The 1954 French flap:
The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this site is here.
OCTOBER 26, 1954, LA BADIERE, CREUSE:
Reference number for this case: 26-oct-54-LaBadiere. Thank you for including this reference number in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
REPORTS:
[Ref. lm1:] NEWSPAPER "LA MONTAGNE":
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Faits divers
AT THE SAUCERS' SHOP
From where does this being of exceptional capacity come from?
Guéret. –- Finally, the Creuse was visited by a flying saucer and a being with a magic capacity.
After Mrs Alice Paquet, of Saint-Pardoux-le-Neuf, who claims to have seen a mysterious and silent machine evolving above her, an inhabitant of Vaureille, commune of Alleyrat, Mr. Bousard, aged 47, specified the following facts with the mayor initially, then with the gendarmes:
"After having paid a visit to the town hall of Alleyrat in the evening, to get a paper there, he had left the borough towards 10:30 P.M. on bicycle. At approximately 10:45 P.M. he was at the location called "La Badière", when he suddenly saw somebody who was on the side of the road."
"I stopped, he said, to see what it was while remaining however seated on my bicycle. I had the impression that I dealt with a man: as I bent down, this one stood up suddenly and directed two powerful lamps at me who where projecting a very intense light, of light blue color. This being also had at each side of the head, a lamp emitting a green light, much weaker than the two preceding ones. Of a size of 1 m 60 approximately, he was dressed like a diver. As he stood up, I felt a pressure which I could not define but comparable with an extremely violent breath which projected me to the other side of the road."
"I remained approximately 10 minutes without being able to shout nor being able to call for Help. During this time the two lamps which emitted a blue light were directed in my direction. Then the being crossed the road crossed and disappeared suddenly without it being possible for me to see the direction he took. I was very afraid. While falling under the effects of the lamps, I felt – and I still feel – pains in the leg and the right hand."
"I affirm that I was not drunk: that it is by no means an hallucination and that this was not an encounter with an inhabitant of the country."
The gendarmes who recorded this curious testimony said that Mr. Bousard indeed appears to suffer from the two stated members and that he gives the impression to undergo a rather strong discomfort. His right hand is swollen and he has difficulties to write. The bicycle does not bear any trace of fall or collision.
On the spot indicated by the farmer, the ground was freshly stirred up as by a circular friction of 0 m 70 of diameter. No footmark is visible in the surroundings.
As one well thinks, this extraordinary fact been the subject of all the comments of the inhabitants of Alleyrat. Some firmly believe in the arrival of an unknown being in this place, which they are not far from calling a "Martian." The large majority however remains somewhat skeptic although Mr. Bousard has the reputation of a sensible man.
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[Ref. jv1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
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311
Oct. 26, 1954, evening, La Madiere (France).
Aimé Boussard, 47, a farmer, evening was suddenly confronted with an individual of normal height (1.60 m) wearing a sort of diving suit with a pale-green light on either side of the helmet. The individual aimed at the witness the beam of two blue lights, and he was thrown backward. No craft was observed. (92) (Le Parisien, 28 oct. 1954).
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[Ref. cb1:] CHARLES BOWEN:
This ufologist wrote that the story has been explained: farmer André Boussard had seemingly shot at a stranded motorist.
[Ref. lh1:] LARRY HATCH:
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1954/10/26 ALLEYRAT = La Madiere = Vaureille, France: Figure w/lites: /r8 #311. + Bowen: Humanoids. Farmer shoots at stranded motorist! /r30 p670.
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[Ref. fr1:] MICHEL FIGUET ET JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
These ufologist date the case on October 26, 1954, as did Jacques Vallée.
Mr. Boussard [sic] had the reputation to be a boasting and unpleasant character and had been beaten up by young people. "Benefiting from the context and the many sightings reported at the time, he had invented this story to explain to his advantage the wounds which he had."
[Ref. mf1] FRANCAT, MICHEL FIGUET:
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10/26/1954
Alleyrat
Invention by the witness. "OVNI" p. 670.
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[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
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205.
Location. La Madiere France
Date: October 26 1954
Time: evening
Aime Brousard, 47, stopped to look at someone on the footpath. This person, who had been crouching down, rose suddenly and turned upon him 2 very bright pale-blue lamps. At the sides of his helmeted head were 2 weaker light green lamps. The effect of the blue light on Brousard was to fling him to the other side of the road, where he lay paralyzed, unable to call out, for 10 minutes. Then the lamps went out, and the being crossed the road and disappeared from view. Brousard then recovered, but still felt pain in his legs and hands.
Humcat 1954-119
Source: Humcat quoting newspaper source
Type: E
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EXPLANATIONS:
On April 18, 2003, while I only had for sources Jacques Vallée's summary [Ref. jv1 above] and the brief comment by Charles Bowen [Ref. cb1: above], I wrote:
"Explained unless proven otherwise: confusion. No UFO had been reported whatsoever in relation with this event. The case is sometimes also referred to as having taken place in Alleyrat or Vaureille."
On November 22, 2004, having been contacted by an historian of the area, and after our discussion and kind offer, I managed to get the article of the newspaper "La Montagne" published seemingly two days after the events [Ref. lm1 above].
Taking into account this newspaper article, I noted:
- The witness is Mr. Bousard whereas Jacques Vallée indicates Mr. Boussard; the locality is "La Badière" whereas Jacques Vallée indicates "La Madière."
- When I come to think about it, I find it rather odd that Mr. Bousard would have shot on a motorist mistaken for Martian, which is by no means mentioned by the newspaper, whereas it is himself who is wounded when an "extremely violent" breath throws him on the road, where he remains "10 minutes without being able to shout nor to call for help."
- Etc.
I figured out that possibly Charles Bowen mixed things up with some other case, maybe that in Sinceny.
But more important, the discovery of the mispell "La Madière" instead of "La Badière" by Jacques Vallée helped me find out the explanation by Michel Figuet, [Ref. fr1: above], which was not that of a confused witness but that of a lame made up story.
Larry Hatch indicates as source for the "Farmer shoots at stranded motorist" explanation "/r30 p670," that is, Michel Figuet's book on page 670; which really is [Ref. fr1], not a "farmer shoot at motorist" but a hoax.
KEYWORDS:
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
La Badière, La Madière, Alleyrat, Vaureille, Creuse, Aimé Bousard, Brousard, Boussard, farmer, man, suit, rays, light
REFERENCES:
[-] indicates sources which I have not yet checked.
- [lm1] Article in the regional newspaper La Montagne, Clermont-Ferrand, France, page 4, October 28, 1954.
- [---] Article in the national newspaper Le Parisien, October 28, 1954.
- [cb1] "The Humanoids", book by Charles Bowen, Henry Regnery publisher, Chigaco, 1969.
- [jv1] "Un Siècle d'Atterrissages", article by Jacques Vallée, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans la Nuit, France, #43, 1969.
- [jv1] "Passport to Magonia - On Ufos, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds", book by Jacques Vallée, Contemporary Books publisher, USA, 1969.
- [jv1] "Chronique des Apparitions Extra-terrestres", French translation of "Passport to Magonia", book by Jacques Vallée, Denoel publisher, page 278, 1972.
- [fr1] "Ovni, Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochées en France", book by Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, Alain Lefeuvre publisher, France, pp 670-671, 1979.
- [mf1] "Catalogue Francat des Rencontres Rapprochées en France - Listing 800", catalogue by Michel Figuet, 1982, France.
- [lh1] "A Short List of Discredited UFO Sightings", on the "*U* UFO Database" website, by Larry Hatch, www.larryhatch.net/DISCRED.html, USA, November 2004.
- [ar1] "1954 Humanoid Reports", compiled by Albert Rosales, circa 2001, at www.ufoinfo.com/humanoid/humanoid1954.shtml
