If you go to Vernet-les-Bains, look out for the ‘Entente Cordiale’ monument next to the mairie, the only one of its kind in France.
A silence, our heads are bowed, a prayer from the Mayor. In turn the boys read out the list of the fallen sons of the Great War, perhaps a dozen names from those awful days. This would have been a village of around a hundred people.
The Morhange network was a French resistance network led by Marcel Taillandier, who took extreme risks to inform and protect the Resistance Movement.
Book Club: Secret Agent, Unsung Hero: The Valour of Bruce Dowding. This biography, researched over decades, is written by Bruce’s nephew, Peter, to honour Bruce and the millions who gave their lives for our safety.
Historic Perpignan, the colourful mix of old and new, chic and shabby, trendy boutiques, narrow, cobbled streets and small intimate bistros, was also a pivotal location in supporting the British and Allied war effort.
Many a Bac (equivalent of A-Levels) student has quivered at the sight of Victor Hugo’s name on the test paper… how will you fare with this 19th century poem?
Rivesaltes. So handy for the railway. Destination: Auschwitz, via Drancy.
Visit this wonderful museum which was a beacon of hope for expectant mothers exiled during the Retirada.
The Château de Castelnou was also the base of one of the most successful Allied spies of World War II
Towards the end of August 1944, resistance fighters from all around the region fought Germans and French militia to take back Perpignan.