The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
October 8, 1954, Soissons, Aisne:
Reference for this case: 8-Oct-54-Soissons.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In a catalog published in the United Kingdom in 1979, the French ufologist Alain Gamard indicated that according to the newspaper L'Union for October 13, 1954, there had been a close encounter of the third kind on October 11, 1954, at an unspecified hour, in Soissons, with two witnesses.
The ufologist Michel Figuet seemed to have found another source, since in 1985, in his Francat catalog, he listed a close encounter of the third kind in Soissons on October 8, 1954 at 11:45 a.m., according to the press.
Then, in 1997, Jean Sider indicated that according to the newspaper L'Union, of Reims, on page 2, on October 13, 1954, at the beginning of October 1954 at an unspecified hour, near Soissons in the Aisne, a father and his son saw a saucer posed in a field, and a small man climbing on board with a ladder.
In the 2000s, the British "skeptical" ufologist Peter Rogerson added to this a version that he also said to come from L'Union of Reims for October 13, 1954, saying that on October 8, 1954, at 11:45 a.m. in Soissons, four motorists passing by the Compiègne Avenue saw a walking humanoid.
In 2026, I finally found the primary source of this case, the newspaper L'Union, from Reims, dated October 13, 1954.
All that was said was that "last Friday," therefore October 8, 1954, indeed, at "11:45 a.m.," four motorists driving along Avenue de Compiègne reportedly spotted a Martian out for a walk, "at least they were convinced - we were assured - that it was a Martian."
I therefore note that this does not seem very serious according to this newspaper; which said nothing more about it.
The encounter by "a father and his son" is in fact another case reported in the same newspaper article, but it is not dated other than "about ten days ago."
I see that some ufological sources had mixed up two different cases by assigning the precise date of this one to the other case, or by thinking that they were two different versions of the same case. The date given by Alain Gamard was without base.
[Ref. unn1:] NEWSPAPER "L'UNION":
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SOISSONS. -- Until now we thought that the Martians and their flying saucers, cigars, or even flying eggs, had decided to avoid our region, or that the people of Soissons were not taken in by mirages. That is why we had never had the opportunity to report such events.
However, it seems we were mistaken. Indeed, about ten days ago, two of our fellow citizens, father and son, reportedly saw a saucer resting in a field into which a small man was climbing with the help of a ladder.
Faced with this spectacle, our two residents of Soissons, instead of approaching to see what was happening, reportedly preferred to return home.
Moreover, last Friday around 11:45 a.m., while passing along Avenue de Compiègne, four motorists reportedly saw a Martian out for a walk. At least they were convinced - we were assured - that it was a Martian.
As one can see, Soissons in turn has received a visit from inhabitants of other planets. After all, why not, since for several years scientists have been announcing that they will build rockets that could allow us to go visit the Martians; they would therefore only be preceding us.
[Ref. agd1:] ALAIN GAMARD:
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October 11 1954: time unnoted. Soissons (Aisne).
Witnesses: two.
Refs: L'Union 13.10.l954.
[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
| CASE Nr | CLASSIFICATION | DATE | HOUR | PLACE | ZIP CODE | CREDIBILITY SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 149 | CE3 | 08 10 1954 | 11.45 | Soissons | D2 | D presse (FG) |
[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON:
October 8 1954, 1145hrs.
SOISSONS (AISNE: FRANCE)
Four motorists passing Compiegne Avenue saw a humanoid walking along
[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON:
October 8 1954. 1145hrs.
SOISSONS (AISNE: FRANCE)
Four motorists passing Compiegne Avenue saw a humanoid walking along.
Alternative version apparently going back to L'Union has a father and son saw a disc shaped object in a field and little man climbing into it via ladder (Gross 1954. URECAT)
Peter Rogerson thought one report is an alternate verion of the other but hese were two diffeent reports.
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This is all so confused that I am not even sure that this is one or two cases.
Whatever may be, the witnesses are anonymous, there is not enough information, no checking, obviously no investigation; so although there is no prosaic explanation for now, the credibility of the whole is not striking.
Update as of March 19, 2026:
With the primary source [unn1], I can confirm that there were indeed two distinct cases, and that the whole is hardly convincing.
For this case of October 8, 1954, it was probably a misidentification, as the newspaper suggested.
One may wonder how, in the middle of the morning, on a street in Soissons, no one else would have reported this supposed "Martian" out for a walk.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Soissons, Aisne, occupant, humanoid, multiple, anonymous, soucoupe, avenue, father, son, automobilists, morning, landing, ladder, occupant, small
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | August 14, 2013 | First published, [agd1], [prn1], [jsr1], [uda1], [uda2], [ars1], [lhh1], [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | August 15, 2019 | Additions [agd1], [mft1], [lhh1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | September 29, 2025 | Addition [jgz1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | March 19, 2026 | Addition [unn1]. In the Summary, addition of the information from [unn1]. In the Explanations, addition of the "Update as of March 19, 2026" part. [lhh1], [lcn1], [jsr1], [ars1], [jgz1], [uda1], [uda2], [tai1] moved to the other soissons file. |
