The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 2-Oct-54-Gouesnach.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper La Liberté du Morbihan for October 5, 1954 reported that five schoolchildren from Gouesnach, a small town located about fifteen km from Quimper, claimed to have seen in the sky, on October 2 October 1954 in the middle of the afternoon, "two mysterious apparatuses."
The schoolchildren were Annick and Yves Le Bris, Marc Gouesdec, Raymond Madec and J.C. Bellec, all aged 7 to 8.
The child who was most specific was Annick Le Bris, who said: "the two objects suddenly appeared in the sky, they looked like two upside-down 'bowls', with, between them, a long cigar. At times they moved and at times they stayed in place, only the "bowls" rotated when the objects moved."
She specified that when the craft moved, they no longer saw the middle part having the shape of a cigar.
The children had not told their parents until October 4, 1954, about what they had seen.
The newspaper found it all odd and disturbing, and added that none of the children except one boy had heard of flying saucers and that all five were visibly impressed by what they had seen. The newspaper also commented that the accuracy of their observations was impressive.
At their request to draw what she saw, Annick le Bris did not hesitate, she took her pencil case from her desk, took out a pencil, and in a few moments, made a sketch to which her younger brother only made a detail correction.
Other newspapers across France reported the fact, but very briefly: the Parisian magazine Radar published a photo of Annick Le Bris, presented as the daughter of the school director, in front of a drawing she was doing on her school's blackboard:
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In the archives of a Brittany ufology group, the GEPSI, I was able to find a file on the case, obviously consisting of the transcription of an article from the local press, but without the name of the newspaper nor its date, which must have been noted on an additional page, which I did not get. The content is essentially:
Yesterday we collected a really curious testimony, that of five schoolchildren from the Gouesnac'h public school.
The children all are aged from 7 to 8 years and belong to the class of Mr. Cornic, teacher in Gouesnac'h. It is about Annick and Yves Le Bris (children of the school principal), Jean-Claude Bellec, Raymond Nader and Marc Gouézec.
The "apparition" is on Saturday October 2, about midday, but the children, although puzzled, did not speak about it immediately to their parents and it is yesterday morning only that young Annick, a very waked up and intelligent pupil, was to speak to her father about it while lunching. Mr. Le Bris, who had just read his newspaper, requested from his daughter many precise details that she provided him easily by the way. The other pupils, who played with the young girl, confirmed her remarks and recognized in a drawing that she made on the black board, the object that they had also seen in the sky.
We ourselves questioned the children and we are astonished like the teachers, of the precise details which they provide.
The five pupils left the canteen Saturday, where they had just finished their lunch, and had fun before returning in class. They were still alone in the playground, having been the first to finish lunching.
It is at this point in time that they suddenly saw in the sky, coming from the direction of Pleuven (i.e. the south), two objects which astonished them.
- We climbed on the wall of the court for better seeing, said young Annick.
The children are obviously too young to appreciate the dimensions of the objects and the time during which they saw them. However, it seems that it was a rather long time, about a few minutes. Here the description that young Annick Le Bris gave, in naive and amusing terms sometimes, often with gestures:
- It was, she told us, like two bowls "one against the other", bus separated by something longer, resembling a cigar. My brother believed initially that it was a helicopter, but there was no propeller.
- Were these two craft moving?
- Oh, yes. They seemed like wandering around the church, the school and the field. They did not fly very high. At moments, they remained stationary and only "one of the bowls" turned. Sometimes the bowls were not seen anymore, but only the cigar."
This would explain in particular why certain witnesses claim to have seen saucers, and others the cigars. Because the five children are formal on this point on which we insisted: per moment, the children [sic] had void shapes, and by moment that of a cigar.
- Did these two machines go quickly? we asked
- Quicker than a plane, but they were not so high.
- Which color did they have?
The children hesitate one moment and answer:
- Dark gray. Somehow like aluminum. But it did not shine much.
With regard to the noise, none of the children is able to define it exactly.
- It was not like a motor, not like a plane, they say. It was not a whistle either.
According to what we understood, it was a kind of "hush".
- How did the two saucers disappear?
On this point still, all the five are also precise:
- one zoomed away and the other caught up.
[Ref. lmn1:] NEWSPAPER "LA LIBERTE DU MORBIHAN":
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Quimper. Five schoolchildren from Gouesnach, a small village located about fifteen kilometers from Quimper, claim to have seen two mysterious objects in the sky last Saturday, a little after noon. Annick and Yves Le Bris, Marc Gouesdec, Raymond Madec, and Jean-Claude Belec, all aged 7 to 8. The child who gave the most detailed account was little Annick Le Bris, who said: "The two objects suddenly appeared in the sky, they looked like two upside-down bowls, with a long cigar between them. At times, they moved, and at times they stayed still, only the bowls would spin when the objects moved." The girl also noted that when the objects moved, only the middle part shaped like a cigar remained visible.
The children only told their parents yesterday morning about what they had seen in the sky on Saturday.
Two residents of Scaër (Finistère) reported seeing two mysterious objects in the sky on Saturday evening. One of them, a pink-red disc, was followed by a white disc three times larger than the first. An hour later, saucers making a noise similar to that of a truck were observed by several people. The same noise was reportedly heard again during the night by several other witnesses.
[Ref. lae1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ALSACE":
The newspaper reports on October 6, 1954, with no other information, that there was a sighting in "Gouesnach, near Quimper". The date is not given but the sighting is mentioned among others that took place on October 2 and 3, 1954.
See the article here.
[Ref. ads1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ARDENNAIS":
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(Continued from the first page)
[...]
Saucers, cigars, discs, balls and other "flying" objects were seen at Chancelade (Haute-Vienne), Willer (Haut-Rhin) [Sep. 30.], Gouesnach, near Quimper, Beutignecourt, Ambazac (Haute-Vienne) [Oct. 1], Dijon [Oct. 2], Marcoing near Cambrai [Oct. 3], Pommier (Indre) [Oct. 3], Rouen [Oct. 3], Ajaccio, la Rochelle [Oct. 2], Quimper [Oct. 2], Cholet [Oct. 2] and Vannes [Oct. 2].
[...]
[Ref. tbt1:] NEWSPAPER "LE TELEGRAMME DE BREST":
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Quimper, 15. -- The region of Fouesnant seems to be privileged when it comes to interplanetary manifestations - or phenomena, whichever one prefers - that are currently stirring public opinion.
About ten days ago, there was the strange appearance at Gouesnach, reported by several schoolchildren from the public school in a story both original and curious. Strikingly, five students recounted the same details without having consulted each other.
Now, after Gouesnach, a similar phenomenon has been observed in the canton town of Fouesnant, this time at night - unlike the earlier sighting, where the saucer flew around the church tower in broad daylight.
We apologize for spotlighting the well-known transport operator from Fouesnant, who was the main witness of the strange events observed in South Finistère Thursday night. But it is necessary for the sake of clarity and because of corroborating observations.
TWO DISCS
Mr. René Le Viol, whose home and garage are located at the outskirts of Fouesnant on the road to Bénodet, stepped outside for a short walk in his yard after dinner Thursday night. It was 9:20 p.m. Suddenly, his attention was drawn by a glow, and he saw - emerging from behind a row of trees like a burst of fireworks - a flat shape resembling an upside-down plate, quickly followed by another. The witness saw the two discs, coming from the ground, shoot off at very high speed toward the sea, somewhere between Beg-Meil and Mousterlin, as if they had vanished upon reaching the ocean, beyond the dunes.
Mr. Le Viol, a precise and thoughtful man, said to himself, "I'll see what's going on." He stayed outside observing for another fifteen minutes - but in vain.
A GLOWING SPHERE
He went up to his room, still preoccupied by what he had seen, and stood by the window. From this vantage point, he can normally see the lights of Moutons and Penfret. After another fifteen minutes, his attention was drawn again - this time by the appearance of a glowing sphere rising from the direction of the Glénan Islands furthest from shore, between Penfret and Île aux Moutons. Thanks to the lights being on - it was barely 10 p.m. - he could easily track the luminous sphere's path.
Mr. Le Viol called his family, including his son René, and all witnessed the strange appearance of this fireball.
These same witnesses noted that it was only intermittently visible. For short moments, it disappeared from sight, as if it were only visible from certain angles. Because of the distance, none of the witnesses could hear whether the sphere or saucer made any noise as it moved.
We asked Mr. Le Viol the following question:
"Did you feel like you were witnessing a meteor?"
"I've seen shooting stars and meteors before - this was nothing like that."
Also worth mentioning: a delivery driver from a wholesale grocery company in Quimper, who happened to be near Moulin des Landes on the Bénodet road at the same time, noticed glowing trails in the sky.
STACKED FIREBALLS IN POULDREUZIC
The sightings in Fouesnant shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday are echoed by other testimonies from Guilvinec and areas around Penmarch.
These witnesses are trustworthy and sincere, though their descriptions aren't as precise as that of Brother Cariou, a teacher at Notre-Dame School in Penhars, in Pouldreuzic.
The boarding school is located on a slope that opens up to a wide view of Audierne Bay.
Mr. Cariou had retired to his room and was preparing for bed when he saw a glow from two incandescent globes that seemed to be coming rapidly from the sea. It was around 10 p.m.
When Brother Cariou saw the oddity of these glowing orbs, he went to the window and opened it.
After a brief observation, he believed the twin fireballs were heading straight for the town. He distinctly saw a large, red-bottomed disc.
It was approaching quickly. Concerned, even slightly alarmed, he called his colleagues, who immediately got up and joined him. But by then, the disc - or fireball - had vanished, flying inland at the same breakneck speed with which it had appeared.
[Ref. rdr1:] "RADAR" MAGAZINE:
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FINISTERE Annick le Bris, daughter of the Gouesnach school director: "the saucer was like this!"
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPSI":
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Groupe d'Etude des Phénomènes Spatiaux Inexpliqués [Unexplained Space Phenomena Study Group]
A.S.B.L.
1901 LAW- OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF OCTOBER 6, 1983
HEADQUARTERS [] RUE DE SIAM - 29200 BREST
OBJECT: STUDY OF THE UFO PHENOMENON BY ALL
LEGAL MEANS WHICH MAY PROVE NECESSARY
(INVESTIGATIONS AND COUNTER-INVESTIGATIONS
TO THE VARIOUS SOURCES, COLLECT AND ANA-
LYSIS OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, ETC.)
Type of testimony: DD
Date: October 2, 1954
Time: About 12:00
Place: GOUESNAC'H
Number of witnesses: 5
Investigation:
Identification:
Case summary
SAUCERS, BOWLS AND FLYING CIGARS
A schoolgirl of Gouesnac'h drew on the blackboard the machines which she saw in the sky.
Everyone can think of the flying saucers what he wants. All the assumptions with regard to their exact nature are allowed for the moment and the most various testimonys abound on their subject.
The first question is obviously to know if they exist or not. It should well be recognized that in the whole one remains skeptic although "honourable and worthy of faith" the witnesses who speak about it are. And yet this scepticism is sometimes shaken, so much are the descriptions which are given precise and concordant. We collected a really curious testimony yesterday, that of five schoolcildren of the public school of Gouesnac'h.
The children all are aged from 7 to 8 years and belong to the class of Mr. Cornic, teacher in Gouesnac'h. It is about Annick and Yves Le Bris (children of the school principal), Jean-Claude Bellec, Raymond Nader and Marc Gouézec.
.../...
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The "apparition" is on Saturday October 2, about midday, but the children, although puzzled, did not speak about it immediately to their parents and it is yesterday morning only that young Annick, a very waked up and intelligent pupil, was to speak to her father about it while lunching. Mr. Le Bris, who had just read his newspaper, requested from his daughter many precise details that she provided him easily by the way. The other pupils, who played with the young girl, confirmed her remarks and recognized in a drawing that she made on the black board, the object that they had also seen in the sky.
We ourselves questioned the children and we are astonished like the teachers, of the precise details which they provide.
TWO BOWLS AND A CIGAR
The five pupils left the canteen Saturday, where they had just finished their lunch, and had fun before returning in class. They were still alone in the playground, having been the first to finish lunching.
It is at this point in time that they suddenly saw in the sky, coming from the direction of Pleuven (i.e. the south), two objects which astonished them.
- we climbed on the wall of the court for better seeing, said young Annick.
The children are obviously too young to appreciate the dimensions of the objects and the time during which they saw them. However, it seems that it was a rather long time, about a few minutes. Here the description that young Annick Le Bris gave, in naive and amusing terms sometimes, often with gestures:
- it was, she told us, like two bowls "one against the other", bus separated by something longer, resembling a cigar. My brother believed initially that it was a helicopter, but there was no propeller.
- Were these two craft moving?
- Oh, yes. They seemed like wandering around the church, the school and the field. They did not fly very high. At moments, they remained stationary and only "one of the bowls" turned. Sometimes the bowls were not seen anymore, but only the cigar."
This would explain in particular why certain witnesses claim to have seen saucers, and others the cigars. Because the five children are formal on this point on which we insisted: per moment, the children [sic] had void shapes, and by moment that of a cigar.
- did these two machines go quickly? we asked
- quicker than a plane, but they were not so high.
- which color did they have?
The children hesitate one moment and answer:
- dark gray. Somehow like aluminum. But it did not shine much.
With regard to the noise, none of the children is able to define it exactly.
- it was not like a motor, not like a plane, they say. It was not a whistle either.
According to what we understood, it was a kind of "hush".
- How did the two saucers disappear?
On this point still, all the five are also precise:
- one zoomed away and the other caught up.
.../...
Note: The GEPSI casefile above is obviously the reproduction of an article from the Press of that time; which references are unfortunately not indicated.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
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2 octobre [1954]
[... Other cases...]
12 h 30: Gouesnach (Finistère): bi-convex lens
[... Other cases...]
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the Finistère in Gouesnach on October 2, 1954 at an unknown hour, "Five schoolboys affirm to have seen in the sky in full afternoon, two mysterious craft."
"They all are 7 to 8 years old. The most precise description is the following one: 'the two objects appeared suddenly in the sky, one would have said two bowls back to back, with, between them, a long cigar. At times they moved and ant times they remained motionless, only the bowls turned when the objects moved.'"
"The witness also specified that when the craft moved, one did not see any more the median part having the shape of a cigar. Only one child had heard talks about flying saucers before the observation, but without paying attention to that. All the five were obviously impressed by what they saw."
The source is indicated as being my website at "http://ufologie.net".
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541002 | 02.10.1954 | Gouesnach | France |
[Ref. voi1:] "ARCHIVES VIGIE OVNI 29":
Gouesnac ( 29 950 ), 02 October 1954, 12 h 00 ...
Testimony nr. FR 29 950 1954 10 02 12 00
Available documents:
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Not looked for yet.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Gouesnach, Finistère, children, child, multiple, two, bowls, disc, cigar, balance, manoeuvre, rotation, daylight, Annick Le Bris, Yves Le Bris, Marc Gouesdec, Raymond Madec, J.C. Bellec
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | December 2, 2005 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 27, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Addition [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 3, 2010 | Addition [lae1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 28, 2010 | Addition [rdr1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | December 22, 2016 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | February 7, 2017 | Addition [voi1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | February 17, 2021 | Addition [ads1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | November 29, 2021 | Addition [gqy1]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | July 4, 2022 | Addition of the Summary. |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | June 21, 2025 | Addition [tbt1]. |
