My War in Two Armies: Part 4 of 10 - Planning for a Return from France to the UK

We marched on together to the village of Preuilly arriving at 9 o’clock in the evening. It was already dark when we entered a café to see if we could obtain any food. We had had nothing to eat since our lunch at Tours and we had walked some 10 miles, much of which over rough country. After an argument with the local baker, the café proprietor managed to serve us with a meal which included some beer. Our next move was to find accommodation in the village. We succeeded in finding three rooms in a private house, one each for Blanchard, Cartier and myself; Poupault spent the night in another house and made arrangements with the owner, who was a garage proprietor, to take us by car the next morning to the town of Loches.

Early the next day, 16th September, we left Preuilly and at Loches, where we arrived an hour later, we took the train at 7am for Chateauroux arriving there two hours later. We went to the left-luggage office to collect our bags which we had registered at Tours and went to an hotel in the town for a wash and change of clothing. Later that morning we left Chateauroux by train and arrived the same evening at Toulouse. We experienced some difficulty in finding rooms in Toulouse, an important and busy town, but were able in the end to put up for the night in an hotel.

We left Toulouse the next morning by train and arrived at Pau early afternoon. In accordance with the practice in unoccupied France identity papers were examined on the train by two gendarmes, but we experienced no difficulties and no questions were asked. It was at Pau that the plans for the continuation of our journey broke down. Before we left Paris it was understood that we were to link up with two other parties due to arrive at Pau around the same time as us but travelling by different routes. We did in fact meet the others as arranged (making a total of 14 of us) on the promenade, boulevard des Pyrénées. After this we were to call at an address given to us as 13 avenue des Pyrénées, where a man called “Max” also known as “Belleville” was supposed to see us through the second part of our journey from Pau across the Pyrenees into Spain and on to Portugal or Gibraltar.

We searched the town for the address which had been given to us, or any address resembling it; we even made enquiries at every house in the boulevard des Pyrénées, which incidentally only had even numbers. We finally had to conclude that the address we were given was a false one; we were bitterly disappointed since we had no means of contacting the organisation in Paris.

Two or three of our members decided to return immediately to Paris for an explanation, the rest of us remained in Pau hoping that news and new instructions would get through to us, possibly through those who had returned. Most of us realised however that we had been deceived and that we would have to rely on ourselves if we were to continue our journey. Many suggestions were put forward; we felt that the best plan was to try to reach the nearest British consulate in Spain, at Madrid or Barcelona, or in Portugal, by making our way individually or in small groups as we had done before.

There were however many difficulties; none of us knew the Pyrenees and the best places to get across. We were not at all sure of the attitude of the Spanish authorities towards refugees, but we had heard that the Franco-Spanish frontier was well guarded on both sides. There was also the question of obtaining Spanish money, which would be essential. It was clear that chances would have to be taken and that we should have to improvise as we went along. But our immediate worry was that our money and ration cards would not last us long and that if we were going to attempt something it would have to be done soon. Although there were no Germans in this part of France and we felt much safer, the food situation was no better than in the north. It was impossible to have a meal in an hotel or restaurant without producing ration coupons for fats and bread, not to mention meat and cheese.

Poupault, Blanchard, Cartier and I remained together. We had found rooms in an inexpensive hotel. After a fortnight spent in Pau trying to find a solution to our problems, we found that we were the only remaining members of the original group; the others had drifted back to Paris. We were joined however by two young men, friends of Blanchard we met in Pau. Marcel Hotot and Jean Fisson were both about 17 years old and had come down from their home at Deauville with the intention of getting to England to join the Free French forces. They had arrived in Pau some weeks before us and got stranded there unable to find a way to leave the country. They earned a living selling publications for a firm in Marseilles. We met these two boys quite by chance during one of our many strolls with Blanchard in the streets of Pau. After telling them our story they were at once very keen to join us and we were pleased to have them with us. For various reasons, none of us wanted to return to occupied France and were all determined to try any method which would give us a reasonable chance of getting into Spain.

During the month or so we spent in Pau we had many opportunities of seeing the district. The town itself is situated on high ground overlooking, on its south side, a deep wooded valley at the bottom of which ran the transparent waters of the Gave de Pau torrent. From the wide terraced promenade, stretching the whole length of the boulevard des Pyrénées, there was a spectacular panoramic view of the central and eastern Pyrenees. Looking beyond the river were the forest-covered foothills and dark valleys, and in the distance the higher mountains. On a fine day, snowy peaks over 10,000 feet high were clearly visible on the horizon.

We visited the beautiful Château de Pau - birthplace the first of the Bourbon kings, Henri IV - with its huge tapestries depicting hunting scenes, carved furniture and wooden panels. During the last century the country around Pau was a favourite ground for hunting wild boar and other game. Outside the town many once sumptuous residences still remained, with their overgrown sub-tropical gardens. The train journey from Pau to Lourdes, and on to the ancient fortified city of Carcassonne, passes through some of the most picturesque scenery I have seen, with the mountainous background seldom lost from view.

We heard no more from the members who returned to Paris; as for us things had reached deadlock, we each suggesting ways of crossing the Pyrenees, but it all seemed very impracticable without a guide. Poupault had thought of a number of schemes and started contacting some friends he had in the south of France whom he thought may be helpful. Cartier left Pau on the 30th September to visit his relations at Carcassonne.

I wrote a number of letters to Mother, which were sent via Lisbon. This I hoped would give her an indication of my intentions of returning to England. I also wrote to Oncle Pierre at Thomery and to Tortochaux.

I decided to start work on a plan I had thought of. When I was working with the Railways in Paris, one of my colleagues by the name of Pye told me that his father, who was also connected with the Railways, lived in the little town of Cerbère which was close to the Spanish frontier. It was possible that Pye’s father might be able to suggest a means of getting into Spain by avoiding French and Spanish police and customs officials.

I informed my friends of my plans and told them I would try to let them know how I got on. I left Pau on the morning of the 5th October by train, stopping en route at Toulouse to visit some old friends of mine whom I had not seen for many years: Mr Henry, his wife and daughter. They strongly advised me not to try to leave France and that they would help me find a job in Toulouse where they knew many people. I was however not interested in their advice but asked them if they would be good enough to look after my French papers which I carried about with me, with the exception of my identity card, which document was, at the time, indispensable when travelling. They kindly agreed and the following day I left Toulouse and went by train as far as Perpignan where I had to change to get to Cerbère. I spent the night in an hotel close to Perpignan station and the next morning travelled the short distance to Cerbère.

The controls here were much stricter, and as I was about to leave the station with other passengers I was stopped by a gendarme who asked to see my papers and questioned me about the nature of my business in Cerbère. I explained that I was simply on a visit to Mr Pye, the father of a friend of mine. He finally allowed me to leave the station on condition that I left Cerbère the same day and after warning me not to attempt to cross the frontier into Spain. I had some lunch in a small restaurant after which I started to look for Mr Pye whose address I did not know. After having made a few inquiries I came across someone who was able to give me his address. I went to the house and was greeted by an elderly couple who were most interested and grateful of the news I gave of their son in Paris. I was told by Mr Pye that he had very little business with the Railways these days and regretted he was unable to offer any help or even to advise me on the possibilities of getting into Spain.

After thanking them for receiving me I left the house and as I walked through the town in the direction of the station, I overheard a well dressed man and woman speaking in English, a rare occurrence in these days. They gave the obvious appearance of being travellers. I decided to approach them and spoke to them in English. Their attitude was one of friendly interest and I explained that I was a British subject wishing to return to England but that I had no permit which would enable me to leave France. The woman kindly suggested that we should go to the station buffet to talk the matter over. She told me that she was an American, Mrs Helen Kelly, that she had been living on the French Riviera and was now returning to the United States after having had no end of difficulties in obtaining passport visas and other documents. She said that she knew a few people who she thought may be able to assist me and suggested that I went to Marseilles where she had a good friend who worked at the American Consulate. She was kind enough to give me a letter of introduction to this friend. She also wrote a similar letter introducing me to an acquaintance of hers, a Mr Henri Lacloche, who lived in Cannes and whom she described as a fervent de Gaullist. This man, she said, spent his time helping Frenchmen to get to England. I do not know where Mrs Kelly obtained this information, which of course was given to me in good faith, but I was later told by Poupault that Lacloche was not to be trusted as he was a police informer.

Mrs Kelly was a very genuine and most generous person. She was eager to help me and after we had ended our talk in the station buffet she bought me a ticket to Marseilles, and I left Cerbère that evening. I had to change trains at Béziers and as I walked along the platform I was again stopped by a police official, this time in plain clothes, and asked to produce my identity papers. After a long wait in Béziers station I got a connection to Marseilles where I finally arrived the next morning at 7 o’clock on the 8th October.

My intention was to follow up the introductions which Mrs Kelly had given me, which would necessitate spending some days in Marseilles. I first booked a room in a small hotel and wrote to Mr Henry in Toulouse, asking him to send me the papers I had left in his care, as I thought I may possibly need them now to help prove my identity if required to do so. The same day I went to the American Consulate but the person to whom I was to present Mrs Kelly’s letter was not there that day. Having nothing else to do, I strolled down to the docks to explore the chances of getting a job on one of the ships sailing to North Africa, preferably to Casablanca, but my inquiries proved to me that such jobs were hard to get at the time. To travel to Africa as a passenger was out of the question without special permission to leave the country, which I was unable to obtain anyway.

The next day I returned to the American Consulate. I was still unable to see Mrs Kelly’s friend, but I was offered the alternative of seeing one of the American vice-consuls. Having explained to him the reason of my visit, he said that all he could do was to issue me with a British Emergency Certificate, which document may perhaps prove useful to me. This would simply state that I declared myself to be a British subject. He could not however give me the certificate unless I could furnish some evidence of my claim to British nationality. I thought that the certificate may be helpful if I got into Spain and I told him that I may be able to supply him with the necessary proof in a few days’ time. The Consulate could not however offer any help or advice as to getting across the frontier. This meant remaining in Marseilles until my papers arrived from Toulouse and I decided not to go on to Cannes to contact Mrs Kelly’s other friend.

By this time however both my money and ration cards had dwindled to an alarmingly low level. I wrote to Blanchard and also telephoned him at his hotel in Pau to give him my news and to ask him if he could send me what he could spare in the way of money and ration coupons, in order that I may stay on a few more days in Marseilles. The next day I received a reply from Blanchard enclosing 300 francs and some ration coupons. In the meantime I had also managed to obtain sufficient ration coupons to last me a week from the Food Office in Marseilles by explaining that I had been delayed while on a visit to the south of France and that I was unable to obtain coupons until I returned to occupied France.

While in Marseilles I sent two telegrams to England, one to Mother the other to Uncle Llewellyn in Gerrards Cross, asking for replies to be sent to me “poste restante, Marseilles”. Much to my surprise I received replies from both Mother and my uncle. This was the first news from home since June.

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