Reports from Other Escape and Evasion Organizations

  • Association of Rescuers of Allied Airmen (l’Association des sauveteurs d’Aviateurs Alliés) (ASAA). The goals of the ASAA are : To recall the memory of these young airmen who perished or were helped to escape on our soil and ensure their memory among younger generations. To recall the memory and collect testimonies of people in our region who did not hesitate, despite the Occupation, to help these airmen lodging them and conveying them on the way to Freedom.  To locate the crash sites of the aircraft.  To re-establish friendly links (originally made with the airmen themselves) with their descendants.  To keep up these links with the French families or connected institutions such as schools, town halls, etc.  To organise events such as conferences, exhibitions, informative literature, commemoration ceremonies etc.  See their website at http://asaapicardie3945.fr/. On September 14-15, 2019, the ASAA hosted the visit of   of the EDGE, HOULIHAN and WATTS families – Leglantiers, Saint-Just-en-Chaussee, Wavignies, Froissy, Beauvoir (Oise).

 

  • Basque Pyrenees Freedom Trails Association.  For the weekend of June 2-4, 2023, BPFTA will follow the Pyrenees escape route taken in 1943 by Corporal Tom McGrath, who escaped from a Nazi Stalag camp in Poland.  Tom’s son has written Unspoken, an account of his father’s escape.   For further information, see their website: Basque Pyrenees Freedom Trails Association (BPFTA): https://www.bpftaww2.com/en/home/.

 

  • Belgian Air Force Association. The annual “Remembrance Day” ceremony organized by the “Belgian Air Force Association” will be held on October 15, 2022 at the monument located in the Cinquantenaire Park (next to the Royal Army Museum).  This memorial is dedicated to the memory of all who gave their lives in ordered air service.  For further information see their website.

 

  • Chemin de la Liberté.  The Chemin de la Liberté conducted a four-day hike July 7-10, 2022 across the Pyrenees, beginning at St. Girons, in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, and finishing at Esterri d’Aneu in the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees.  For further details, see their website.

 

  • Comete Line Remembrance.
    Brigitte d’Oultremont

    The Comète Trail event was held Sept. 9-11, 2022 and included the Larressore Route in St. Jean De Luz, France.  Its Ligne Cométe Line Remembrance will be held in Brussels Oct. 22-23, 2022.  To see other activities of Comete Line Remembrance , see its website.  To view a sample of its newsletter, click on the following pdf file:  June 2019 newsletter.  To view a news story published Oct. 22, 2019 about a plaque commemorating the Rume (Belg.)-Bachy (Fr.) portion of the Comet Line, and guide Henriette Hanotte’s role in it, click on the image below:

  • Eighth Air Force Historical Society will hold its 49th Annual Reunion October 18-22, 2023 in Ontario, California, October 18-22, 2023.  Ontario is 37 miles east of Los Angeles and is the location of the Ontario International Airport.  The reunion hotel will be the Double Tree by Hilton Ontario Airport located at Ontario, CA, and
    DoubleTree by Hilton Ontario Airport Hotel

    a one-minute drive from the Ontario Convention Center, 12 minutes from Toyota Arena, five miles from Ontario Mills Shopping Mall, and seven miles from Pomona College.  For details, go to https://www.8thafhs.org/.

 

  • Friends of the Comet Line (Les amis du réseau Comète, Comète Sud Au Pays Basque) -Geoff Cooper  of “The Friends of the Comet Line” says it is “an association from France’s Basque Country with the aim of commemorating the activities of the Comet Line in the Pays Basque.  Our site is bi-lingual – French and English – and it’s updated regularly.”  For details, see https://cometepaysbasque.blogspot.com/.

 

 

  • Monte San Martino Trust.   Its annual luncheon will be held  on Nov. 16, 2022 at the Royal Air Force Club in London.  See also the ELMS listing below.
  • WWII Escape Lines Memorial Society.  The WWII ELMS will have their Annual ‘Ici Londres” Memorial Lunch at the Royal Air Force Club, London, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022.   The ELMS Annual Reunion and Helper Memorial Service, together with the Monte San Martino Trust, will take place at the Eden Camp WW2 Museum.  The reunion will include a parade, commemorations, dinner, visits, AGM, and dedication of a memorial to Italian helpers.  Location is York and Malton on April 27-30, 2023.  Accommodations will be at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel York.  See the WWII ELMS website at https://ww2escapelines.co.uk/ for further details.