The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 17-Oct-54-Audruicq.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspapers La Voix du Nord for October 19, 1954, Nord-Matin for October 20, 1954, and Le Nouveau Nord Maritime for October 21, 1954, and other newspapers d the region, had reported that "Sunday", therefore on October 17, 1954, around 7 p.m., Mr. Maurice Ramette, 24, from Naves, beets handler at the Audruicq station, and Mr. Léon Héquier, 23, from Sailly-en-Cambrésis, were walking back from Zutquerque to Audruicq, accompanied by their wives and two children aged 8 and 2 years 1/2, when they saw, high in the sky and to their right, an unusual object of round shape and pinkish white in color, smaller than the moon, but much larger than a star, and which seemed to be moving towards them.
They remained frozen; then the object "went out." They resumed their walk and saw it again, re-ignited and moving away from them on their left, faster than a jet plane.
It was Mr. Ramette who had told the story; the newspaper commented that he seemed to be sincere, and that his 2 1/2 years old son was still terrified by the appearance. His wife denied that she had been frightened, but admitted that she had quickly returned to her home and did not dare to go out again to the movies.
The newspaper Le Pays d'Auge - Tribune for October 26, 1954, had reported that in Audruicq, in Pas-de-Calais, Messrs. Maurice Ramette and Léon Gégnier had seen, high in the sky, an object of round shape and of white color which moved towards them, and which suddenly obliqued and disappeared at a dizzying speed.
[Ref. vdn1:] NEWSPAPER "LA VOIX DU NORD":
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Sunday evening, around 7, MM. Maurice Ramette, 24, from Naves, near Cambrai, and Léon Hequier, 78, from Sailly-en-Cambrésis, were returning on foot from Zutquerque, towards Audruicq accompanied by their wives and their two children, aged 8 and 2 and a half.
They saw, high in the sky, and to their right, an unusual object of round shape and pinkish-white in color, smaller than the moon, but much larger than a star, and which seemed to be heading towards them. They remained petrified: the object went out. They resumed their journey and saw it again, rekindled, and moving away from them, to their left, faster than a jet plane.
Mr. Ramette, who tells the story, is a beet measurer at the Audruicq station. He seems to be sincere. His son, 2 and a half, is still terrified by the apparition. His wife denies having been afraid, but admits to having returned quickly to her accommodation and not having dared to go out to go to the cinema.
Was this curious phenomenon a saucer? Did other people see it?
[Ref. nmn1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-MATIN":
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An intense emotion seized the parishioners of Walscheid (Moselle) when, at the end of the evening mass, a group of children told them that a "Martian commando" had taken up position on a village farm.
With a thousand precautions, some of the most courageous men set out as scouts, and indeed distinguished on the terrace of the said farm, silhouettes as imprecise as suspicious, even disturbing...
A war council was held during which the virile element of the population decided to dislodge the aggressor.
While the women took refuge in the church, the men gathered an armament which, though disparate, was nonetheless handled with resolution: sticks, forks, rifles, knives...
Silently, making maximum use of
Read more on the last page
under the title:
MARTIANS
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mum the ground and the parades, the attackers progressed towards the entrenchment of the Martians and surrounded it.
No emotion being manifested among the suspicious figures, the assault was decided. One formed two columns and the bearers of edged weapons moved cautiously under the protection of the hunters, their fingers on the triggers.
At an adequate distance, the summons were launched. The Martians did not flinch: the summons became more imperative and soon a window opened, a man appeared. It was the owner of the place, who, with a sleepy voice, inquired:
- What's going on? What are you doing there?
He was told.
He replied with a huge laugh that was soon to be communicated to everyone...
He explained that he had swaddled the chrysanthemums on his terrace at nightfall to protect them from frost.
These were the suspicious figures, which had ignited the children's imaginations.
[...]
Monday evening, around 8:50 p.m., four people simultaneously saw an unknown object in the Béthune sky. One of them was in Vendin, 2 km west of Béthune, the three together in Beuvry, 2 km east.
It was to the Vendin resident, Mr. Louis Decourcelle, 53, transporter, rue de la Mairie, that the appearance was the clearest.
He was near his house when, shortly before 9 p.m., he saw in the sky, above Béthune, an indigo-colored disc which remained motionless for a moment, at a certain height. Then the disc elongated as if, at its base, a shape were unfolding. The whole thing spread a bright light in the sky. Suddenly, the craft launched blinding sparks. Then the craft went out and disappeared quickly.
Mr. Decourcelle, whom the Béthune gendarmes heard yesterday morning, at the Quay de Bruay where he works, drew for them on the blackboard, in the Quai post, the silhouette of this "saucer".
This appearance was very brief.
Mr. Decourcelle, without knowing what craft he had dealt with, is strictly certain that he was not the victim of hallucination.
At the same time, moreover, 4 or 5 km. from there, three Beuvry residents saw in the sky a luminous trail around a disc, the whole corresponding to the phenomenon observed by M. Decourcelle.
These are MM. Julien Vanarien, 35, laborer, hamlet of Gorre in Beuvry, who was accompanied by MM. Julien Vanne and Jules Delbarre, from Beuvry. All three were close to Beuvry railway station when they saw the mysterious object.
The gendarmes of Béthune took the testimony of Mr. Vanarien and attached it, in a formal report, to that of Mr. Decourcelle.
Several other residents of Béthune and Douai also saw the "saucer" at the same time Monday evening.
Sunday evening, around 10 p.m., Mr. Maurice Ramette, 24, from Naves, near Cambrai, and Mr. Léon Héquier, 28, from Sailly-en-Cambrésis, were returning on foot from Zutquerque, to Audruicq, accompanied by their wife and their two children, ages 8 and 2 and a half.
They saw high in the sky and to their right, an unusual object of round shape and white pink color, smaller than the moon but much larger than a star, and which seemed to be moving towards them. They remained petrified. The object went out. They continued on their way and saw it again, re-lit and moving away from them to their left, faster than a jet plane.
Mr. Ramette, who recounts the event, is a beet tarer at Audruicq station. He seems to be sincere. His 2 and a half year old son is still terrified of the apparition. His wife denies that she had been afraid, but admits having returned quickly to her dweeling and that she did not dare to go out to go to the movies.
Several people were running across fields in Moyeux, in the direction of a flying saucer, surrounded by white smoke; which had been signaled to them by a child.
One of them, a farmer, Mr. Filate, did not take his eyes off the sky: he fell into a deep pond where he almost drowned. His companions managed to save him.
ROME. -- The flying discs continue their sarabande in the sky of the peninsula. In Capri, one of these mysterious craft landed on the terrace of the villa of the writer Curzio Malaparte.
It is a painter, Mr. Raffaele Castello who, during a night walk on Cape Massullo, saw a huge disc about five meters in diameter, which was moving at a hundred meters of altitude. The craft descended slowly and landed on the terrace of the writer's villa.
Mr. Castello, who at first thought it was a helicopter, approached the summer residence of Curzio Malaparte and was greatly surprised to see four men, small, descend from the disc. The passengers of the craft, who were wearing overalls, remained around the disc for about half an hour. "I had the feeling, said the witness of this landing, that they did not speak, or they did so in a low voice, because from where I was, I could not hear any sound. What is certain is that bluish gleams escaped from the disc without stopping, similar to pins and lightning fast, going in all directions."
"After some time, about half an hour, the four men entered the disc which, with a slight purring sound, rose gently, perpendicularly, and then quickly gained altitude."
[Ref. lib1:] NEWSPAPER "LIBERTE":
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Mr. Maurice Ramette, 24, living in Naves, near Cambrai, also saw his saucer on Sunday evening around 7 p.m.
At this time, accompanied by Mr. Léon Hégnier, 23, from Sailly-en-Cambrai, Mr. Ramette had come from Zutquerque and was heading towards Audruicq. Suddenly, both, along with their wives and the two children aged 8 and 2 and a half, saw high in the sky and to their right an unusual object of round shape and pinkish-white color, smaller than the moon, but much bigger than a star, and seemed to be heading towards them. They remained petrified: the object went out. They resumed their journey and saw it again, reignited and moving away from them to their left, faster than a jet plane.
Mr. Ramette, who recounts the event, is a beet tarter at the Audruicq railway station. His son, 2 and a half, is still terrified by the apparition. His wife denies having been afraid, but admits to having returned quickly to her accommodation and not having dared to come out to go to the movies.
[Ref. nnm1:] NEWSPAPER "LE NOUVEAU NORD MARITIME":
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"Metropolis" of Antwerp says:
The sky of Belgium reportedly knows in its turn the incursions of the flying saucers. Certainly the discretion which they show cannot allow us to teach anything new to our privileged neighbors: they have not deigned to descend on the grass of our fields; their doors did not open to let the rubber-framed "monsters" pass; and we haven't yet detected any fresh traces in our meadows.
But finally, Saturday evening, if we believe the information, in three regions of our country one saw them pass: at 9 p.m. along the Luxembourg border; at 09:15 p.m. in Hesbaye; at 09:30 p.m., in the south of Hainaut. To be more precise, the testimonies come to us in the first place, from Sibret, Martelange and Arlon; secondly from Waremme; and third, from Rance.
And who are the witnesses? Serious people, no doubt about it. Those of Luxembourg all belong to the noble corporation of gendarmes, and their declarations, coming from three different centers, absolutely agree. At Waremme, there are also two gendarmes and a teacher. As for Rance's witness, we are told nothing, alas!
Is it the same saucer? To believe the directions given, this would not be impossible. But the descriptions should encourage us to be more careful. According to some, it was an elliptical mass having a reddish luminous extension; the second tell us about a large red trail; and the third, of an orange colored gleam about ten meters in length. For the first, the speed of the craft was moderate; for the second, it was double that of jet planes; for the third, of a very great speed. Finally, the first, alone, told us of a rocket noise.
But twenty-four hours before, that is to say Friday, at 10 p.m., a resident of Fontaine-l'Evêque and his wife reportedly already saw pass a luminous disc which moved at a very fast pace from East to West.
So it's time for us to open our eyes: Belgium finally seems to interest the mysterious travelers. Sensational photo hunters and saucer collectors, on the hunt!
Sunday, around 7 p.m., Mr. Maurice Ramette, 24, from Naves, near Cambrai, and Mr. Léon Héquier, 23 years old, from Sailly-en-Cambrésis, were walking back from Zutquerque, towards Audruicq, accompanied by their wives and two children, aged 8 and 2 1/2.
They saw, high in the sky, and to their right, an unusual object of round shape and pinkish white in color, smaller than the moon, but much larger than a star, and which seemed to be moving towards them. They remained petrified; the object went out. They continued on their way and saw it again, re-lit and moving away from them on their left, faster than a jet plane.
M. Ramette, who recounts the event, is a beet tarer at the Audruicq station. He seems to be sincere. His son, 2 1/2 years old, is still terrified by the appearance. His wife denies being afraid, but admitted to having returned quickly to her home and did not dare to go out to go to the movies.
[Ref. nll1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD LITTORAL":
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Sunday evening around 7, Mr. Maurice Ramette, 24, from Naves near Cambrai, and Mr. Léon Hequier, 28, from Sailly-en-Cambrésis, were returning by foot from Zutkerque, towards Audruicq, accompanied by their wives and two children aged 8 and 2 1/2.
They saw high up in the sky and towards their right an unusual object of round shape and of white or pink color, smaller than the moon, but much larger than a star, and which seemed to be moving towards them. They remained petrified; the object went out. They resumed their journey and saw it again, re-ignited and moving away from them to their left, faster than a jet plane.
Mr. Ramette, who reports the event, is a beet tarer at the Audruicq station. He seems to be sincere. His 2 1/2 years old son is still terrified of the apparition. His wife denies having been afraid, but admits having returned quickly to her accommodation and no longer dared to go out to go to the Cinema.
Is this curious phenomenon a saucer? Did other people see it?
[Ref. ipc1:] NEWSPAPER "LE JOURNAL DU PAS-DE-CALAIS ET DE LA SOMME":
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Sunday evening, around 7 a.m., Mr. Maurice Ramette, 24 years old from Naves near Cambrai and Mr. Léon Hequier, 28 years old, from Sailly-en-Camraisis, were walking back from Zutquerque.
They saw high in the sky and to their right an unusual object of round shape and pinkish white color smaller than the moon, but much larger than a star and which seemed to be moving towards them. They remained petrified; the object went out. They resumed their journey and saw it again, re-lit and moving away two to their left, faster than a jet plane.
Mr. Ramette, who recounts the event, is a beet tarer at Audruicq station. He seems very sincere. His 2.5 year old son is still terrified of the apparition. His wife denies being scared, but admits having returned quickly to her home and no longer dared to go out to go to the movies.
Is this curious phenomenon a saucer?
[Ref. pat1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PAYS D'AUGE - TRIBUNE":
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In Audruicq (P.-de-C.), MM. Maurice Ramette and Léon Gégnier saw, high in the sky, an object of round shape and white in color which was moving towards them. Suddenly, the craft tilted and disappeared at breakneck speed.
In Hesdin (P.-de-C.), Mr. Jean Gambier, a police officer, was on his way to his duty when his attention was attracted to a blaze in the sky. Above the forest, a red object seemed to descend from the starry sky. The lower part of the craft left behind a luminous trail.
Many residents of Huby-Saint-Leu, a village near Hesdin, also witnessed this phenomenon.
A resident of the village of Prades (Pyrénées-Orientales), to whom two motorcyclists wanted to request information, fled, the other day, shouting: "The Martians are coming". Caught by the bikers, who, to reassure him, had removed their helmets, the farmer admitted that if he had had a gun in his hands he would have killed them.
A saucer was seen by the supervisor of a penitentiary center in Ecrouves, Mr. Roger Thiriet, residing in Blénod-les-Toul (Meurthe-et-Moselle). The jailer's saucer is not exactly fresh since it would have appeared on October 10. But Mr. Thiriet remained silent for a long time "fearing to be the laughing stock of his colleagues". However, his secret seemed to him too burdensome, and here is the account given to the gendarmes by this balanced man:
- I returned to the center by motorbike, when around 6:30 a.m., near the railway bridge, near Charmes-la-Côte, my headlight lighted an aluminum-colored saucer appearing from the fog, posed on the ground. The craft was 2 meters in diameter and 1.40 meters high. It was surmounted by a dome pierced by two portholes.
"I stopped my engine immediately; but as I approached, the saucer rose without noise."
It turns out that, this same October 10, a machine identical to [Continued on page 3]
A very bright flying disc was seen by a group of workers over a street in Rome. It is one of the innumerable appearances of the "flying saucers" which visit Italy at the moment. Their arrival provokes a strong emotion. In Livorno, a young man, Bruno Senesi, was sent urgently to the mad house. He had presented himself, very agitated, at the city hospital, shouting: "They come to take me... I saw them land in a field... Discs big like that, all in light and in smoke, full of Martians, small and red."
The people of Bondowoso, in east Java, were terrified when they saw a white and green disc, which passed at high speed over the city and disappeared in half a minute. Witnesses described the object as a "large plate" with a rotating movement.
A "Stratojet" plane which flies daily over the Rhône valley, at an altitude of about 10,000 meters, was mistaken the other day, by several inhabitants of Vienna, for a flying saucer.
Indeed, a strange phenomenon occurred after the passage of the powerful jet plane. Kinds of parachutes were formed in the sky, animated of strange movements, which soon reached the ground.
The witnesses of the phenomenon seized this matter and one of them put a little of the substance in a box and had it photographed immediately. A few hours later, the contents of the box, although waterproof, had evaporated.
It seems that the condensation in the rarefied and cold atmosphere of certain compounds of the "stratojet" fuel can cause white or iridescent formations moving at high speed and thus gives rise to various interpretations.
This observation made above the aerodrome of Vienne, is identical to that already reported in its time, by a resident of Oloron.
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(continued from page 1)
Aussay, a small town near Dieppe, was overflown by a mysterious craft which emitted a strange whistling sound. It had the shape of a gigantic cigar thay could reach 15 to 18 meters in length; in the center of the craft there was a disc surmounted by a dome.
In Villepinte (Aude), Mr. Henri Rouquet, 22, was returning home when he noticed a luminous form that was moving at high altitude. Suddenly, the craft lands not far from the farm where the young man lives. Mr. Bouquet then hastened to warn his family and several neighbors, who were able to observe the saucer distinctly. After a few minutes, the disc rose silently and quickly disappeared.
In Ham (Somme), three motorcyclists, MM. Marc and Gilles Lemaire, and Jean Ivard, were going to their work when they noticed in the sky a red disc followed by a flaming cone which advanced at the speed of an airplane. At the precise moment when the craft was above the motorcyclists, the engines of their machines stopped suddenly and the headlights went out. Everything returned to normal when the mysterious object moved away.
A motorist in the Cherbonnières region was driving with his 3 and a half year old son on the road from Sérifère to Paillé when, around 9:30 p.m., he and the child experienced painful tingling sensations, similar to electric shocks; which increased as they progressed.
The car engine suddenly stopped and the headlights went out. The child started to cry. A bright glow, passing from bright red to orange, dazzled the occupants of the car, who see a motionless craft in space. Then what they recognized as a flying saucer disappeared in the night.
been seen in Longwy, in the north of the department.
- It must be a secret weapon, said Mr. Thiriet (who does not believe in Martians), built by a foreign power. I think the craft would come from Antarctica.
Two motorists from Royan, Mr. Labestière and his wife, saw in the sky "a kind of waddling balance".
- The scourge was dazzling green, witnesses said. One of the plates was red, the other orange. After remaining motionless, the two plates detached and landed in a field. Two little beings came out of it and, after crossing paths, changed their plates. The "flying balance" then disappeared, plates included, in a dazzling flash.
In Ollainville, near Arpajon, six residents of the locality noticed an incandescent object which at first looked like a star and was revealed as it approached in the shape of a cigar. Coming from the west, the object disappeared to the east.
In Saint-Fiacre, not far from Etampes, several people saw a craft in the shape of a gigantic star spinning above the village for 20 minutes.
The mayor of Nexon (Haute Vienne) saw a very bright metallic hemisphere hovering at breakneck speed, without noise.
A very brilliant disc was even seen in Boulogne-sur-Seine, by a dozen workers from the Régie Renault. The phenomenon had been observed in broad daylight for half an hour.
In Trevedec (C.-du-N.), several people saw a flying saucer hovering over the sea.
Near Aire-sur-Lys, a worker at the steel works in Isbergues saw a luminous sphere descend slowly. When it touched the ground, the sky lit up.
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
The author indicates that on October 18, 1954, in Audruicq in the north of France, a very classical fireball is seen, confirmed because it is seen at the same hour than in Béthune, Douai, Pommier, Hesdin, Huby-Saint-Leu.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
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October 18, [1954]
? [= unknown hour]: Audruicq (Pas-de-Calais) (meteor?)
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 18 October 1954 in Audruicq, France, "An unidentified object was sighted, but with appearance and behavior that most likely would have a conventional explanation. One object was observed."
The source is indicated as "Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073)".
[Ref. uda2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on October 23, 1954 at 20:00 in Audruicq, France, "Hovered." And: "A hovering object was observed. One object was observed by one witness."
The source is indicated as Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073).
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case twice:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541018 | 18.10.1954 | Audruicq | France | NL | ||||||
| 19541023 | 23.10.1954 | Audruicq | France | 20.00 | NL |
[Ref. dcn1:] DOMINIQUE CAUDRON:
Dominique Caudron tells me by email having just completed a study of the October 18, 1954, meteor, and having found corrigenda to do in my catalog. For this case, he indicates to me that this case is not from Monday, October 18, but Sunday, October 17.
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Unidentified.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Audruicq, Pas-de-Calais, meteor, night, Maurice Ramette, Léon Gégnier, object, craft, fast, high
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | June 9, 2009 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | January 25, 2010 | Addition [uda2]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | March 4, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | January 18, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet. Probable meteor." |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | January 30, 2020 | Addition [pat1]. In the Summary, addition of the paragraphe "The newspaper Le Pays d'Auge - Tribune..." |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | March 26, 2020 | Addition [nnm1]. In the Summary, addition of the Nouveau Nord Maritime part. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | April 29, 2020 | Addition [nmn1]. In the Summary, addition of "The regional newspapers Nord-Matin for October 20, 1954". |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | June 9, 2020 | Addition [nll1]. |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | July 3, 2020 | Addition [ipc1]. |
| 1.9 | Patrick Gross | November 3, 2020 | Addition [lib1]. |
| 2.0 | Patrick Gross | September 8, 2021 | Additions [gqy1], [dcn1]. Case date changed accordingly from 18 to 17. in the Summary, deleted "The author and ufologist Aimé Michel had pointed out in his 1958 book on the 1954 wave in France that on October 18, 1954, in Audruicq in the north of France, a very classical fireball was seen, confirmed because it was seen at the same hour in Béthune, Douai, Pommier, Hesdin, and Huby-Saint-Leu." Explanations changed, were "The 08:45 p.m. meteor." |
| 2.1 | Patrick Gross | October 14, 2021 | Addition [vdn1]. In the Summary, addition of "La Voix du Nord for October 19, 1954,". |
