The 1954 French flap:

October 20th., 1954: time unnoted. Between Andigne and St-Martin-du-Bois (Maine-et-Loir).

Witness: Albert Gerault.

Refs: Ouest-France, 20.10.1954.

10/18/1954

Between Andigné and Saint-Martin-du-Bois

It was a bet. B.B. p. 77.

20. Andigné - St-Martin-du-Bois (Maine et Loire), October 20th, 1954. B&B Version: bet... (p.77) LDLN version: We met Albert Gerault at his home. He claimed to be the father of the witness who himself would have died since seven years. The conversation was almost impossible. Mr. Gerault says several times: "It does not interest me." his attitude seems to us to be thather that of a witness who wishes to forget than that of a merry prankster.

4188: 1954/10/18 00:00 2 0:45:00 W 47:41:00 N 3331 WEU FRN M&L A:4

D216 S/St.MARTIN-du-BOIS,FR:SCR LANDS/ROAD:HAIRY OID/OWLS EYES INSIDE:>>SSE

Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 182 : ROAD+RAILS

181.

Location. St Martin-du-Bois France

Date: October 18 1954

Time: midnight

15-year old Albert Geraud was on his bicycle on route D216 when he sees a light that turns from green to yellow. It descends in a jerky motion and lands on the road. The panicked witness feels likes his legs are paralyzed. Inside the object he could see a small being covered with hair that stares at the witness with large eyes. Abruptly the object rises, emitting a strong gush of wind in the direction of the witness and disappears in the direction of Lyon. After the incident the witness lies prostrate in bed for several days.

HC addition # 2435

Source: Figeut [sic] / Ruchon, Ovni Dossier

Type: A

October 20 1954

ANDIGNE (MAINE-ET-LOIRE : FRANCE)

Farm worker Albert Gerault (15) was cycling between Andigne and St Martin-du-Bois when he caught sight of a light changing from green to yellow that descended to the road in a jerking motion. The boy was panic stricken and his legs were paralysed. The object was transparent and when on the ground emitted a red light. Inside Albert could see a small man, 1.2m tall, covered in hair from head to toe, and with large owl like eyes that seemed to transfix the boy. The object then took off over his head and disappeared in the direction of Le Lion d'Angers. Albert felt a violent blow on his back.

Alain Gamard citing Ouest France 21 October 1954.

Location: St Martin-du-Bois France

Date: October 18 1954

Time: midnight

15-year old Albert Geraud was on his bicycle on route D216 when he sees a light that turns from green to yellow. It descends in a jerky motion and lands on the road. The panicked witness feels likes his legs are paralyzed. Inside the object he could see a small being covered with hair that stares at the witness with large eyes. Abruptly the object rises, emitting a strong gush of wind in the direction of the witness and disappears in the direction of Lyon. After the incident the witness lies prostrate in bed for several days.

Source: Figeut [sic] / Ruchon, Ovni Dossier

*Oct. 18, 1954 - Sometime before midnight 15-year-old Albert Geraud was on his bicycle on route D216 between Andigne and Saint-Martin du Bois, Maine-et-Loire, France when he saw a light that turned from green to red. It descended in a jerky motion and landed on the road, revealing a saucer-shaped object giving off a red gleam on the ground. The panicked witness felt like his legs were paralyzed. Inside the object he could see a small being covered with hair, that stared at him with large eyes. Abruptly the object lifted off, emitting a strong gush of wind toward the teenager, and it zipped away in the direction of Lyon. After the incident the witness had to lie prostrate in bed for several days. (Source: Michel Figuet & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochees en France, pp. 182-183, citing Ouest France, October 20, 1954; Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database 1954, case # 2435, citing Figuet & Ruchon).

No hairy Martians in 1954?

Today, one might wonder how, if flying saucer occupants were supposed to be Martians, people could have accepted beings entirely covered in hair as Martians - when everyone expected space-suited humanoids to disembark.

It's easy to forget that in 1954, "Martian" was a generic term used to describe any extraordinary being one might encounter - just as "flying saucer" referred to any mysterious object seen in the sky.

Moreover, journalists, who favored sensational stories, were quick to relay these tales of unbelievable Martians, even if they didn't believe a word of them. A saucer pilot in a spacesuit would likely have attracted less attention.

On the other hand, the first "saucer enthusiasts" (the term "ufologist" wasn't used yet) didn't shy away from collecting accounts of hairy Martians. After all, these stories were part of the wave of sightings - and whether in a spacesuit or not, a "Martian" remained a fantastical figure.

[...]

So there was no reason to laugh. The mustachioed, hairy Martians were part of the flying saucer mystery. Their sightings were examined alongside those of other saucer pilots, who would later be dubbed "ufonauts."

[...]

Let's now take a closer look at this group. We're going to synthesize the French cases presented by Carrouges, Giraud, and Zurcher - regardless of whether they're believed to be true or not.

Date	Time	Place	Witness
10/18/1954	evening	Andigné and St Martin du bois (49)	Albert Gerault (15 yaers old)

[...]

No Martian in Andigné.

The sighting of Andigné took place, in fact, in the town of Saint-Martin-du-bois, at a place called "La Maison Neuve". The date, first claimed to be October 18, is pushed back by a more local newspaper to Sunday October 17. But the witness, a young farmhand, was returning from work. Except to be sure that he worked well on Sunday, it could be rather Saturday 16 that the observation took place. However, that Saturday, at the same time, a bolide was visible which corresponds quite well to the observation.

As for the little being who had owl eyes, maybe it was just one!

[...]

No Martian in Andigné

In fact, there was never a "Martian" in Andigné. The incident in question actually took place in the commune of Saint-Martin-du-Bois, at a place called "La Maison Neuve".

To study this case, we unfortunately do not have access to the local newspapers, only to the books by authors who claim to have consulted them.

In 1978, Eric Zurcher included this case in his list of ufonaut sightings:

084 18.10.54 Between Andigné and St. Martin du Bois 49 G3 Mr. Albert Gérault

Note [by Dominique Caudron]: 49 is, of course, the department number for "Maine-et-Loire," and G3 refers to a group 3 ufonaut, i.e., a hairy one.

(Eric Zurcher, "Les apparitions d'humanoïdes", Alain Lefeuvre, 1978, page 312)

In 1979, Michel Figuet based his version on "Ouest-France":

18 10 1954 - Time unspecified - D216 road, between Andigné and Saint-Martin-du-Bois 49113 A3 M63/10

WITNESS: Mr. Albert Gérault, 15 years old, farmhand in Montguillon.

OBSERVATIONS:

a) A light shifting from green to red, then a transparent "saucer" emitting a red glow on the ground.

b) A small being, about 1.20 meters tall, covered in hair from head to toe, with two large eyes like an owl's.

EVENT: Young Albert Gérault was riding his bicycle on the road from Andigné to Saint-Martin-du-Bois when he saw a light changing from green to yellow. The light descended in jerks and reached the road. Panicked, the witness felt his legs become paralyzed. The "saucer" landed, and inside it was a small being covered in hair from head to toe, staring at Albert with large eyes.

Suddenly, the object rose into the air, creating a strong gust of wind behind the witness, and disappeared in the direction of Le Lion-d'Angers.

...

SOURCE: "Ouest-France", October 20, 1954, p. 1.

(Michel Figuet, "OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochées en France", Alain Lefeuvre, 1979, p. 182)

Then Barthel and Brucker dismissed the case in a single sentence.

Between Andigné and St-Martin-du-Bois, on October 20, a young farm worker had a strange encounter: a 1.20 m tall visitor covered in hair from head to toe, with owl-like eyes. Note, by the way, that even when it's a bet between buddies, "extraterrestrial mimicry" draws its resources from the feathered fauna of our planet.

Note [by Dominique Caudron]: No source indicated. It's unclear how the authors arrived at this conclusion of a prank between friends, which seems incompatible with what is known of the witness's fear.

(Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker, "La grande peur martienne", Nouvelles Editions Rationalistes, Paris, 1979, p. 77)

In 1989, anonymous investigators refuted Barthel and Brucker's explanation.

20. Andigné - St-Martin-du-Bois (Maine-et-Loire), October 20, 1954.

B&B Version: prank... (p. 77)

LDLN Version: We met Albert Gérault at his home. He claimed to be the father of the witness, who had died seven years earlier. The conversation was nearly impossible. Mr. Gérault repeatedly said: "I'm not interested." His attitude seemed more like that of a witness who wants to forget than of someone playing a joke.

("La grande peur martienne: canular après enquête", "Lumières dans la nuit", No. 299, p. 34)

In 1997, Jean Sider rejected Barthel and Brucker's interpretation.

77 - October 18, unknown time, Andigné/Saint-Martin-du-Bois, Maine-et-Loire.

Albert Gérault, 15 years old at the time.

The witness was riding his bicycle on the D216 road. Suddenly, he noticed a light changing from green to yellow. The light descended in jerks and reached the road. Terrified, the boy felt his legs become paralyzed. An object had landed, and inside it was a small being covered in hair from head to toe, with eyes like those of an owl. Suddenly, the object took off, generating a violent gust felt on the witness's back, and disappeared in the direction of Le Lion-d'Angers. Afterwards, the young man remained prostrated for several days.

Source: Figuet, pp. 182-183

Note [by Jean Sider]: Barthel & Brucker explained this incident as the result of a "bet" (i.e., a prank), but given that they constantly falsified their "counter-investigations," we can no longer give them any credibility.

Note [by Dominique Caudron]: Instead of demonstrating why Barthel & Brucker's claim is not credible, Sider simply asserts without evidence that they always falsified their investigations - which is false.

The witness's prostration, if genuine, suggests that the testimony is plausible. Moreover, the same evening, a schoolboy in Ille-et-Vilaine reportedly experienced a similar event (see case no. 79).

Note [by Dominique Caudron]: The witness's prostration and, more generally, his fear only show that he didn't make up the story - not that the small hairy being truly existed.

As for case no. 79, it is an anonymous testimony so similar to the Andigné case that it appears to be a simple copy.

But in 2014, Julien Gonzalez provided additional details, according to "Le Courrier de l'Ouest" dated October 21:

Between Andigné and Saint-Martin-du-Bois, Maine-et-Loire, October 17, 1954, 7:30 PM

Mr. Albert Gérault, 15 years old, farmhand in Montguillon.

The young Albert Gérault, who lived in La Chapelle-sur-Oudon but worked in Montguillon, was cycling on the road from Saint-Martin-du-Bois to Andigné when, just before reaching La Maison-Neuve, he saw in the sky a disc that changed from green to yellow while descending in jerks toward the ground. His legs gave out from fear. He said: "The disc was transparent, inside there was a small man (1.20 meters tall according to another source) sitting motionless. His eyes were as big as a pigeon's and he was covered in hair, though I don't know if it wasn't just a coat. He stared at me and I was terrified. It lasted at least five minutes. Then the light went out and the disc took off. I felt a blast of air on my back."

Panic-stricken, the young Albert Gérault fled to the Malaboeuf family's farm at La Maison-Neuve, where he could only recount his experience after a few moments. He asked his boss to let him leave early from now on, so he could get home before dark - he was afraid of seeing the little hairy man in his "saucer" again.

Additional Information:

1. This case is often dated October 18 by ufologists (M. Figuet, Sider), but "Le Courrier de l'Ouest" of October 21, 1954, clearly states "Sunday evening," which would be October 17.

2. In "La Grande Peur Martienne", Barthel and Brucker claim the case was a hoax. However, in 1989, investigators from "Lumières dans la Nuit" met Albert Gérault at his home. He claimed to be the father of the witness, who had supposedly died seven years earlier. The conversation was nearly impossible. Mr. Gérault repeatedly said: "I'm not interested." His attitude seemed more like that of a witness who wants to forget than that of a mischievous prankster.

Note [by Dominique Caudron]: Barthel and Brucker's explanation is indeed inappropriate, but if the LDLN investigators could distinguish a 50-year-old man from someone over 70, then the psychology of a witness pretending to be his own father is questionable.

Sources: "Le Courrier de l'Ouest", October 21, 1954; "Ouest-France", October 20, 1954; Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, "OVNI: le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochées en France", pp. 182-183; Jean Sider, "Le dossier 1954 et l'imposture rationaliste", p. 208.

(Julien Gonzalez, "RR3 - Le Dossier des Rencontres du Troisième Type en France", Le Temps Présent, 2014, pp. 144-145)

Let's now look at the location of the observation.

The witness, after finishing his workday in Montguillon, was returning to his home in La Chapelle-sur-Oudon. So, the event took place in the evening. He would have been heading south to cross the Oudon river at the place called "Port aux Anglais," after passing through the village of Saint-Martin-du-Bois.

The observation reportedly took place just before the farm at the hamlet called "La Maison Neuve," and we can consult Google to see what the view looks like from the presumed observation site.

The road is straight and the horizon fairly open toward the east.

Now, there is some uncertainty about the date. According to Figuet, "Ouest-France" places the observation on the 18th, but according to Gonzalez, "Le Courrier de l'Ouest" places it on Sunday the 17th.

But did this young farmhand work on Sundays? It wouldn't be the first time a newspaper gave an incorrect date. We might therefore suppose that the observation actually occurred the day before, on Saturday the 16th.

The exact time is unknown, but that day the sun set around 6:11 PM, the first stars appeared around 6:45 PM, and it was completely dark by about 7:15 PM.

A useful clue is that the witness later asked his boss to allow him to return home before nightfall. So, our cyclist must have had the experience when it was already dark.

Now, if it was indeed Saturday the 16th, two fireballs were reported that day - one, the more widely seen, around 9:30 PM, and the other around 7:30 PM, which would fit well with a farmhand biking home after work.

The description of the object's arrival is not incompatible with a fireball: the jerky movement can be well explained by variations in brightness, and as for the colors, they are often described in connection with fireballs.

So it could have been a fireball, although that is only a hypothesis. Patrick Gross's catalog mentions five observations at that time, whose alleged movements are unfortunately quite disparate, so that we can only conclude that a fireball was visible at that time, without really knowing whether it was visible from the observation location.

The coincidence of the observation of the small being with that of the fireball should not be dismissed on grounds of improbability: on October 18 a small being was also reported, just after the observation of a fireball. In Quarouble, on September 10, it's the reverse: it's just after seeing two beings that the witness observes a fireball. And above all, in Quarouble as here, if the coincidence had not occurred, the case would have remained unknown to us.

The difficulty comes afterward: the object was then said to have been observed on the ground, and, according to the witness, "The disk was transparent, inside there was a small man sitting motionless." A transparent disk? In the middle of the night? Then the witness implies that the disk was luminous: "Then the light went out and the disk flew away."

And things don't improve with the description of the being: "His eyes were as big as pigeon eyes and he was covered in hair, but I don't know if it wasn't a coat." At what distance was the witness to be sure of such details?

As for the behavior of the small being, it is really not compatible with that of a saucer pilot carrying out any kind of night mission: "He was staring at me and I was terrified. It lasted at least five minutes."

That's not all, the witness adds: "I felt a gust of air on my back." Yet, if there had truly been a physical effect, the witness should have felt a gust on his face. This "gust" on his back resembles a physiological effect, like goosebumps, and must be attributed not to the object, but to the terror felt by the witness, just like "my legs gave out," because if the witness had been paralyzed, he would not have been able to run to the farm afterward.

So we have here a very impressionable witness, who reportedly remained prostrate for several days after his observation and no longer dared to drive at night.

Under these conditions, the credibility of this testimony, regarding the details provided, is weak. We are only sure that it was not a hoax by the witness, although one could imagine a prank played on him, using a firework rocket (for the object) and, for example, a small mannequin lit up by a lamp. When the lamp went out, the witness would naturally have imagined the disk taking off. But this too is only a hypothesis.

[Michelin map]

[Eurasian eagle-owl]

Another hypothesis for the small being is suggested by the description of the eyes "like those of an owl." What if it was simply an owl? Given the observation conditions, it would not have been easy to distinguish, at a distance, a being covered in feathers from one covered in hair. Since the owl is a nocturnal bird of prey, its observation at dusk is entirely plausible. The alleged size should not be taken at face value: it is only as reliable as the witness's estimate of the distance - that is, at night, by a frightened young man. Moreover, the bird was probably perched on a support, such as a fence post, so it is not surprising that an owl (the eagle-owl is 75 cm tall, and the long-eared owl half that) was described as a hairy being 1.20 m tall.

Furthermore, the being stared at the witness for five minutes. What is more likely? That a "Martian" traveled billions of kilometers just to frighten a young man for five minutes, or that this same young man, in the dark, mistook an owl for a Martian?

One could object that the owl hypothesis does not account for all aspects of the observation. That's true, but we would first need to know the actual data, because, in the absence of an investigation, we have only rumor, through journalists who often copy from each other.

So we have no solid explanation. Only hypotheses. But while we cannot doubt the witness's good faith, we also cannot take at face value the bizarre testimony of a frightened adolescent. His observation of a motionless being does not at all match what we know of craft occupants, even if the craft turns out to be a van, an agricultural machine, or a helicopter. On the contrary, this kind of being suggests an inanimate object:

In Walscheid (Moselle) a group of small beings, remaining motionless despite warnings, turned out to be chrysanthemums wrapped up against the cold.

In Montabon (Côte-d'Or), a Martian kept staring at his attackers who had just fired two shotgun blasts at him. As they approached, they discovered an old tree trunk whose glowing green part had looked like an eye.

In Binic (Côtes-du-Nord), the small motionless being seemed to be waiting for the witnesses, who upon approaching, recognized it as a gas bottle.

Of course, a gas bottle doesn't fly away, nor does an old tree trunk or a pot of chrysanthemums, whereas an owl can.

In the end, we don't really know what that damn hairy pilot was, but we do know what he wasn't: a hairy flying saucer pilot, precisely.

October 18 1954.

ANDIGNE (MAINE ET LOIRE : FRANCE)

A farm boy Albert Giraud (15) was riding his bike from Andigne to Saint Martin du Bois when he saw a light changing from green to yellow descending jerkily towards the road. The lad felt paralysed by fear. On the ground the thing resembled a transparent saucer giving off a red light, inside of which was a being 1.2m tall, covered with hair from head to feet and with large eyes. The object took off giving off a blast of air which hit Albert in the back. The boy was so terrified that he was bedridden for several days.

• Alain Gamard + Gross URECAT citing Figuet and Ruchon 1979 citing Ouest France 20 October 1954. p182

Evaluation - Very distorted account of an owl ?