The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is over a century old. For the first time, visitors can take a look behind the scenes at the work that is needed to commemorate the 1.7 million Commonwealth casualties from the First and Second World Wars.

The CWGC Experience is a unique new visitor attraction that shines a light on the work of the remarkable organisation at the heart of remembrance of the war dead.

Our free audio guide will walk you through each aspect of the work we do: from the story of how we still recover and rebury the dead today, to the skilled artisan craftsmen at work maintaining the world’s most impressive and recognisable monuments and memorials, a trip to the battlefields of the Western Front is not complete without a visit to the CWGC Experience.

Sources : ©The CWGC Experience

>> [ Tribute ] Inaugurated on 11 November 2019 by the President of the Republic [ Speech ]

- [ Web series ] Episodes – Memorial to French soldiers killed in overseas operations: background to the project

- Database of soldiers killed in overseas operations (1963 to the present): www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr

- Remembrance site brochures to view online

A symbol of the Nation’s gratitude for the ultimate sacrifice made by servicemen and women deployed in the different theatres of operations since 1963, the Memorial also offers a new place of contemplation for the defence community and the families and loved ones of service personnel.

A symbol of the Nation’s gratitude for the ultimate sacrifice made by servicemen and women deployed in the different theatres of operations since 1963, the Memorial also offers a new place of contemplation for the defence community and the families and loved ones of service personnel.

Since the end of the Algerian War, hundreds of thousands of men and women have been deployed to protect their fellow citizens and, beyond our borders, to defend French interests. To date, 549 servicemen and women have given their lives across 17 overseas theatres of operations and, until now, no national monument had been erected in their honour. It was only natural, then, that the planned tribute to this new generation of service personnel, commonly known as the quatrième génération du feu (“fourth generation of combatants”), should consist of a memorial bearing the names of all those who have died for France in overseas operations.

A tribute to the “fourth generation of combatants”

This tenth Major National Remembrance Site has multiple layers of meaning:

• To service personnel deployed on overseas operations, it means that the Nation does not forget those who make the ultimate sacrifice, showing the degree of their commitment;

• To the families of deceased service personnel, it expresses the Nation’s gratitude and offers a place of contemplation and remembrance;

• To the public, it serves as a reminder that the freedom they enjoy only exists because of those who are prepared to give their lives to defend it.

Its role will also be as a place of contemplation for comrades-in-arms, the military community and veterans’ associations, and as a reminder of France’s ongoing engagements around the world.

The construction of a historic monument

The Memorial consists of a sculpture depicting six service personnel – five men and one woman – bearing an unseen coffin, whose faces show expressions of pain, contemplation and determination. A wall of 37 plaques bearing the names of the 549 servicemen and women killed on overseas operations, theatre by theatre, completes the work.

As well as being used for commemorative ceremonies, it is also the vocation of these places of contemplation to be open to the public. The changing needs and expectations of visitors have made it necessary for some of these sites to develop more of a focus on passing on the remembrance message to young people. The Major National Remembrance Sites are continually undergoing maintenance and improvement works.

The ten Major National Remembrance Sites of the Ministry of the Armed Forces:

• National Cemetery of Notre Dame de Lorette (Pas-de-Calais)

• National Cemetery of Fleury-devant-Douaumont and the Bayonet Trench (Meuse)

• Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp (Bas-Rhin)

• Mont Valérien (Hauts-de-Seine)

• Memorial to the Martyrs of Deportation in Île de la Cité (Paris)

• Montluc Prison Memorial (Rhône)

• Memorial to the Allied Landings in Provence at Mont Faron (Var)

• Memorial to the First Indochina War (Var)

• Memorial to the Algerian War and the fighting in Morocco and Tunisia (Paris)

• Memorial to French service personnel killed in overseas operations (Paris)

Image source: Ministry of the Armed Force - DICoD / Caption: The Memorial consists of a sculpture depicting six service personnel – five men and one woman – bearing an unseen coffin, whose faces show expressions of pain, contemplation and determination. A wall of 37 plaques bearing the names of the 549 servicemen and women killed on overseas operations, theatre by theatre, completes the work.

Things to see on the Les Glières Plateau, a site which is emblematic of Resistance values:

The Mémoire du Maquis history resource is open to the public approximately ten months of the year, and activities, events and visits are regularly organised there. Run by the Haute-Savoie Departmental Authority, this multimedia space is equipped with interactive terminals that enable you to freely consult the CD-ROM ‘The Resistance en Haute-Savoie’ and the website ‘Mémoire des Alpes’. It also has a projection room, where you can watch a historical portrayal of Les Glières, ‘To live in freedom or to die’ (52 mins) or the documentary ‘August 1944: the liberation of Annecy and Haute-Savoie’ (25 mins). There is also a gift shop.

The historical discovery trail: In the middle of the plateau, around the parachute drop zone, this waymarked trail charts the organisation and everyday life of the Les Glières battalion during the winter of 1944. Lasting two hours, it is accessible to walkers of all abilities. A worksheet is available for children to complete by reading the information boards along the path.

The National Monument to the Resistance: This work of modern art by Émile Gilioli symbolises resistance and hope. It was built in 1973 on the initiative of the Association des Glières. Inside the monument are other works by the artist. When you approach the Les Glières Plateau, the National Monument to the Resistance appears to sit on the grass of this vast meadow, its geometry mimicking the shapes of the mountains, in particular the Montagne de Jalouvre, which serves as its backdrop. It is a sculpture without substance, a bas-relief that appears disproportionately larger against a background of nature, its white mass standing out from the rest of the landscape.

Sources: © Mémoire du Maquis, accueil historique

Sources : ©Musée de la guerre de 1870 – Loigny-la-Bataille

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Press pack

In the light of the theme of displaced peoples and the values of welcome and hospitality, find out how the Camp de Judes, which opened in 1939 to provide shelter for Spanish refugees of the retirada (the mass exodus of Spanish republicans after Franco came to power), has made Septfonds an important Second World War remembrance site. La Mounière also offers an insight into how the development of the hatmaking industry in the 19th century influenced the village’s architecture.

Discover local personalities, some of them famous - like the aviator Dieudonné Costes, one of the pioneers of aviation and transatlantic flights - and how each contributed to the history and heritage of Septfonds.

La Mounière is an interactive museum, whose themes are discovered using multimedia resources. The visit can be extended with two outdoor trails, one around the remembrance sites in the commune, connected to the camp, the other around the theme of hatmaking and its architectural impact.

The museum has a particular focus on appealing to young people.

All content is translated into Spanish and English.

Sources: © La Mounière – Maison des Mémoires de Septfonds

La Mounière | Maison des Mémoires de Septfonds

www.septfonds-la-mouniere.com

15 Rue des Déportés - 82240 Septfonds - Email: mairie@septfonds.fr

Tel.: +33 (0)5 63 64 90 27 - Mob.: +33 (0)6 70 36 86 90

Located in a pine forest on the edge of Lake Biscarrosse and Parentis, in a place known as "Latécoère", the 1200 m² museum gives an account of the history of sea aviation from 1910 to today.

Since World War I, the presence of vast, almost deserted expanses of water has encouraged the creation of sea place bases on the lakes in the Landes region. In 1929, regional industrialist Pierre Latécoère, the founder of airlines that connected Toulouse to Barcelona (1918), Dakar (1925) and South America (1930) built an important sea plane base for the testing of its prototypes in Biscarosse. This site was chosen due to the sheer size of the area of water (3000 ha) and its protection from winds given by the dunes. Tests have played an important role in the life of the village. After the failures of the Laté prototype between 1945 and 1949 and the abandonment of commercial sea aviation, however, the site was abandoned.

The Musée de l'Hydraviation is thus built on this site and recounts the epic of the pioneers of aviation. The story of the museum is told according to two lines of force. An area dedicated to history (850m²) contains documents from archives, photos, tables, scale models (more than one hundred), engines, propellers, uniforms, detached pieces, etc. The second is made up of an exhibition hall with five sea planes and a glider.

The tour begins with a 25-minute video on the history of sea aviation and a short film on the sea plane collection. Successive visits to the four pavilions and the galleries, followed by a visit to the hall where the large sea planes and "winch 631" shelter are on display.

The main source of funding is donations. Three BMW engines with their propellers, the rear containing the turret of the DO 24 queue gunner and German equipment scuttled in 1944 have also been given to the museum by the association for the protection of wrecks found in Lac de Biscarrosse.

Musée de l'hydraviation

332, avenue Louis Breguet 40600 Biscarosse

Tél. : 05.58.78.00.65 - Fax : 05.58.78.81.97

e-mail : musee.hydraviation@ville-biscarrosse.fr

hydravions-biscarrosse.com

Visites

Le musée est ouvert de janvier à décembre, du mercredi au lundi, de 14h00 à 18h00.

Horaires d'été : du 1 juillet au 31 août, tous les jours de 10h00 à 19h00.

L'établissement est fermé les jours fériés. La visite est libre ou guidée (sur réservation).

Sa durée est d'environ 1h30. Les locaux sont accessibles aux handicapés. Les animaux ne sont pas acceptés.

Autres activités Boutique dans le quatrième pavillon. Vente de cartes postales, affiches, livres, T-shirts, etc...

Le musée possède une bibliothèque et une vidéothèque fournies ainsi qu'une documentation pratiquement exhaustive concernant les hydravions.

Le musée dispose d'un laboratoire d'électrolyse, monté par EDF/Valectra qui a servi notamment à arrêter la corrosion sur des pièces d'hydravions récupérées dans les lacs ainsi que des canons de marine anciens récupérés sur la plage de Biscarrosse.

L'association des amis du musée de l'hydraviation, créée en 1979 s'est fixé pour objectif de réunir des documents et des pièces de collection et de conserver ce patrimoine aéronautique.

Tarifs

Adulte : 4,10 € Enfants de 6 à 12 ans : 0,80 € Famille (2 adultes et à partir de 3 enfants) : 8,55 € Groupe : 2,50 €

Association des amis du musée de l'hydraviation

En 1972, l'Association Nationale des Anciens Combattants de la Résistance (A.N.A.C.R.), l'Association Nationale des Pionniers et Combattants Volontaires du Vercors et la Fédération Nationale des Déportés et Internés Résistant s et Patriotes (F.N.D.I.R.P.), se réunissent en comité dans le but de créer un musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation.

Installé dans l'ancien couvent de la Visitation de Romans, il sera inauguré le 22 Juin 1974, en présence de Monsieur Jacques Debû-Bridel, membre fondateur du conseil National de la Résistance. Devant l’intérêt croissant du public, des étudiants et des chercheurs, le musée s’agrandit et évolue en 1994 pour devenir Centre historique.

Le Musée s'est donné pour mission d'informer et de transmettre afin que les événements qui ont noirci notre histoire ne se reproduisent pas. Il propose, dans une présentation sobre et claire, une exposition permanente : " De la montée du nazisme à la Libération".

Il dispose de différents outils :

- les salles d'exposition : outil de sensibilisation grand public, vitrine à la fois émotionnelle, informative et éducative.

- Le centre de documentation spécialisé à la disposition des étudiants, chercheurs et historiens (installé aux Archives communales, n°3 rue des Clercs).

- Les actions pédagogiques, destinées plus particulièrement aux jeunes générations qui n'ont pas connu cette période de l'histoire, pour leur montrer ce que peut devenir l'homme pour l'homme, dans certaines circonstances, sous certaines influences, et pour éveiller leur attention et leur vigilance aux répétitions de l'histoire.

- Le site web : http://www.resistance- drome.org

Ce site, bilingue, a pour objectif immédiat de faire découvrir aux jeunes générations le Musée et sa base de documentation.

Il veut également susciter des contacts et des échanges avec toute personne française ou étrangère intéressée par cette page d'histoire de notre région.

A terme, son objectif est de mettre en ligne la documentation bibliographique, au travers d'une base de données à critères de recherche multiples, un formidable outil de recherche de documentation.

Info utile :

Le Musée de la Résistance est installé dans une aile du bâtiment abritant le Musée international de la chaussure. L'entrée des deux Musées est commune.

Sources : ©MUSEE DE LA RESISTANCE EN DROME ET DE LA DEPORTATION

The French assault tank, a new armoured motorised weapon mounted on caterpillar tracks, was used for the first time in the offensive launched by General Nivelle at Chemin des Dames (Ladies' Way). The models used were the Schneider and Saint-Chamond from Mazel's army.

During the first offensive on 16th April 1917, 128 Schneider tanks, divided into two groups, were tasked with piercing the eastern sector of the front, between Corbeny and Berry-au-Bac. Being too heavy, they quickly became bogged down and as their fuel tanks were not sufficiently protected, they were easy targets for the German artillery. This was a cruel and bloody day for these pioneers of assault artillery. Of the 720 officers and men of the crews, 180 were killed, wounded or reported missing. Among the dead was the commander of this brave group of men, the much admired leader, Pierre Bossut, whose tank was hit by a shell. He was buried by his men on 18th April in the small cemetery at Maizy. 52 tanks were hit by enemy artillery (35 of these caught fire): 15 were direct hits and 37 indirect. Plus 21 machines were immobilised by breakdowns, either mechanical or due to the terrain (sinking). Used once again in October, in the Bohéry quarry sector, these tanks cleared the trenches at Casse-Tête and Leibnitz as well as the Vaudesson ravine. Tank Memorial
Erected at the Le Cholera Crossroads, a crucial point in the attack of 16th April 1917, on land acquired in 1921 by the assault artillery veterans' association, this granite monument is the work of Maxime Rél del Sarte, himself a veteran. The memorial was inaugurated on 2nd July 1922 by General Estienne, the father of the tank, alongside Marshal Foch, Marshal Pétain, General Mangin and General Weygand. In 1965, the site was given to the commune of Berry-au-Bac. Tanks from the 1950s can be seen there today. The body of Commander Bossut of the 151st infantry regiment, who fell at the start of the offensive in 1917, was found some hours after the events and brought back by his brother, adjutant Pierre Bossut of the A.S. 2. It was carried in a tank to Cuiry-lès-Chaudardes, where General Estienne, French "inventor" of the tank paid tribute before his funeral on 18th April 1917 at Maizy and his burial in the family grave at Roubaix. On 12th April 1992, on the 75th anniversary of the fighting in 1917, his ashes were reburied at the tank monument by General Woisard, President of the National Armoured Weaponry Union, alongside the Minister for Veterans. A commemorative plaque, behind the monument, pays tribute to him; "On 16th April 1917, after seizing the Le Cholera position in one blow, the 151st Infantry Regiment, under Colonel Moisson, continued its advance as far as the Béliers woods, supported by the tanks of Commander Bossut ."
Location: crossroads of the D1044 and D925 before entering Berry-au-Bac when approaching from Lanon on the A26