The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 29-Sep-54-Saint-Dizier.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Républicain Lorrain of October 2, 1954, reported that on September 29, 1954, around 8 p.m., Mr. Raoul Laurent, mayor of Saint-Dizier, had left the town hall when he noticed "a luminous cigar crossing the sky and disappearing at the zenith."
The newspaper stated that two railway workers had also seen it.
The regional newspaper L'Est Républicain of October 5, 1954, repeated the information, adding that a person and his wife had claimed to have seen a luminous object like the Moon, but a little smaller, hovering in the direction of Bar-le-Duc.
[Ref. rln1:] NEWSPAPER "LE REPUBLICAIN LORRAIN":
|
ST-DIZIER. -- Wednesday evening, the mayor of St-Dizier and two railway workers saw a luminous cigar-shaped object cross the sky and disappear at the zenith.
Mr. Raoul Laurent, mayor of St-Dizier, had left the town hall around 8 p.m. when he noticed the strange apparition.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gilbert Daunay, an employee of the S.N.C.F. in St-Dizier, living in Ancerville, was with his father-in-law Mr. Deschamps in front of his home when he saw a glow coming from the east, about the size of the moon, violet in color, followed by a red trail. It was moving much faster than a plane.
Finally, Mr. Pierre Leclerc, also an S.N.C.F. employee in St-Dizier, was walking alone in the center of Villecomte when he too witnessed the phenomenon.
[Ref. ler1:] NEWSPAPER "L'EST REPUBLICAIN":
"It will be said that I am a joker", told us George Guillemin, baker. "Wednesday evening September 29, whereas I was in Commercy to spend my Thursday of rest there, and that the crowd was going to another direction to see the Super Circus, I was with the Berthemy district at about 08:30 P.M. with my young daughter Jocelyne, aged 10. In the sky, we saw a luminous tube, about of the diameter of the Moon, during at least ten seconds, in the direction of Couzance-St-Dizier."
Since then we read in the newspapers that Mr. the Mayor of St-Dizier and a railwayman of Ancerville had also seen it at the same hour this same Wednesday. A person told us, as well as his wife, to have seen a luminous object like the Moon, but a little smaller, hovering in the direction of Bar-le-Duc.
[Ref. fde1:] NEWSPAPER "FRANCE-DIMANCHE":
|
Mr. RAOUL LAURENT (left) is the mayor of Saint-Dizier. Last Wednesday, September 29, about eight in the evening, when he had just left the City Hall, he saw in the starry night sky a bright light that was moving at a very high speed. He clearly distinguished an elongated shape similar to that of a cigar, leaving behind a trail of light (see the drawing above). The craft must have been at a probable altitude of several thousand meters.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
|
September 29 [, 1954]
[... Other cases...]
?: Wassy/Saint-Dizier (Hte.Marne): lum.obj.
[... Other cases...]
[Ref. fsc1:] FRANCIS SCHAEFFER:
|
[...]
We also enumerate the following observations which come to be placed faithfully on the orthotenic CORRIDOR:
St-Dié, Kembs, Basel and possibly Rome; we say "possibly" because the craft observed in the Italian capital on September 17, 1954 headed in the direction of France where it was reported in three cities which also constitute another orthothenic line... This line, coming from Rome cut "BAVIC" near the Vauriat which was the scene of a very strange affair, on August 29, 1962. In addition, "the Vauriat" is strictly located on "Bayonne-Vichy", a line we were talking about at the beginning of our analysis.
"BRUTUS", (permanent corridor?) completes its characteristics in a true geometric apotheosis...: BRUTUS IS RIGOROUSLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE EXTENSION OF BAVIC!... Immediately next to this orthotenic "crossroads", we notice a small detail on the work card; we read closer: RIXEIM [sic], sighting of a "flying cigar" on September 27, 1954!
End.
[Ref. fle1:] FERNAND LAGARDE:
This ufologist reproduces the [ler1] source:
|
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN E. GROSS:
No. 4. Le maire a vu un cigare... [In French in this source.]
The mayor saw a cigar.
M. Raoul Laurent is the mayor of Saint-Dizier. Last Wednesday (Sept. 29), about 8:00p.m., when he had just left the city hall, he saw in the stormy [sic] sky a bright light moving at high speed. He could plainly distinguish an elongated, cigar-like shape. Leaving a luminous trail.
The craft must have been at an altitude of several km.
Loren Gross indicates that the source is the newspaper France Dimanche, for October 10, 1954, and provides a copy of the article [fde1].
[Ref. lgs3] LOREN GROSS:
The French newspaper France Dimanche published brief accounts of various UFO sightings accompanied by drawings in its October 10, 1954 issue. These were included in the monograph UFOs. A History 1954 September, pages 31-33. Translations by "ADNf' of the French text exist in NICAP files and are provided here for the reader's perusal. (See below)
[... Other cases...]
No. 4. The mayor saw a cigar.
M Raoul Laurent is the mayor of Saint-Dizier. Last Wednesday (Sept. 29), about 8:00 p.m., when he had just left the city hall, he saw in the stormy sky a bright light moving at high speed. He could plainly distinguish an elongated, cigar-like shape. Leaving a luminous train. The craft must have been at an altitude of several km.
[... Other cases...]
These French cases can be found on page 75 of the monograph UFOs: A History 1954 September. Translations of the French text were also done by NICAP's "ADM." [Alexandre Mebane]
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Haute Marne in St Dizier on September 29, 1954 at 23:30 hours "The mayor of the city observes a luminous object. "
The source is indicated as "Lumières dans la Nuit numéro 259/260".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 29 September 1954 at 20:00 in St-Dizier, France, "An unidentified object was sighted, but with appearance and behavior that most likely would have a conventional explanation. One object was observed by six witnesses for a few seconds."
The source is indicated as Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073).
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK.DE:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip code | Place of observation | Country of observation | Time of observation | Classification | Note | Identification |
| 19540929 | 29.09.1954 | St. Dizier | France | 20.00 | NL |
|
The September 29, 1954, meteor about 08:30 p.m.
The sketch in France-Dimanche seems dubious: the City Hall in Saint-Dizier does not have a building on the side with this tower, and there is a square in front of it, and no visibility to it from 50 meters inside rue de la Victoire. The "old Middle-Age Castle", which became the Sous-Préfecture in 1959, has two towers but was never used as the city hall, the building being the same since it was built in 1824.
|
The sketch shows a crossing of "rue de la Victoire" and "rue des Alliés", but though the latter seems to have existed, in Saint-Dizier, I am unable to locate it now. From the "rue de la Victoire", I am not in front of the city hall but behind it and it is hidden from view by other buildings.
So I wonder whether the Mayor of Saint-Dizier, Raoul Laurent (he was indeed the Mayor then) was really in Saint-Dizier when he made the observation; maybe he was coming out of the city hall of another city... And I am thus unable to find the direction of observation.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Saint-Dizier, Haute-Marne, mayor, unique, object, luminous, night
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | September 17, 2007 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 18, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Addition [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | September 30, 2014 | Additions [fde1], [lgs1], [ubk1]. Explanation changed from "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | December 16, 2016 | Additions [lgs3]." |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | November 19, 2021 | Addition [gqy1]." |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | June 5, 2022 | Addition [fsc1]." |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | July 30, 2025 | Additions [rln1], Summary. |
