Les lettres de la Reine d’Angleterre – Letters from the Queen of England

En mars 1943, il fait passer la ligne de démarcation à un pilote de la RAF britannique puis tente de gagner l’Espagne avec lui ;
arrêté à Hendaye ( Pyrénées-Atlantiques, frontière Espagnole), il est incarcéré au fort du Hâ (Bordeaux).Dirigé vers l’Allemagne le 25 août 1943, il s’évade en Charente et rejoint Cormery. Il entre au réseau Écarlate en février 1944. Arrêté à Cormery le 14 mai 1944, il est déporté vers Dachau (5 juillet 1944)ensuite transferé vers Natzweiler où il meurt le 15 mars 1945.

In March 1943 a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot crashes on the railway not far from Cormery (Indre et Loire). The pilot heard about a certain Ferryman who had a bar called « la Girafe » in Cormery, so he decided to put his parachute in his bag and managed to find that bar. He entered the bar and ordered « one beer please » at the comptoir while germans were sitting in the bar… at that moment Léon AUGER, the patron of the Café la Girafe shook his head immediately .. meaning « go to the back » of the café » and he grabbed a bottle of ricard behind the bar as it was the only thing he had close to be ready to fight the germans with if they would react. Lucky nothing happened.

Léon asked his son Claude Auger to pass the RAF pilot and bring him to Spain, so the pilot could rejoin England.
In March 1943, Claude AUGER helped the RAF Pilot as promessed.
Claude Auger was arrested in Hendaye during that mission, the RAF Pilot was save and rejoined England.
Claude was prisonned in Fort du Ha (Bordeaux) and when he was transferred direction Germany on 15/8/1943, he managed to run away in the Charente and rejoined Cormery and he’s parents.
He decided to join the Ecarlate network (Resistance) in February 1944.
Arested in Cormery the 14 of May 1944, he was deported to Dachau (July 5, 1944), transferred to Natzweiler – where he dies on March the 15, 1945.

His dad,  Léon Auger received each year a letter for New Year from « the Queen of England. », but his son unfortunately never came home.

témoignage: famille AUGER – translation: Sonia Auger