ufo - UFOS at close sight: the 1954 French flap, October 16, Dury, Somme

Reference for this case: 16-Oct-54-Dury.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

The regional newspaper Le Courrier Picard on page 3 of the Amiens issue for October 20, 1954, indicated among other observations that their young apprentice typographer Henri Duchêne, "who will be 15 years old next month", had declared the previous day only that "Saturday", therefore on October 16, 1954, around 7 p.m., as he was returning to Dury by bicycle, he had seen in the fields, between the farm Saint-Dominique and the cemetery of Dury, a "large object posed on the ground some 50 meters from the road", which had the shape of an elongated egg and "could be ten meters in diameter and three meters high."

The newspaper added that "at the rear was a sort of tail through which blue smoke escaped", that "the craft" made no noise."

The newspaper said that the witness was afraid: "After making his discovery, the young man had only one haste: to move away as quickly as possible; which he did with all the speed being possible to his machine..."

The observation would be republished in 1993 and 1997 by the ufologist and author Jean Sider, then by Larry Hatch, then by Luc Chastan on the Web, none realizing that the young typographer's description was that of a meteor.

Reports:

The Courier of the Somme

Again and again the saucers

Flying saucers are still on the agenda. They continue to excite public opinion and to be the subject of all conversations.

Every day, new mysterious craft are seen. This is how the day before yesterday, around 6:30 p.m., a resident of Hornoy, who wishes to remain anonymous, working in the fields on the road to Thieulloy, saw in the sky a very bright craft whose exterior seemed to contain facets which gave it the look like a lark mirror. The craft was moving very high and at a very high speed in the east-west direction.

The lady who saw the saucer was hitherto incredulous: she kept of this an emotion which was still showing when, yesterday afternoon, she informed Mr. Godard, our devoted correspondent of Hornoy.

Monday, around 9 p.m., Mr. Biencourt, teacher at the boys' school in the Faubourg Saint-Pierre, in Amiens, who lives near the Citadel, was returning to his home when, in the sky, he saw a globe of fire descending vertically and at very high speed. It lasted a few seconds, then various colors appeared to Mr. Biencourt's eyes to suddenly go out.

Also, the young apprentice typographer of our newspaper, Henri Duchêne, who will be 15 next month, said yesterday only that on Saturday, around 7 p.m. while returning to Dury by bicycle, he saw in the fields, between the Saint-Dominique farm and the Dury cemetery, a large object posed on the ground some 50 meters from the road.

The craft was in the shape of an elongated egg and could be ten meters in diameter and three meters high. At the back was a sort of tail through which blue smoke escaped.

The machine made no noise.

After having made his discovery, the young man had only one haste: to move away as quickly as possible; which he did with all the speed being possible to his machine...

***

In addition, we are informed that in Hesdin, in the Pas-de-Calais, that is to say near the Crécy region, where "saucers" were already seen on Monday 18 at 8:45 p.m., Mr. Jean Gambier, sworn police officer, was on rue Farré, on his way to the Familla movie theater, when his attention was drawn to a blaze of the sky, northerly, above the forest. The craft, which had an elongated shape, seemed, according to the witnesses, to descend from the sky. Its upper part was bright red, its center was bright white, and the lower part left behind a shower of stars and light trails.

The phenomenon lasted about twenty seconds. The whole sky was lit up. The craft then resumed vertical height and disappeared at a dizzying speed, leaving behind it a trail similar, the witness told us, to a spate of fireworks going up vertically.

Several residents of Huby-St-Leu also witnessed this phenomenon, and if this information had not been reported to us by a sworn official, we would have hesitated to insert it. But the fact is here and for now, like all the others of the same genre, it is inexplicable at least for us.

So as not to change...

FLYING
SAUCERS

Although not yet explained, the appearances of mysterious craft in the Picardy sky seem to become the most ordinary thing there is and it is with much less interest that one records the statements of people who, for their part, have seen...

It is for example, a resident of Hornoy who was working in the fields in the afternoon, when she saw a faceted craft, shiny, which moved at high altitude and very high speed.

In Amiens, it was a schoolteacher, Mr. Biencourt who, around 9 p.m., was returning to his home, when he saw a vertically descending fire globe. For a few seconds various colors appeared to M. Biencourt, who subsequently saw nothing. Saucer or atmospheric phenomenon?

Finally, a young typographer was returning to Dury-les-Amiens by bicycle in the evening, around 7 p.m., when he saw a large craft posed in the fields, 150 meters from the road, between a farm and the cemetery of Dury-les-Amiens: the craft had the shape of an egg of 10 m. in diameter and 3 m. in height; smoke was escaping from behind and the craft made no noise.

This magazine reproduced the article of the newspaper Le Courrier Picard [cpd1] for October 20, 1954.

October 16, at about 7 p.m., Dury, Somme

A young apprentice typographer, Henri Duchêne, aged just under 15, said that this Saturday, when he returned to Dury by bicycle, he had seen in a field, between the Saint-Dominique farm and the Dury cemetery, a large object, posed on the ground, some one hundred and fifty meters from the road. This craft had the shape of an elongated egg. It could be ten meters in diameter and three meters high. (But what is the "diameter" of an elongated egg, and what is its "height"?). At the back was a kind of tail, through which blue smoke escaped. The craft made no noise.

The young man was in one one hurry: to get away as soon as possible; which he did.

source: Le Courrier Picard, Amiens, 10/20/54, p.3

French ufologist and author Jean Sider learned in an article from the newspaper Le Courrier Picard, of Amiens, for October 20, 1954, on page 3, about an observation of October 16, 1954, at approximately 07:00 p.m., in Dury, in the department of the Somme:

"A young typography apprentice of our newspaper, Henri Duchêne, who will be 15 years old next month, declared yesterday only, that Saturday at approximately 07:00 p.m., whereas he was goinf back to Dury on his bicycle, he had seen something strange. Between the St Dominique farm and the cemetery of Dury, he managed to observe a bulky object posed on the ground at approximately 150 m of the road. The machine had the shape of an elongated egg and could have ten meters in diameter and three meters in height. At its back was a kind of tail, where blue smoke was emitted. No noise was perceived. After having observed the phenomenon, the young man was in a hurry only for moving away as soon as possible, which he did at all the speed of his machine."

4158: 1954/10/16 19:00 1 2:16:00 E 49:51:00 N 3333 WEU FRN SMM 7:5

DURY,FR:BOY/15:12M CGR/GND:3M HIGH:BLOWS BLUE SMOKE/REAR:OBS FLEES:/LDLN#320

Ref#217 Jean SIDER: Le DOSSIER 1954 (2 vol.) Page No. 110 : FARMLANDS

The author of the database indicates that in the Somme in Dury on October 16, 1954 at 19:00 hours, "a teenager as he goes back to Dury by bicycle sees in a field between the St Dominique farm and the cemetery a bulky object at 150 m of the road. The object has the shape of a lengthened egg. It seems to have ten m in diameter and three meters in height. At the back a kind of tail by which blue smoke escapes is visible. The young man moves away quickly frightened."

The website indicates that on 16 October 1954 at 19:00 in Dury, France, "Fog or smoke. 15-yr-old boy sees 12m long cigar on ground. Object stood 3m high. It blows blue smoke from rear, witness flees."

And: "An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. One cigar-shaped object, about 40 feet across, was observed by one male 15-year-old witness on a farm for over one minute."

The sources are noted Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.

Explanations:

Another possibility would be a landed helicopter with engine trouble; it made no noise because the engine was stopped.

Keywords:

Dury, Somme, road, Henri Duchêne, bicycle, cigar, trail, smoke, blue, afraid, silent

Version:	Created/Changed by:	Date:	Change Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	December 14, 2005	First published.
1.0	Patrick Gross	December 27, 2009	Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [uda1].
1.1	Patrick Gross	November 26, 2019	Additions [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet."
1.2	Patrick Gross	January 28, 2020	Additions [cpd1], [ldl1] [jsr1]. Summary changed, was "In his 1997 book on the 1954 French wave, ufologist and author Jean Sider indicated that the newspaper Le Courrier Picard, of Amiens, for October 20, 1954, had reported like this on page 3, an observation of October 16, 1954, around 07:00 p.m., in Dury in the Somme department: 'A young typography apprentice of our newspaper, Henri Duchêne, who will be 15 years old next month, declared yesterday only, that Saturday at approximately 07:00 p.m., whereas he was going back to Dury on his bicycle, he had seen something strange. Between the St Dominique farm and the cemetery of Dury, he managed to observe a bulky object posed on the ground at approximately 150 m of the road. The machine had the shape of an elongated egg and could have ten meters in diameter and three meters in height. At its back was a kind of tail, where blue smoke was emitted. No noise was perceived. After having observed the phenomenon, the young man was in a hurry only for moving away as soon as possible, which he did at all the speed of his machine.'"
1.3	Patrick Gross	October 17, 2021	Addition [vdn1].

The 1954 French flap:

October 16, 1954, Dury, Somme:

Summary: