Category: Guest Blogs

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Dunkirk. No Ships Left. What Would You Do?

Stew’s Introduction

Denis Caron
Denis Caron on Dunkirk beach holding his book, ‘Dash for Dunkirk.’ Photo by Janet O’Rourke (November 2017).

I’m very excited to have Denis Caron as our guest blogger today. Denis is an accomplished historical fiction author specializing in military history and World War II (more on that later). His blog describes how a British soldier gave up his seat for a wounded comrade on one of the Dunkirk boats and was unable to catch another ride back to England. Traveling on foot, he ultimately outwitted the Germans and provides an uplifting story about perseverance, fortitude, and resourcefulness.

Did You Know?

Denis mentions how 80,000 British and French soldiers were left behind in Dunkirk. What many people don’t know is how many French soldiers were captured by the Germans during the Battle of France. During May and June 1940 as the Nazis swept into France, approximately 2.0 million French soldiers were taken prisoner. This represented around ten percent of the total adult male population of France at the time. Despite Vichy’s attempt to gain their release (e.g., the relève program), the majority of these men spent the war as POWs in either Oflags (Officers’ Camp) or Stalags (all others). Most of the prisoners were used for manual labor on farms with their wages confiscated by the Germans. After the Liberation, the men came home to a rather hostile environment. Based on prior Vichy propaganda, it was thought the prisoners lived in better conditions than the general French population under the Occupation. The men were held responsible for the French defeat at the hands of the Nazis and considered cowards who surrendered rather than fighting. Members of the French Resistance and Free French Forces were held in higher esteem. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the former prisoners were granted the rights and benefits of being considered recognized veterans.

British troops line up on the beach at Dunkirk to await evacuation. Photo by anonymous (c. May 1940). American Embassy Second World War Photograph Library-Classified Print Collection. PD-United Kingdom Government. Wikimedia Commons.
British troops line up on the beach at Dunkirk to await evacuation. Photo by anonymous (c. May 1940). American Embassy Second World War Photograph Library-Classified Print Collection. PD-United Kingdom Government. Wikimedia Commons.

From 27 May to 4 June 1940, 338,226 men escaped from the beach at Dunkirk. Many of you know how British citizens answered the call with their little ships, putting themselves in the line of fire to rescue people thus increasing the number of lives saved. Prime Minister Churchill called this a ‘miracle’, later using the term ‘Dunkirk Spirit’ to refer to the solidarity of the British people. Read More Dunkirk. No Ships Left. What Would You Do?

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Adrienne de Noailles: Wife of Lafayette

Stew’s Introduction

I’m very excited to have Geri Walton as our guest blogger today. Geri is an accomplished history author specializing in an era that corresponds to the English Georgian Era (more on that later). Her blog title concerns a woman who led an extraordinary life and was witness to some of the world’s leading events. It is also about a woman whose passion for her husband likely resulted in her untimely demise. Her subject, the surrounding events, and Picpus Cemetery occupied several pages of my two-volume series on the French Revolution (Where Did They Put the Guillotine? A Walking Tour of Revolutionary Paris). Lafayette lived a long life and frankly, I’m amazed he never lost his head during the Revolution. Neither side (monarchy or revolutionaries) really liked him. Geri mentions Picpus Cemetery in her opening paragraph. It is my favorite Paris cemetery and only one of two privately owned cemeteries located in the city.

Meet Adrienne de Noailles and Her Family

One of the most interesting people buried at France’s Picpus Cemetery is Adrienne de Noailles (1759–1807), wife of the famous American Revolutionary War hero known simply as Lafayette (1757–1834). Adrienne was 14 years old when she married him. She was introduced to Lafayette through her father, a French nobleman named Jean de Noailles, Duke of Ayen.

Portrait of Adrienne de Noailles, wife of Gilbert du Potier, Marquis de Lafayette. Painting by anonymous (c. Between 1785 and 1799). Private collection. PD-Author’s life plus 100 years or fewer. Wikimedia Commons.
Portrait of Adrienne de Noailles, wife of Gilbert du Potier, Marquis de Lafayette. Painting by anonymous (c. Between 1785 and 1799). Private collection. PD-Author’s life plus 100 years or fewer. Wikimedia Commons.

Adrienne’s mother was Henriette Anne Louise d’Aguesseau. Henriette’s father sent her to a convent to be educated because her mother died shortly after she was born. At the convent, Henriette enjoyed reading and gardening and acquired superb mothering skills that resulted in her devoting her life to the betterment of Adrienne and her other children.

When Adrienne was not under the care of her loving mother, she and her older sister, Anne Jeanne Baptiste Louise (known as Louise), were instructed by a governess named Mademoiselle Marin. They studied geography, grammar, history and learned the “Catéchisme de Montpellier” by rote. Marin was “a little person, dry, thin, blond, pinched, susceptible, devoted to her duties and fulfilling them admirably” and doing so despite Louise and Adrienne’s constant teasing. Read More Adrienne de Noailles: Wife of Lafayette