Tag: Paris

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The Last Train Out of Paris

Five years ago, I wrote a short blog entitled, The Last Train Out of Paris. I never heard from anyone about that blog until 19 June 2020 when Pat V. e-mailed me about her father, Squadron Leader (ret.) Stanley Booker, MBE. While my blog never mentioned any Allied airmen, it seems Stanley enjoyed reading it ⏤ he was one of 168 captured airmen on that last train out of Paris on 15 August 1944.

Flying Officer Stanley Booker. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.
Flying Officer Stanley Booker. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.
La Gare de Pantin. Original photo by anonymous. Photo scan by Poudou99 (postcard date prior to 1923). PD-Copyright Expired. Wikimedia Commons.
La Gare de Pantin. Original photo by anonymous. Photo scan by Poudou99 (postcard date prior to 1923). PD-Copyright Expired. Wikimedia Commons.
Deportees inside cattle car. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.
Deportees inside cattle car. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.

This has led to a lot of discussions over the past several months with Pat about her father’s war experiences. They live in the UK and Stanley is ninety-eight years young. The reason the story about these men didn’t make it into the original blog was, frankly, I didn’t know about it ⏤ well, now I do. One of Pat’s questions in her original e-mail was whether I knew about Jacques Désoubrie and who his German superior might have been. Her last words in the e-mail were “Can you help please?” I couldn’t resist and quickly entered yet another rabbit hole. Once I came up for air, I had Désoubrie’s story, an idea who he reported to, and I knew I had to repost the 2015 blog albeit in an expanded manner with an abbreviated story about Stanley’s experiences. Stanley wrote a privately published version of his wartime escapades and Pat is completing the book as well as expanding on his post-war exploits ⏤ Stanley’s interesting life didn’t just end with his eventual retirement from the Royal Air Force.

Stanley Booker (left) and Paul McCue (right). Paul, historian and author of “SAS Operation Bulbasket,” is visiting Stanley in his home. Photo by Carol Brown (August 2020). Courtesy of Paul McCue.
Stanley Booker (left) and Paul McCue (right). Paul, historian and author of “SAS Operation Bulbasket,” is visiting Stanley in his home. Photo by Carol Brown (August 2020). Courtesy of Paul McCue.

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“Sex Toy and Other Père Lachaise Neighbors”

Did you find this blog in your computer junk file? I have a feeling today’s blog might end up there because of the title. But don’t worry, it’s not what you might think. So, I hope everyone took my advice from our last blog and checked their junk file.

Today, we are going to visit with some occupants of Paris’s best-known cemetery: Père Lachaise. We’ll start with Delphine Palatsi and then introduce you to some of the inhabitants, who like Delphine, you’ve likely never heard of. However, I guarantee you that they all had very interesting lives.

Most of the books written about Père Lachaise contain very famous and well-known celebrities such as Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Colette, and naturally, Jim Morrison. However, I want to be different so, my future book, Where Did They Bury Jim Morrison? A Walking Tour of Curious Paris Cemeteries will take you around and introduce you to people who have disappeared into the black hole of history. The common thread is that all of them led interesting lives and in one way or another, were historically significant in their day ⏤ some even left legacies we appreciate today. You’ll visit Baron Haussmann, Jane Avril, Ferdinand de Lesseps, and Guy Môquet as well as some occupants (e.g., Rin Tin Tin ⏤ the dog, remember?) of other curious Paris cemeteries.

In the meantime, let me give you a sneak preview and introduce you to Sex Toy and some of her Père Lachaise neighbors including the most erotic effigy in the cemetery (or any other cemetery for that matter).

Did You Know?

Did you know that when all of us  are gone, our children are not going to want most of the “stuff” we’ve accumulated over our lifetime? Their generation has no desire to hold onto great grandma’s set of china plates or grandma’s complete set of silverware (and I mean real silver, not the silver-plated stuff). Your stamp collection? You might as well start to learn how to become a seller on eBay. None of this stuff has any meaning or significance to them.

However, many of us have kept lots of paper. This is paper which documents parts of our lives as well as the people in our lives. A personal example I can use is the two-and-a-half-inch stack of Aerogramme Luchtpostblad (a sheet of light paper folded and sealed to form a letter for sending by airmail) which my father gave me years ago. These are letters my mother wrote to my grandparents when we were living in Holland during the mid-1960s. It seems my grandmother kept every letter and before she passed away, gave the stack of letters to Mom. The letters pretty much document most of our years living in Holland and highlight events I had forgotten about or rekindle an untold story to an event that I do remember.Air Mail Letter I’m not too sure if our children want these letters but if they don’t, I’m going to brainwash our grandchildren into believing they need them. Better yet, I’ll make it a condition of taking the letters (and the silverware) if they want to get their grubby little hands on our art collection (just kidding kids ⏤ well, sort of).

Let’s Meet Delphine Palatsi – Division 28

Let’s stop by and pay our respects to Sex Toy. Yes, she went by this name ⏤ she might have had it legally changed because it’s on her grave. Delphine Palatsi (1968-2002) was a groundbreaking Parisian DJ specializing in electronic or techno music. I’m not too sure what the technical or street names are for this type of music. You see, like the song says, “I like that old time rock n’roll.” Read More “Sex Toy and Other Père Lachaise Neighbors”