Cette page en français
The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this site is here.
Reference number for this case: 30-sep-54-Marcilly. Thank you for including this reference number in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
[Ref. fd1:] "FRANCE DIMANCHE" NEWSPAPER:
|
|
400 kilometers away, it is the same saucer, apparently, that Mr. Cyprien Bacquet (above on the left) and Mr. George Gatay saw, opposite on the right in insert). The drawings which they made one and the other of the phenomenon that they observed (above in the center) resemble each other, indeed, surprisingly. Mr. Bacqué, engineer architect, saw the mysterious machine above Pau, at ten thousand meters of altitude, at the same time as of the thousands of residents of Pau. Mr. Gatay, site foreman, saw with one meter above ground-level and fifteen away meters at the edge of a career in Pau, at the same time as the six workmen who worked with him. For Mr. Bacqué, who seen it at eleven hour, September 30, it was a sphere evolving in the strati, of red color, from which four tubes left. The engineer observed it with his telescope during three fifteen minutes before it disappeared towards the west. It is eight days ago at 03:30 p.m., that Mr. Gatey saw suddenly the stopped machine. In front of the saucer stood a small man of 1 m 50 with a leather helmet and boots (above on the right). A ray froze the witness on the spot. The man regained the machine which rose by small hops and disappeared. Mr. Bacqué and Mr. Gatey do not know themselves. |
[Ref. ra1:] "RADAR" MAGAZINE:
|
|
[Caption of photograph on the left:] Gatey at the site of the sighting. [Caption of photograph on the right:] The saucer is said to have landed where the truck is. Construction site foreman of a career of Marcilly-sur-Vienne (the Indre-et-Loire), Mr. Gatey is adamant; "I was extracting sand with my six workmen when suddenly, I see the machine. A circular aircraft, topped by a dome, equipped with blades similar to those of an helicopter. Close to it, a small man (approximately 1 m. 50) dressed in a one piece suit, wearing a helmet made out of opaque matter, with ankle boots at his feet. He holds a kind of pipe in his hand. I could look during 30 seconds, with my comrades, this puzzling display. Suddenly the individual went up in his cupola, and the apparatus took height vertically with a noise of jet airplane, then disappeared in a kind of fog which this hellish apparatus emitted." |
[Ref. co1:] "LE COURRIER DE L'OUEST" NEWSPAPER:
The article underneath has been published in the daily newspaper Le Courrier de l'Ouest, Angers, France, on October 19, 1954.
|
Space visitors, these unknowns:The Martian looked at them in silence and when Georges Gatay, the construction site foreman who felt himself invaded by a strange torpor raised the eyes towards the edge of the career, the most fantastic appearance which he had been able to imagine froze him on the spot. That occurred here two weeks ago hardly, and since the strange visit, this solid boy aged about thirty years does almost not eat anymore and hardly sleeps. It was about 04:30 p.m. and the five companions extracted gravels and the stones from the quarry of Marcilly-sur-Vienne for the Bridges-and-Roadways using a mechanical excavator and a certain number of noisy machines. Dug at the edge of the road of Nouatre, this quarry is the only excavation in the middle of a vast plain deprived of trees. These five workmen, Mr. Rougier, Dried, Berois, Lubanevic and Villeneuve, expected a sixth, Mr. Amirault, the driver of a heavy truck which came to fill the tank. The sunny air of this end of afternoon was clear and without the least cloud. At this point in time the thing arrived... "I am not hallucinating, George Gatay thought while putting the hand on the hair, it is really a flying saucer and a Martian." Successively, his work comrades looked in his direction and made the same thinking. A circular object, surmounted of a dome of a metallic gray, stood motionless approximately one meter above the ground. It seemed that blades turning at very high speed were attached to it. The whole had the appearance of a reversed bowl. But the strangest of all was this small being of one meter fifty five approximately, who stood motionless in front of it. Dressed of a kind of plastic suit, fitted of booties of the same matter, he carried on the head an opaque helmet which covered his face. "A kind of projector emitting a very soft gleam was attached to his chest and attracted our glances", the witnesses told later. "In the being from another world's hand was a sort of metallic revolver or tube. The appearance lasted only one minute and half maybe, then the individual disappeared little by little as an image which is erased on a screen and the apparatus went up jerkily towards the sky. Arrived at a hundred meters from the ground, it was surrounded by a circular cloud, reminding of an artificial white smoke and it disappeared." It is at this time that Mr. Amirault arrived. From his truck's cabin, he only had the time to see the strange machine before it disappeared in the cloud. To the investigators who pressed them with questions, the witnesses of this astral visit answered categorically: "we are not crackpots, we are sure of what we saw." Today, these witnesses are much less categorical. Their little story made its way and in front of the scoffing and skeptic population, they adopted the most careful attitude: that of silence. Other people in France saw or touched these mysterious beings. A child of Morez who had never heard about flying saucers said to have been kissed by a being "as tall as a door and shining like a fridge", and the spanking did not silence this 12 year old kid. Finally, here's a real bomb. An Englishman states that he he the first earthman to have come into contact with a Martian. "He had a charming smile as few earthmen have." And Cedric Allingham who will publish in London the story of this short encounter raised the arm to greet the Martian who answered him courteously. This Englishman, an astronomy buff and a professional ornithologist, did not suffer from hallucination either and provided in support of his claims several photographs and the sworn testimony of a peasant who witnessed the scene. C. Allingham's book will be translated before long into French and the curious will then have all the leisure to criticize it. Let's retain only the seductive description of the space visitor. He was large, well proportioned and his voice reminded of the sound of running water. The only strange details in this silhouette were two small tubes connected by a wire engaged in the nostrils of the unknown and when he was turned back a strange strap whose utility was not discovered. Let us wait until the thing from another world decides to land again to explain this. "Flying saucers have landed". Under this title, the great champion of the interplanetary diplomatic relations Georges Adamski launched with the U.S.A. the account of his enthralling conversations with the Venusians. The book was a best-seller translated at once and reissued several times, but the declarations of the author, apparently too impressed by scince fiction stories, did not receive a confirmation yet and perhaps never will. Like Cédric Allingham, Adamski proves his claims by plaster catsters of Venusian footprints and photographs of their marvellous flying apparatus. He even had, it seems, the great honor to travel during twenty minutes in one of these machines and could discuss lengthily with the Venusians without opening the mouth... by thought transference. H. G Wells is very clearly beaten by Adamski and the author of the "War of the Worlds" hardly had imagination. [Photo captions:] Those who have seen "it": Mrs GUILLMOTEAU in the Vendée |
[Ref. fd1:] "FRANCE-DIMANCHE" NEWSPAPER:
This weekley newspaper published a series of third hand drawings of some of the different shapes of flying saucers allegedly reported in France in 1954:
|
Marcilly-sur-VienneTraditional saucer with cupola, Saturnian. Halation, luminescent paralysing propulsions gases and ray. It was seen at the beginning of October by Mr. Gatey, construction site foreman, within fifteen meters of the ground. |
[Ref. hw1:] HAROLD T. WILKINS:
The author indicates that in Marcilly-sur-Vienne, west central France, the foreman of a quarry alleged that "a small helmeted and booted entity, carrying a sort of ray pistol, fired at him and six of his mates, with a "luminous and paralyzing ray."
[Ref. jg1:] JIMMY GUIEU:
The author indicates that on September 30, 1954 at 04:30 p.m., a spacecraft and its occupant were observed by seven quarry workers of Marcilly-sur-Vienne, and that the names of the witnesses were published in all the newspapers, but when the local investigator of his ufology group, Mr. Grondeau, put himself in motion, damages were already made, a number of scoffers had intensely made fun of the workers who, upset and sour, had decided not to say a word anymore of their incredible adventure.
Jimmy Guieu says that he can all the same reproduce what "the main witness said objectively" to the newspaper La Nouvelle République for October 4, 1954:
"We managed to question Mr. George Gatey, chief of the building site of a quarry of Marcilly-sur-Vienne, and main witness of the event like his six comrades. We report the impression that these men are sincere and worthy of faith. Their declarations, they confirmed them Friday and Saturday with professional investigators who did not fail, in their turn, to be impressed by the tone of sincerity of the witnesses."
He adds that "Mr. Gatey and his workmen were busy extracting sand and gravel in a quarry at the edge of the road close to Marcilly. Each one was at his workplace, the ones with the mechanical shovel, the others with the hoist. Mr. Gatey was further away, closer to the exit of the quarry. It is he who, the first, saw the machine, an apparatus of circular form surmounted of a dome equipped, apparently, with blades similar to those of a helicopter. The machine was in motionless flight one meter above the ground, the "blades" turning very fast. It did not land on the ground.
A being of small size, 1.50 meters approximately, capped of a helmet in the shape of a bell in opaque matter resembling scrambled glass and which went down to the shoulders, dressed of an outfit of neutral color, fitted with short boots, was beside the apparatus. It held in the hand a kind of large revolver or instrument whose end in the shape of a gun or pipe made it resemble a weapon. On its chest, it showed a very shining disc, projecting an intense beam of light.
Nobody, in the quarry several meters below compared to the road and the surrounding ground, had seen the craft arriving nor heardd it - the machines under operation made a lot of noise.
He indicates that Mr. Gatey is formal: the machine remained at least 30 seconds, a largely sufficient time for him to examine it. As he was an excellent draughtsman his first reflex after his amazement was to run to the tent to take a paper, a pencil and to sketch the strange apparatus and its pilot.
Jimmy Guieu quotes "But I was ahrdly able to stand, Mr. Gatey acknowledged, and I could not take a step, nailed on the ground by the effects of the ray emitted by 'the man'."
Mr. Gatey was at this time at about fifteen meters of the craft and two meters downwards, seeing it from below. The apparatus was at the entry of the quarry on the edge of the excavation, within three meters of the road. On this road, a truck was coming to take a loading, it was driven by Mr. Amirault, who saw the amazed quarrymen looking towards the entry of the building site. Mr. Amirault followed their glances and saw "something greyish which was not there usually — rise in the air."
"The man" went up in his machine, Gatey said, "I was unable to say by where, then the apparatus took height, vertically, by jerks, while whistling like the jet engines the fighter planes. At about 200 meters of altitude, it emitted a fog which hid it completely and disappeared form our sight."
Gatey drew from memory the spacecraft and its occupant, and all the witnesses confirmed that this sketch was in conformity to what they had seen.
The apparatus, of gray color, measured 4.50 meters in diameter approximately, by 2 meters in height at its axis, and owing to the fact that it reached a maximum of one meter from the ground, no trace was discovered.
[Ref. mc1:] MICHEL CARROUGES:
The author notes that the Gatay observation lasted half a minute and was done at 15 meters.
Michel Carrouges indicates that in the Leboeuf case the precise details provided on the topography of the places and the respective localisation of the witnesses and the objects or the pilots enforced the extreme closeness of the encounter.
[Ref. jv5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 167 | -000.53730 | 47.04660 | 30 | 09 | 1954 | 16 | 30 | 1 | - MARCILLY / VIENNE | F | 0116 | 2 | I |
[Ref. lo1:] CORAL AND JIM LORENZEN:
The authors note that on September 30, 1954, eight construction workers near Marcilly-sur-Vienne, France, saw a disc-shaped object on the ground and a small man-shaped being wearing a helmet standing nearby.
[Ref. jv1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
|
165 Sep. 30, 1954, 04:30 P.M., Marcilly-sur-Vienne (France). Georges Gatay and seven construction workers saw a disk at ground level, with a humanoid standing close by. Both vanished in a very strange manner. Physiological effects in all witnesses. (Ici Paris, 11 Oct. 1954; France-Soir, 3 Oct. 1954) (25; Magonia) |
[Ref. jv2:] JACQUES VALLEE:
The author indicates that on September 30, 1954, close to Marcilly-sur-Vienne n the Indre-et-Loire department, eight construction workers saw a disc on the ground, with a small humanoid carrying a helmet close to it.
[Ref. rp1:] RENE PACAUT:
After his counter-investigation in 1971 in Bressuire which revealed that the "witness" there had invented everything, ufologist René Pacaut took advantage to to go not far in Marcilly-sur-Vienne where at the same time a similar story to that of the Bressuire prankster occurred.
Rene Pacaut reminds of the alleged facts: in October of 1954, George G..., construction site foreman, was busy extracting sand with six workmen at the edge of a road when, one one meter above the ground, "an apparatus of circular shape, topped of a dome equipped with blades similar to those of an helicopter" appeared. The machine was motionless at the entry of the career and a "Martian of small size", capped of a helmet in the shape of a bell, dressed in a combination, fitted with short boots "came out of there, armed with a kind of large revolver. On his chest, he carrries a disc projecting an intense light which paralysed the foreman.
Under the eyes of the terrorized workers, the UFO "hovers" thirty seconds there, then the "Martian" goes up on board and the apparatus takes altitude again while whistling and emitting a thick fog which dissimulates it to the witnesses...
Rene Pacaut comments that this observation, reported by the newspapers of the time and rehashed by specialized writers, seemed to him all the more interesting because it referred to a machine of an original type: he had never heard speak about a UFO with helicopter blades before! In addition, it was specified that the first reflex of the site foreman had been to leap to his tent to make a sketch of the apparatus and the pilot.
Arrived at Marcilly, he beats the countryside to find the carriers and their chief. But all his efforts remained vain: they had left the area several years ago. He then interrogated the inhabitants who had known them and to whom they had told their story, and he found enough people who had known them. All without exception had the same reaction when he told them of the affair in the career: they burst to laughters.
Believing that they were just scoffing, Pacaut decided to push his investigation further. But everywhere, het obtained the same explanation: the story had been invented by the merry team of workers, at the instigation of their foreman who, to make it plausible, had finicked all the details.
Pacaut asked why these false witnesses had persevered such a long time in their testimonys. It was answered to him that it was because they had ended up being trapped with their own game, and thes did not dare anymore to reconsider their first declarations.
Pacaut considers that their mystification could be inspired by the prank in Bressuire just a day before and not far from there. He notices that in spite of the results of his counter-investigations, "certain keen soucoupists persist in" regarding these two observations as authentic, since, according to them, the witnesses exceeded by the remarks of the scoffers just decided to say that it was a hoax, to have their peace.
[Ref. gl1:] CHARLES GARREAU AND RAYMOND LAVIER:
In a part of their book following the case files they treat, the authors, after having announced that they are ready to learn from witnesses the existence of new cases, explain to the readers why certain known cases are not in their book. Among them, the Marcilly sighting, for which they specify what applies to others:
|
"A hoax also, that landing of Marcilly-sur-Vienne (the Indre-et-Loire) on September 30, 1954 with its "Martian" in "Flash Gordon" style: the "witness" Georges Gatay admitted afterwards that he had invented the entire story." |
[Ref. mf1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
French ufologist Michel Figuet found out that Paris-Match confirmed the case as a hoax.
[Ref. jv3:] JACQUES VALLEE:
The case was narrated by ufologist Jacques Vallée in an article for the ufology magazine "Lumières dans la Nuit," he tells that at Nouatre, Indre-et-Loire, France, at a construction site on September 30, 1954 at 04:30 P.M., George Gatay, who was foreman of an eight-man construction crew, was unexpectedly drawn away from his crew, feeling a sense of "peculiar drowsiness."
He felt himself walking without knowing to where or why. At a short distance from his construction Gatay encountered a man standing on a slope at some 30 feet from him. The man was wearing an opaque glass helmet with a large visor and wearing gray coveralls and short boots. He held an object in his hand, which Gatay described as a weapon of some kind, with the shape of a rod. There was a kind of electronic instrument display on his chest. The strange looking man was standing in front of a dome-shaped object, which hovered about 3 feet above the ground.
The craft had a cupola with blade-like devices above it. Gatay, enthralled with the sight of the man and his craft, was frozen in his tracks. He stated:
"Suddenly, the strange man vanished, and I couldn't explain how he did it, since he did not disappear from my field of vision by walking away, but vanished like an image one erases. Then I heard a strong whistling sound which drowned the noise of our excavators. Soon the object rose by successive jerks, in a vertical direction, and then it too was erased in a sort of blue haze, as if by a miracle."
Gatay tried to run away when he first saw the being and object, but was "paralyzed" during the sighting. His seven co-workers were also in a sort of a daze during the incident. All eight of the men were "non-believers" before their strange incident.
As soon as Gatay was released from his paralysis, he ran back to the other workers, and shouted, "Have you seen something?" One of them, Mr. Beurrois, exclaimed, "Yes, a flying saucer!" Another of the men, excavator driver Mr. Lubanovic added, "There was a man dressed like a diver in front of it." The other workers all added their confirmation to the strange event.
Vallée says that Gatay was a well-known and respected man who had fought in the war with the French Resistance, and was wounded in Luxembourg. After the sighting, he began to suffer from insomnia, strong headaches, and a loss of appetite. These symptoms lasted about a week. Even after this strange sighting, the men collectively believed that they had been witnesses to some type of experimental craft, probably from France itself. This explanation was not considered possible given the details of the hovering of the craft, and the actual vanishing of the craft in front of the men.
Vallée wonders if the saucer was an otherwordly craft, and if the being, was living being or a remote-controlled robot. He said that no reasonable explanation has been given to answer these questions, and that the case is still listed as unexplained.
He feels sorry that their strange sighting which he says has never been debunked, has not been given much credibility by US ufologists, but that "serious investigators" which he does not name have "embraced it as genuine."
[Ref. pd1:] PIERRE DELVAL:
In his chapter on the cases of paralysis or drousiness of UFO witnesses during their experience, Pierre Delval indicates 12 cases from the French flap of 1954, among those, that in Marcilly-sur-Vienne in the department of the Indre-et-Loire, on September 30, 1954 at 10:30 p.m.
George Gatey, contruction site foreman, had just left his workmen when suddenly he is felt "weird", invaded by a kind of torpor.
He even wondered where he was going to. At this point in time he discovered within ten meters of him a small man in a diving-suit, upright close to a strange craft floating one meter above the ground. As soon as he saw that, he realized that he was in total impossibility to move, and remained like nailed to the ground during all the duration of the sighting.
He noted that the "diver" held a rather long tube in a hand, comparable to a revolver or a metal bar.
The being wore a discon the chest, which projected an intense ray of light. Without Gatay being able to see how, the being disappeared and the craft flew away with great noise.
Workmen Beurrois, Lubanovic, Sechet, Villeneuve, Rougier, Amirault, as well as a truck driver were present, witnessed the display and were also "paralysed."
[Ref. jf1:] JEAN-FRANCOIS GILLES:
French ufologist Jean-François Gilles had established a computerized catalogue of landings on the French territoty between September 26 and October 18, 1954 in order to study if their geographical distribution were the fact of the chance or not.
|
UFO LANDINGS ON THE CONTINENTAL TERRITORY OF FRANCE FROM SEPTEMBER 26, 1954 TO OCTOBER 18, 1954 |
|||||||
| ICOD | Désignation | (57) | Date | JV4 | JV1 | COMMENTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0011 | 0590 | NOUATRE | RF37 | 540930 | 165 | 167 | CE3 |
ICOD is an internal code of this listing. (57) refers to column 57 of the Condon group's computerized UFOCAT, where RF is France and the number is the département. JV4 and JV1 are case numbers in Jacque Vallée's Magonia listing and "Passport to Magonia" book. CE2, CE3 refers to the Hynek classification.
| V | F | G | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICOD | Longitude | Latitude | Longitude | Latitude | Longitude | Latitude |
| 0590 | -0.537 | 47.047 | -0.536 | 47.049 | -0.549 | 47.052 |
V,F,G are codes for people who determined the coordinates: V = Jacques Vallée, ufologistF = Jean Charles Fumoux, officer of the French Air Force, G = Jean François Gille, ufologist.
[Ref. jv7:] JACQUES VALLEE:
Jacques Vallée indicates that among the cases that deserve close examination, but "which were swept under the rug by UFO believers themselves", is the sighting at Nouatre, France, on September 30, 1954, at about 4:30 p.m. when Georges Gatay, head of a team of eight construction workers, found himself walking away from the others. He felt a "peculiar drowsiness" and suddenly wondered where he was going. Then, without warning, he faced the strangest apparition: less than thirty feet away, above him on the slope, was a man. His head was covered by an opaque glass helmet with a visor coming down to his chest. He wore gray coveralls and short boots. In his hand he held an elongated object: "It could have been a pistol, or it could have been a metal rod." On his chest was a light projector. The strange man was standing in front of a large shining dome, which "floated" about three feet above the ground. Above the cupola of the machine were objects like rotating wings or blades. Then,
suddenly, the strange man vanished, and I couldn't explain how he did, since he did not disappear from my field of vision by walking away, but vanished like an image one erases suddenly.
Then I heard a strong whistling sound which drowned the noise of our excavators; the saucer rose by successive jerks, in a vertical direction, and then it too was erased in a sort of blue haze, as if by miracle.
Gatay tried to run, but he found himself helplessly nailed to the spot. He was thus "paralyzed" during the whole observation. So were his seven coworkers, in a unique case of collective physiological reaction. None of them had previously believed in the reality of the so-called saucers. As soon as he was able to move again, Gatay rushed back to his men and cried, "Have you seen something?"
Mr. Bourrois told him: "Yes-a flying saucer!" And the man who was the driver of the excavator, Mr. Lubanovic, added: "'I'1here was a man dressed like a diver in front of it." Four others¬ Messrs, Sechet, Villeneuve, Rougier, and Amiraut, a truck driver confirmed the details of the sighting.
It must be pointed out that the incident took place in a remote rural region. At the time the wave of French reports was just beginning. But Gatay, who fought during the war with the Resistance and was wounded in Luxembourg, stated that he was not used to flights of fancy. Following the incident, he suffered from insomnia, strong headaches, and loss of appetite for a week. Ironi-cally, the eight men are still not convinced that the flying saucers were alien. They feel sure they are a secret development by a terrestrial nation-probably France.
[Ref. uc1:] "UFOCASEBOOK" WEBSITE:
UFO Vanishes in FranceThis case was originally brought to light by renown researcher Jacques Vallee, and it is a strange one indeed. Occurring at Nouatre, Indre-et-Loire, France in 1954, it is a case unlike any other, and yet all of the witnesses to the event are considered trustworthy, and their strange sighting has never been debunked. American ufology students have treated this case with little credibility, but serious investigators have embraced it as genuine. It began at a construction site at 4:30 P.M. on September 30, 1954. George Gatay, who was foreman of an eight-man construction crew, was unexpectedly drawn away from his crew, feeling a sense of "peculiar drowsiness." He was walking, but did not know why or to where. A short distance from his construction site, Gatay was amazed to encounter a man standing on a slope, some 30 feet from him. The "man" was wearing an opaque glass helmet with a large visor. He was wearing gray coveralls, and short boots. He also held an object in his hand, which Gatay described as a weapon of some kind, like a rod. There was a kind of electronic instrument display on his chest. This strange looking man was standing in front of a dome-shaped object, which hovered about 3 feet above the ground. The craft had a cupola with blade-like devices above it. Gatay, enthralled with the sight of the man and his craft, was frozen in his tracks. Gatay stated: "Suddenly, the strange man vanished, and I couldn't explain how he did it, since he did not disappear from my field of vision by walking away, but vanished like an image one erases. Then I heard a strong whistling sound which drowned the noise of our excavators. Soon the object rose by successive jerks, in a vertical direction, and then it too was erased in a sort of blue haze, as if by a miracle." Gatay had tried to run after first seeing the being and object, but was "paralyzed" during the sighting. Strangely, his seven co-workers were also in a sort of a daze during the incident. All eight of the men were "non-believers" before their strange incident. As soon as Gatay was released from his strange encounter, he ran back to the other workers, and cried, "Have you seen something?" One of the men, Mr. Beurrois, exclaimed, "Yes--A flying saucer!" Another of the men, excavator driver Mr. Lubanovic added, "There was a man dressed like a diver in front of it." The other workers all added their confirmation to the strange event. Gatay was a well-known and respected man who had fought in the war with the French Resistance, and was wounded in Luxembourg. After the sighting, he began to suffer from insomnia, strong headaches, and a loss of appetite. These symptoms lasted about a week. Even after this strange sighting, the men collectively believed that they had been witnesses to some type of experimental craft, probably from France itself. This explanation was not feasible given the details of the hovering of the craft, and the actual vanishing of the craft in front of the men. What was this other-wordly craft seen by these men? And the being, was it a living entity, or a remotely controlled robot of some type? To this day, no reasonable explanation has been given to answer these questions, and this case is still listed as unexplained. sources: Article: Jacques Vallée, dans le magazine d'ufologie Lumières Dans la Nuit (LDLN), France, N.43. "Passport to Magonia - Section, "100 Years of UFO Landings." "Chronique des apparitions extra-terrestres", Jacques Vallée, Denoel éditeur, France, page 261, 1972. Article in the newspaper "France-Soir", 3 October 1954. |
[Ref. se1:] JOHN SCHUESSLER:
|
1954/09/30 FRANCE, MARCILLY-SUR-VIENNE Source: Official UFO, Feb. 76 A construction worker and seven co-workers were paralyzed when near a disk-shaped object. One being was seen holding a rod-like device and wearing a light projector on his chest. The worker suffered insomnia, strong headaches, and loss of appetite for a week after the incident. EFFECTS: |
[Ref. go1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates that in 1954, on September 30, in France, in Marcilly sur Vienne "16:30 - George Gatay and seven construction workmen saw a disc on the level of the ground as well as a humanoid which stood near it. Both disappeared in a very strange manner. Physiological effects on all the witnesses ".
The sources are noted: "Ici-Pais, 11 Oct. 1954; France-Soir, 3 Oct. 1954" avec un remerciement à Wim van Utrecht.
She indicates that another version is: "At 16:30 George Gatay and 7 construction workmen saw a disc on the level of the ground as a a humanoid wich stood near it. Physiological effects on all the witnesses."
She indicates that the source is "Jacques Vallée: 'Chronique des apparitions ET' - DENOEL 1972 - COLL. J'AI LU - p. 262".
And that there is still another version "by the SAME AUTHOR: Suddenly the strange man disappeared, I cannot explained how, for I did not see it moving whereas I had not left it from my eyes. He disappeared as an image which one erases in a blow."
She indicates that the source is "Jacques VALLEE: 'Autres dimensions' - trad. Robert Laffont 1989 - p. 111, 112".
There is still this other version: "This machine does have the classical shape of a saucer: it is circular and surmounted by a dome; the abnormal fact is that this dome is equipped apparently with 'blades similar to those of a helicopter and which rotate fast'. (...) Just beside the machine, the witness sees the pilot. The latter is down on the ground. It appears of small size: 1m50 or 55. It is capped 'with a helmet whose matter resembles scrambled glass, dressed of an outfit of neutral color, with little boots at the feet'. This appearance lasts only a few moments, then the pilot goes up on board. At once the machine rises vertically, by jerks and while whistling like 'jet planes'."
She indicates that the source is "Michel Carrouges : 'Les Apparitions de Martiens', éd. Fayard 1963, p. 123-124".
She indicates that actually: "it is a hoax by the journalistic reporter Nouatre. Larry Hatch, Dec. 2003 ".
[Ref. fb1:] FABRICE BONVIN:
Fabrice Bonvin notes:
|
Case #014: 30/09/1954, p. 96 (Marcilly-sur-Vienne) |
[Ref. fb3:] FABRICE BONVIN:
In a table, Fabrice Bonvin notes selected cases of the 1954 Frnech flap, including this one:
| Case | Nmbr witnesses | Hours | Type objects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcilly-sur-Vienne | 8 | 3 | 2 |
[Ref. jb1:] JEROME BEAU:
Georges GatayFormer resistant during world war II, wounded in Luxembourg. September 30, 1954 at 04:30 P.M., in Nouatre (the Indre-and-Loire DEPARTMENT) in a rural area quite isolated, George Gatay, foreman responsible for a team of 8 masons, separates from his workmen. He feels invaded with certain torpor and sudden wonders where he went. And then, suddenly, he is facing the strangest appearance, separated of him with less than some ten meters, a little above him, on the slope, is a man whose head is covered with a helmet made of glass opaque, and equipped with a visor which goes down to his chest. He carries a gray combination and small boots. He holds in the hand an elogated object that one could have taken for a revolver or perhaps a metallic rod. On his chest there is a projector. This strange man is upright in front of a large shining dome, which "floats" at about 90 cm above ground-level. On the cupola of the machine are objects in the shape of wings or blades which rotate. Then:
Gatay tries to flee but like is like nailed to the ground. He is "paralysed" during all the scene. His workmen are too. None of them believed in realities of the "saucers" before. As soon as he can move again, Gatay rushes towards his workmen while shouting: Did you see something? Mr. Beurrois answers Yes, a flying saucer! And the man who led the excavator, Mr. Lubanovic, adds: There was a man equipped like a diver. 4 other workmen: Mr Sechet, Villeneuve, Rougier and Amiraut, a truck driver, will confirm all the details of the scene. After the incident, Gatay suffered from insomnia, strong headaches and lost his appetite during one week. The eight men will however not be convinced that flying saucers come from another world. They are sure on the contrary that they form part of secret experiments of a quite terrestrial nation, probably France. |
[Ref. ug1:] "UFOGENESIS" WEBSITE, BRAZIL:
A man is paralyzed during an encounter(13/12/2004 Um dos mais notáveis casos da onda de aparições ufológicas que varreu a França, em 1954, ocorreu na localidade de Nouatre, no mês de setembro. Por volta das 16hs, o senhor Georges Gatay, trabalhador de uma construção, sentiu-se estranhamente cansado e resolveu se afastar do grupo de operários.) 12/13/2004 One of the most remarkable cases of the flap of ufologocal appearances which swept France, in 1954, occurred in the locality of Nouatre, in September. At approximately 04:00 P.M., Mr George Gatay, worker on a construction site, felt strangely tired and decided to move away from the group of workmen. (Sozinho, subitamente se viu frente a frente com um vulto que lembra um homem vestindo uma capa longa e cinzenta, botas escuras e uma viseira, aparentemente feita de vidro opaco, que lhe cobria o rosto.) Alone, he suddenly saw in front of him, a silhouette which reminded him to that of a man dressed with a long and gray combination, dark boots and a visor, apparently made opaque glass, which covered his face. (Gatay notou um objeto metálico em uma das mãos do ser e uma luz que parecia ser projetada de seu peito. Através da figura, flutuava um grande e brilhante objeto, cujo formato lembrava um osso. De repente, o homem misterioso desapareceu. O objeto, então, subiu verticalmente e também desapareceu.) Gatay noticed a metallic object in one of the hands of the being and a light which seemed to be projected from his chest. Through the character, a large and shiny object floated, whose shape reminded of a bone. Suddenly, the mysterious man disappeared. The object, then, went up vertically and also disappeared. (Gatay relatou que permanecera paralisado durante toda a aparição e um pouco depois do desaparecimento do ser e do ÓVNI. Voltando à construção, ele ficou surpreso quando seu colegas lhe contaram que também tinham sofrido uma singular paralisia, estando todos muito assustados.) Gatay said that he remained paralysed during all the appearance and a little after the disappearance of the UFO. While returning to the construction site, he was surprised when his colleagues told him that they also had suffered from singular paralysis, all being very frightened. (Entretanto, não podiam confirmar o contato imediato de Gatay, pois nada tinham visto. Não houve indícios de Missing Time (Sensação de tempo perdido) nem de que Gatay tenha sido levado a bordo de uma nave. Porém, o ufólogo John Spencer, pesquisador do caso, salienta que em muitos episódios de abdução, a paralisia em massa é um fator comum, e que impede que outras pessoas presentes ou próximas, interfiram no processo abdutivo.) Nevertheless, they could not confirm the close contact of Gatay, of which they did not see anything. There were no indication of Missing Time (a feeling that time was missed) nor that Gatay was taken on board a vessel. Nevertheless, ufologist John Spencer, the investigator on this case, points out that in many abduction episodes, mass paralysis is a usual factor, and it prevents that the other people present or nearby intervene in the abduction process. Grupo de Pesquisas Ufologicas de Americana |
[Ref. ac1:] "ALIEN CONSPIRACY" WEBSITE:
|
Gatay Encounter The foreman of a construction site near Marcilly-sur-Vienne, Georges Gatay, reported having a sense of fatigue come over him. He then began to walk away from the site unknowingly and towards a domed UFO with a small alien dressed in a diving suit. A laser projection seemed to be coming from his waist. The alien then vanished and high-pitched sound was heard. The UFO climbed skyward and was surrounded by a blue glow before vanishing. Gatay returned to the construction site. His fellow workers had also felt fatigued and witnessed the ecounter. The witnesses suffered from lightheadedness, insomnia, and could not eat for the next several days. The post-event condition of the witnesses suggests a possible abduction. This is also suggested by the two gaps were the scene abbrutly changed. |
[Ref. sd1:] STEVEN DUNN:
| DATE | DESCRIPTION | MICAP_CLAS | REF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09/30/1954 |
Marcilly-sur-Vienne, FR 30 Sep 54 Eight construction workers reported seeing a disc-shaped object on the ground. Nearby was a small humanoid wearing a helmet. (FOV) Both vanished in a very strange manner. Physiological effects in all witnesses. Event happened about 1630. (Cashman) |
CE-3-102 | Randle/Estes, FOV pg 266 ; M. Cashman email 7/25/98 |
[Ref. gd1:] GEOFF DITTMANN:
|
Witness: Eight construction workers, including Georges Gatay Location: Marcilly sur Vienne, France Date: September 30, 1954 Time: 16:30 The witnesses observe a landed disk, with a humanoid occupant nearby. All witnesses suffered from physiological effects, such as severe headaches, loss of appetite, and insomnia. (Vallee, Passport to Magonia #165 and Schuessler, UFO Related...) |
[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
|
84. Georges Gatay, a construction worker, while working in a gravel pit, encountered a man wearing gray coveralls, whose head was covered with an opaque helmet coming down to his chest, on which was a light projector. In his hand was a rod-like object. Behind the man was a large shining dome hovering 3 ft above the ground; above the cupola were rotating blades. The man suddenly vanished, and the saucer rose jerkily with a whistle, and then disappeared in a blue haze. During the experience Gatay felt paralyzed. So did his 7 co-workers, who had seen the same thing. Gatay suffered from headaches & insomnia for a week. Humcat 1954-61 |
[Ref. dj1:] DONALD JOHNSON:
|
1954 - At 4:30 in the afternoon, Georges Gatay, construction supervisor, and seven construction workers in Marcilly-sur-Vienne, France saw a disc at ground level, with a humanoid standing next to it. Both vanished in a very odd manner. Physiological effects in all witnesses. (Sources: Michel Carrouges, Les apparitions de Martiens, pp. 123 & 125; France Soir, October 3, 1954; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia, p. 213; Michel Figeut & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochees en France, pp. 96). |
[Ref. lh1:] LARRY HATCH:
In his U-Database, the case of Marcilly-sur-Vienne is noted as a discredited case: "a prank went too far."
[Ref. fb2:] FABRICE BONVIN:
The author indicates that like "Men-in-Black", UFOs are also capable of appearances and instantaneous or gradual disappearances.
He indicates as example that on September 30, 1954, in Nouatre in France at 16:30, George Gatay, building site foreman, observed a shining object in the shape of dome floating one meter above ground-level.
A humanoid capped of an opaque helmet stood in front of it, and this being disappears suddenly, "as an image which one erases in one blow" whereas the witness which did not leave it from his eyes, did not see it moving.
The UFO then rose with a whistling sound then faded in a kind of blue fog.
During the observation, Gatay and his workmen were paralysed and he would suffer from insomnia and headaches during one week.
The author indicates as source "Essai de classification des apparitions et disparitions sur place" by Jacques Scornaux in the "Lumières Dans la Nuit" magazine #170, page 6 in December 1977.
[Ref. ed1:] EMMANUEL DEHLINGER:
The author (who thinks UFOs are created by military personal who wants people to believe in aliens) mentions sightings in the Indre et Loire, including one on 30 September 1954 in Marcilly-Sur-Vienne.
[Ref. lc1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Indre et Loire in Marcilly sur Vienne on September 30, 1954, at 04:30 p.m. "At the location Nouatre, Mr. George Gatay, foreman, person in charge of a team of eight bricklayers, separates from his workmen. He feels "all weird" invaded of a certain torpor, and suddenly wonders where he is going. Suddenly, he is vis-a-vis a small being in front of a machine in the shape of a brilliant cupola. As soon as he sees the machine and the being, George Gatay tries to run, but he his frozen on the spot. He is like 'paralyzed' and all its workmen are, too. The being disappears on the spot and the apparatus takes off with a strong whistling sound which covers the noise that the excavators make. It rises by successive jumps, straight, then fades in a kind of blue fog, as by miracle. All the workmen saw it, and Mr. Lubanovic added: 'There was a man dessed like a diver'."
Luc Chastan comments: "This case is to discard because : Invention of the Witness".
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
[Ref. ud1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 30 September 1954 at 16:30 in Marcilly-sur-Vienne, France, "Domed disc hovered 3' above ground. Above cupola were rotating blades. Man stood there, wore gray coveralls and opaque helmet, suddenly vanished, disc rose with whistle. Paralysis, headaches, insomnia. Explanation: Prank."
And: "At 4:30 in the afternoon, Georges Gatay, construction supervisor, and seven construction workers in Marcilly-sur-Vienne, France saw a disc at ground level, with a humanoid standing next to it. Both vanished in a very odd manner. Physiological effects in all witnesses."
And: "An object was observed. Physiological effects were noted."
And: "One domed disc, about 5 feet across, was observed by eight experienced male witnesses at a quarry for a few seconds (Gatey, F). A noise was heard. One humanoid, wearing a gray coverall and helmet, was seen."
And: "Georges Gatay, a construction worker, while working in a gravel pit, encountered a man wearing gray coveralls, whose head was covered with an opaque helmet coming down to his chest, on which was a light projector. In his hand was a rod-like object. Behind the man was a large shining dome hovering 3 ft above the ground; above the cupola were rotating blades. The man suddenly vanished, and the saucer rose jerkily with a whistle, and then disappeared in a blue haze. During the experience Gatay felt paralyzed. So did his 7 co-workers, who had seen the same thing. Gatay suffered from headaches and insomnia for a week."
The sources are indicated as Webb, David, HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports; Guieu, Jimmy, Flying Saucers Come from Another World, Citadel, New York, 1956; Sparks, Brad, Computer Catalog of Type 9 Cases (N=150); Lorenzen, Coral E., Flying Saucer Occupants, Signet T3205, New York, 1967; Lorenzen, Coral E., Encounters with UFO Occupants, Berkley Medallion, New York, 1976, ISBN:425-03093-8; Bowen, Charles, The Humanoids: FSR Special Edition No. 1, FSR, London, 1966; Pereira, Jader U., Les Extra-Terrestres, Phenomenes Spatiaux, Paris, 1974; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Preliminary Catalog (N = 500), (in JVallee01); Vallee, Jacques, A Century of Landings (N = 923), (in JVallee04), Chicago, 1969; Vallee, Jacques, Passport to Magonia, ; Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1969; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Carrouges, Michel, Les Apparitions de Martiens, Fayard, Paris, 1963; Rogerson, Peter, World-Wide Catalog of Type 1 Reports; Bloecher, Ted R., Ted R Bloecher investigation files; Newspaper Clippings; Hatch, Larry, internet data; Rosales, Albert, Humanoid Sighting Reports Database.
[Ref. ti2:] "TOURAINE INSOLITE" WEBSITE:
The author of the website indicates that in Marcilly-sur-Vienne, on September 30, 1954, at 04:30 p.m., several workmen are busy in a sand and stones pit at the edge of the secondary road, on the left bank of the Vienne, between Parcay and Marcilly opposite the military camp of Nouâtres (Camp of Ruchard), when they saw a "Craf" of circular form and its passenger land on the edges of the excavation.
The sources are indicated as : "Nouvelle république du centre-ouest" for 02.10 and 4.10.1954; "OVNI le Premier dossier complet des rencontres en France" A.Lefeuvre publisher 1979 by Michel Figuet & J.L Ruchon P.96; "Chronique des apparition E.T" J'ai Lu publisher A308 1977 by Jacques Vallée (Case No 165); "black-out sur les S.V" Omnium littéraire publisher 1972 by Jimmy Gieu P.161; LDLN No 165 P.8
Not looked for yet. Almost certainly a hoax.
Jacques vallée uses this case which is noted as a prank to claim that UFOs are not extraterrestrial vehicles but illusions created by an unspecified intelligence. He argues that UFOs are not objects because they can dematerialize and they produce psychic effects on the witnesses. Here we have one of the 5 cases only in Passport from Magonia which - disputably - seem support such a view, and it seems to be nothing else than a prank which Paris Match reported as such back then.
One may however suppose that even the notion of a the hoax is doubtful, and wonder which kind of machine has "blades which turn" above its "dome", and an engine able to cover the noise of the excavators, if not an helicopter.
But ultimately, the important thing in this case is that it seems to have only the Press as source of information, and to lack any real investigation by ufologists having truly interviewed the witnesses. One may thus speculate ad infinitum in the explanation of the business, hoax, hélicopter, extraterrestrial flying saucer, hallucination or ultradimensional witness-manipulating intelligence, but I fear that these speculations are of low interest.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Marcilly-sur-Vienne, Georges Gatay, multiple, disk, landing, humanoid, occupant, effects, hoax, invention
[---] indicates sources which I have not yet checked.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | November 8, 2006 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 11, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [go1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 19, 2010 | Addition [jv5]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 19, 2010 | Addition [se1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | July 3, 2010 | Additions [jv7], [fb3], [lc1], [ti2]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | July 11, 2010 | Additions [jg1], [gd1]. |
