Memorial Operation Frankton Ebréon

This memorial commemorates Operation Frankton. The text reads:

"On 17 December 1942, in the middle of the afternoon, a farmer saw two unknown men walking northwards across fields near the Bois de Siarne. It was around five o'clock in the morning, when he got home, that he recognised them as two men, dressed as farmers, starving and soaked from the rain. They introduced themselves as English soldiers and begged for food from the inhabitants of the hamlet. The inhabitants did not know whether they were English soldiers or enemy agents and provocateurs. The two men said nothing about the circumstances that had brought them there. The inhabitants offered them something to eat and allowed them to rest in the shelter of a barn next to a farmhouse.

This act of courage could have resulted in the death penalty for the perpetrator, and the risk was all the greater because the Germans had built a watchtower on the side of the road at the edge of the hamlet, which was permanently guarded by the army. A young man, Lucien Gody, was concerned about their safety and the risk to the inhabitants of Beaunac. He took the initiative to warn the two Englishmen to continue their journey without further delay. They immediately got up and headed for the forest of Souvigné, where they would spend the night. A few days later, the German Feldgendarmerie arrived in Beaunac and arrested eight people, who were taken to Angoulême. Mr. Lucien Gody, Mr. Maurice and Mr. René Rousseau (no relation) were captured and then deported to Germany. None of the three would return. The two fugitives, as they would become known after the war, were British Royal Marines and members of a commando unit that sabotaged German ships in the port of Bordeaux. With the help of the Resistance, Major Hasler and Marine Sparks, the only survivors of the attack, managed to return to England in April 1943 after a long journey. Of the ten Royal Marines who took part, two died at sea, six were captured and shot. This plaque pays tribute to the courage of the inhabitants of Beaunac who helped and the memory of Lucien Gody, Maurice Rousseau and René Rousseau, who died during the deportation. They are indirectly the only French civilian victims to have died as a result of Operation Frankton."

Operation Frankton
The Cockleshell Heroes carried out Operation Frankton in December 1942, targeting German ships in Bordeaux. Trained at Lumps Fort in Portsmouth, they paddled 60 miles in collapsible kayaks to lay limpet mines.

Of the ten commandos, two were drowned, six were captured and executed, and only Major Hasler and Marine Sparks escaped. Despite heavy losses, the raid sank two ships and damaged four, disrupting enemy supply lines. Winston Churchill later credited it with shortening the Second World War by six months.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: TracesofWar
• Photos: TracesofWar