Val d'Oise according to Quincy and others, Gilbert Lelay, aged 12, sees at 04:00 p.m., or 10:30 p.m., a machine flying to be posed in a meadow, and tells:

"It resembled a cigar, and it shone like a glow-worm in middle of the night. I was within ten meters and I did not dare to approach. There was a man very near, dressed in gray. He had boots at the feet. He had a gentle look and approached me. In a hand he carried a ball which launched small purple flashes. He removed his hat and scraped his face, he put the other hand on my shoulder and told me nicely: "Looks at it, but do not touch it". Then, while laughing, he went up in the apparatus and flew away."

She indicates that the sources are Henry Durrant in "Premières enquêtes sur les Humanoïdes ET", Laffont, 1977, page 53,54 who gives the date as October 16; Vallée in "Chronique des apparitions ET", Denoel, 1972, page 278, who give the date of October 12, and M. Figuet / J.L. Ruchon in "Ovni, premier dossier complet...", Alain Lefeuvre publisher, 1979, page 157.

[Ref. ars1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

155.

Location. Sainte-Marie d'Herblay France

Date: October 12 1954

Time: 2230

13-year old Gilbert Lelay was walking around outside, about half a mile away from his parent's home when he saw, in a pasture, a machine he described as a "phosphorescent cigar." Close to the object was a man wearing a gray suit, boots and a gray hat. In a familiar gesture, the man put his hand on Gilbert's shoulder and told him in French: "Look but don't touch." In his other hand, the man held a sphere from which purple rays were emitted. Shortly thereafter, he climbed aboard the craft and shut the door with a clapping sound. Gilbert had time to something like a control console with numerous colored lights on it. The craft arose vertically, made a couple of loops while throwing light in all directions, and vanished.

Humcat 1954-92

Source: Jacques Vallee

Type: B

[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:

Jérôme Beau indicates that on October 12, 1954, at 10:30 p.m., Gilbert Lelay, 13, saw a phosphorescent cigar in a pasture and a man near it, wearing a gray suit, boots, and a gray hat. He held a flashing sphere and told Gilbert in French not to touch it. He went back inside the craft, which flew in loops and vanished.

Jérôme Beau indicates that the source is "Carrouges, M. 103"

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates that in the Loire Atlantique in Erbray on October 12, 1954 at 22:30, "A child observes within 600 meters of his home a phosphorescent machine in the shape of a cigar posed in a meadow. The object is within ten meters of the witness. Close to the apparatus is a man dressed in a suit, a gray hat and boots. He approaches the child, removes his hat, scrapes the face, puts the hand on the shoulder of the child and tells him "look at it, but do not touch". In the other hand he had a ball launching purple fires. The man goes up in his machine while laughing. The latter takes off vertically, launching fires in all the directions, makes two turns in the airs and disappears suddenly."

The source is noted "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 11 October 1954 in daytime there was a sighting in Erbray, France.

"An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. An unidentifiable object was observed at close range."

The source is indicated as "Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958."

[Ref. uda2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 16 October 1954 at 21:30 in Ste Marie D'Herblay, France, "Unintelligible language", and "Close encounter with an unidentified craft and humanoid occupants. One object was observed by one male 12-year-old witness at an airport (Lelay)."

The sources are noted "Guieu, Jimmy, Flying Saucers Come from Another World, Citadel, New York, 1956; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Preliminary Catalog (N = 500), (in JVallee01)."

[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON:

October 12 1954. 2230hrs.

ERBRAY (LOIRE-ATLANTIQUE : FRANCE)

Gilbert Lelay (13) was out walking near the Ste Marie Farm, about 800m from his house when he encountered a phosphorescent cigar shaped object in a pasture. Standing close to this object was a man in a grey suit, boots and hat. The man put his hand on Gilbert’s shoulder and said “Look but don’t touch”. In his other hand the stranger held a sphere, which emitted purple rays. Shortly afterwards he climbed on board the object, shutting a door with a clapping sound, but not before Gilbert had time to see something like a control panel with numerous flashing lights. The object rose vertically, made a couple of loops, casting light in all directions then vanished.

Vallee 1969, p.147 and Case 254 citing Carrouges 1964 p 103.
Location corrected from Google.

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

Location: Sainte-Marie d’Herblay France

Date: October 12 1954

Time: 2230

13-year old Gilbert Lelay was walking around outside, about half a mile away from his parent’s home when he saw, in a pasture, a machine he described as a “phosphorescent cigar.” Close to the object was a man wearing a gray suit, boots and a gray hat. In a familiar gesture, the man put his hand on Gilbert’s shoulder and told him in French: “Look but don’t touch.” In his other hand, the man held a sphere from which purple rays were emitted. Shortly thereafter, he climbed aboard the craft and shut the door with a clapping sound. Gilbert had time to something like a control console with numerous colored lights on it. The craft arose vertically, made a couple of loops while throwing light in all directions, and vanished.

Source: Jacques Vallee 245

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

*Oct. 12, 1954 - Ste.-Marie d'Herblay, France. At 10:30 p.m. Gilbert Lelay, age 13, saw a phosphorescent cigar-shaped UFO in a pasture and a man standing near it, wearing a gray suit, boots, and a gray hat. He held a flashing sphere and told Gilbert in French not to touch it. He went back inside the craft, which flew in loops and then vanished. (Sources: Michel Carrouges, Les Apparitions de Martiens, p. 103; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 226, case # 245).

[Ref. aapa1:] "ACTIVITE PARANORMALE" BLOG:

On October 16, 1954, around 16 pm, a 12-year-old boy surely had the most incredible experience of his young life; after seeing a UFO land not far from him, one of his visitors spoke to him...

The whole story took place in the town of Sainte-Marie d'Herblay, located in the department of Val d'Oise, near Paris. Gilbert Lelay, the only witness of this scene, sees just a few meters away a flying machine, which was unlike anything known, land. From this spaceship, a humanoid, resembling a priori the earthmen, came down. The young man, stunned, could not understand the reason for this intergalactic visit.

Testimony:

" It looked like a cigar, and it shone like a glowworm shines at night; I was then about ten meters from this thing but I did not dare go near. There was a man very close to it, of average size, dressed in gray. He had boots on the feet. He was gentle and approached me. He carried in one hand a ball which launched small purple lightning. He took off his hat and scratched his forehead, then he put his other hand on my shoulder and said gently, 'Look but do not touch.' Then while laughing, he got back into his craft and it flew away. "

Source

http://ufolibraryorbsresearchnetwork.blog4ever.com, March 16, 2014

[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":

This database recorded the case 16 times instead of one:

Case Nr. New case Nr. Investigator Date of observation Zip Place of observation Country of observation Hour of observation Classification Comments Identification
19541011 11.10.1954 Erbray France End of day CE I
19541012 12.10.1954 Ste Marie France 22.30 CE III
19541012 12.10.1954 Erbray France 22.30
19541012 12.10.1954 Erbray France 22.30 CE I
19541012 12.10.1954 Erbray France 22.30 CE I
19541012 12.10.1954 Ste Marie Herblay France 22.30 CE III
19541012 12.10.1954 Ste Marie Herblay France 22.30 CE III
19541012 12.10.1954 Ste Marie Herblay France 22.30 CE III
19541012 12.10.1954 Ste Marie Herblay France Afternoon DD
19541012 12.10.1954 Ste Marie Herblay France 22.30 CE III
19541012 12.10.1954 Ste Marie Herblay France 22.30 CE III
19541012 12.10.1954 Ste Marie Herblay France 22.30 CE III
19541016 16.10.1954 Herblay France
19541016 16.10.1954 Sainte-Marie-d´Herblay France
19541016 16.10.1954 St Marie. France Afternoon CE III

[Ref. prn3:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

October 9 1954. 2230hrs.

LES GARRELIERES near EBRAY [sic] (LOIRE ATLANTIQUE : FRANCE)

Gilbert Lelay (13) was cycling home behind his parents' car from a visit to his uncle's, when he saw a fiery object on the ground in a meadow by the road. From the front it appeared cigar shaped, from the side, round. Gilbert walked up to within 10m of the object, at which a tall individual wearing a grey suit with a dark grey hat, and boots emerged. The being came up to Gilbert, took off its hat and scratched its head, put its hand on Gilbert's shoulder then told him in a Breton accent, that he could look at the machine but not touch it. In his hand the stranger held a ball that gave off purple flashes. The being then opened a door in the craft, showing him two red seats, opposite which were multi-coloured buttons. The man then said something that Gilbert could not understand and slammed the door shut. Flames came out of the object in all directions and it took off vertically and silently, with a sort of rotating circle in its lower part. The object then looped round twice and shot off. Gilbert was so afraid he could barely peddle home or speak. When he told them what had happened, his parents laughed at him.

Note: The source reference "Gross 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.

Notes:

There is a date problem with all the ufological sources:

Quincy and Durrant locate the case on October 16, the other sources locate the case on October 12. I bet that "16" came from a confusion with "16" as the timing in French for "04:00 p.m.". The case cannot be on the 16th since it was reported by AFP on the 13th.

The only trace of a correct date is given by the young witness himself in the Ouest-France newspaper: the boy said it was Saturday, so the case was on Saturday, October 9.

There initially seemed to be a time problem:

The majority of the authors indicate the event's time as 10:00 P.M., others at 04:00 P.M. I did bet that a 12 year old child has few chances to be outside at 10:00 P.M., and that the correct time is perhaps 04:00 P.M., but that is also dubious.

Thereafter, when I obtaining the article of the newspaper Ouest-France, the mystery was solved: the boy returned from an uncle's while following by bicycle the car of his parents. The late hour thus does not have anything incongruous anymore.

There is a location problem:

All the sources give the place as being Sainte-Marie d'Herblay in the Val d'Oise, except Figuet and Ruchon which seem according to a short summary of their case file to locate it as being Erbray close to Chateaubriant in the Loire-Atlantique.

And indeed, "Erbray close to Chateaubriant in the Loire Atlantique" exists, while there is no Sainte-Marie d'Herblay in Val d'Oise. There is a Herblay village there, and schools or churches named Sainte-Marie abound, but it does not seem that there is any village or city strictly named Sainte-Marie d'Herblay there. I thus made the bet that the real place is the one indicated by Figuet and Ruchon.

Obviously, Durrant was right when he wrote that the case might have been poorly documented.

Explanations:

Map.

Hoax, child tall-tale, or helicopter.

Keywords:

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

Sainte-Marie d'Herblay, Chateaubriant, Erbray, Seine-et-Oise, Loire-Atlantique, Gilbert Lelay, cigar, phosphorescent, field, man, occupant, grey, boots, hat, sphere, incandescent, manoeuvres

Sources:

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

Document history:

Version: Created/Changed by: Date: Change Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross April 13, 2003 First published.
1.0 Patrick Gross March 8, 2009 Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Addition [uda1].
1.1 Patrick Gross December 29, 2009 Addition [uda2].
1.2 Patrick Gross March 23, 2010 Additions [vmr1], [lcn1].
1.3 Patrick Gross May 30, 2010 Addition [lae1].
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1.8 Patrick Gross November 21, 2016 Additions [ler1], [ubk1].
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