I'm involved with an association down here in the Pays Basque that commemorates the wartime operations of the Comète Line in the area.
Around 290-odd Allied aircrew - shot down in N France, Belgium and Holland - passed through the Pays Basque and were successfully repatriated to the UK via Gibraltar. After D-Day, Comet organised camps in
forest of Fréteval where hundreds more camped out in makeshift shelters for weeks and months. Out of a total of some 800 airmen, only one was lost.
During the night of 23-24th December 1943, a party of 10 evaders (3 guides, 2 French agents, a Belgian and 4 USAAF aircrew) attempted a crossing of the River Bidassoa (
here) at 1am, tired after a 5 hour trek over the mountains from a small village near St-Jean-de-Luz. Across the river lay Francoist Spain and relative safety. The river was in flood. Entering the river in small groups, the current proved too strong for Jim Burch and Count Antoine d'Ursel (head of Comète in Belgium - whose ID was 'blown') and they were swept away. The Germans found the bodies the following day and put them on display as a warning in the porch of the
church at nearby Biriatou. During the night that followed, the villagers covered the bodies with flowers. The next day, the Germans removed the bodies and they have never been found.
This is Jim's story:
Post war, the Count's widow erected a memorial to her late husband. Jim's widow (in Texas) was told only that he'd disappeared during the river crossing - she had no other details.
While researching the history of the river crossings by other evaders, I became aware of this story and also the fact that there was a memorial for one - but not the other.
Our association decided to take on board as a project the provision of a suitable memorial for Jim Burch. We hit our financial target in only 2 months. Tracking down the family members of those involved - 70 years on - took a lot longer - but with the internet,
tout est possible!
The Count's memorial (all 300kg of it!) had to be moved from a precarious riverside position to a new site higher up the valley side.
So it was that on 16th April, we were able to inaugurate the new memorial site in the presence of Belgian and American family members, civic dignatories and many locals - some of whom were descendants of Comète
passeurs (guides).
It was a moving ceremony - lots of dust blowing around (!) - and finally the two evaders - who fought for freedom in different ways - were now remembered, side-by-side.
Every year, we commemorate the Comète Line in the Pays Basque by walking over the same routes taken by the Comète guides and the airmen. It's an inspirational weekend. Details
here.