There were many unsung heros and heroines during WW2, such as Mary Elmes, Irish aid worker believed to have saved the lives of at least 200 Jewish children at various times during the Holocaust, by hiding them in the boot of her car.
Elisabeth Eidenbenz was the remarkable Swiss woman who created La Maternité Suisse in Elne as a refuge for expectant mothers exiled from Spain during La Retirada and World War II.
Henry Shaftoe talks us through another architectural style, evident across the P-O: a sort of rough-hewn look that makes use of local materials: rough hewn rocks, huge pebbles (cailloux) and flattened bricks, (confusingly known as cayroux).
In 1943, when the Gestapo came to Prades , Jean-Michel’s father was fighting with the Resistance and frequently absent.
The maquis was one of various forms of Resistance in France’s fight against the German Occupation and the Vichy regime during the Second World War.
During World War II the majority of RAF Evaders made their escape or passed through France on their way from Germany and Occupied countries, heading for the coasts in an attempt to return to England.
How was the unknown soldier chosen?
Millas, on the N116 between Perpignan and Ille sur Tet, has a rather lovely church, full of great Baroque art, plenty of shops and cafés – but today we are heading up to the Col de la Bataille, ancient battle ground and poignant memorial to members of the resistance group Henri Barbusse,
Perpignan was elected ‘Capital de la Sardana 2019’ and takes this honour very seriously.
The poppy is a powerful and iconic symbol of remembrance in England, but did you know that the French have an equivalent, ‘Le Bleuet de France’, their own poignant reminder of the First World War?