Aumale Blangy interregional community of communes - Creation of a historical tourist route and FEDER memory
Kohesio
CC INTERREGIONALE AUMALE BLANGY SUR BRESLE
Context: The heritage of the Second World War benefits from undeniable historical interest today. This enthusiasm of the public, informed or not, for the vestiges of the last conflict which are these masses of concrete of various shapes, on our beaches or inland, but always the fruit of an architectural technicality, now become the only surviving witnesses of a world history in its generality but which becomes particular and personal when it directly affects the surrounding population. Our territory has not known a history comparable to that of the beaches of Calvados and the English Channel with the landing of June 6 1944 nor the Battle of Normandy which ended along the banks of the Seine in August of the same year, but it has, among other things, experienced a significant military activity imbued with technological advances which revolves around the "Vergeltungswaffe or more commonly called here the "V1 or "robot by the ancients, the first ballistic missile in history. Today, the remains of the 21 V1 launch bases on our community territory are still visible, on the edge of the Eu forest, in various states, completed or still in the construction phase, almost intact or damaged to varying degrees by bombing, dismantling and post-war disinterest. Presentation of the operation: Creation of a historical and memorial tourist route, dedicated to the V1 bases located on the community territory, in connection with the existing hiking trails. This project would initially begin on the Beaulieu site in Campneuseville which has the most imposing and best preserved works for the most part. Complete work to clear concrete tracks, buildings and secure them will be carried out. This will be followed by the installation of explanatory signage for the site and the various structures. The creation of a parking lot for light vehicles, or even a bus, will involve the purchase of land on the neighboring field. The manufacture of two catapults and two V1s is also envisaged. The second tranche would be devoted to the more or less accentuated development, depending on their condition and geographical location, of other sites spread over the community territory. Also a clearing of concrete tracks in order to recover the general layout of the installations and structures still in good condition, otherwise a superficial cleaning. The installation of an explanatory desk indicating the layout of the site, its known history, extracts from testimonies... This route will include "remarkable elements to contemplate, monuments in memory of civilian victims, homes rebuilt with materials from the dismantling of post-war blockhouses, houses or castles which served as headquarters for the occupier, etc. A new hiking map will also be created including these sites. A digital application will be set up and a literary work will be published. In order to make this project a reality, the Community of Communes was able to find help from Technicians from the National Forestry Office, Mr. Pascal DUMONT from the Diagonale Environnement design office; local elected officials, volunteers including particularly Mr. Yannick DELEFOSSE, author of the technical work “V1 weapon of despair,” Mr. Roger BOURGEOIS, one of the last civilian witnesses of this era, who collaborated in the production of the book “The Hell of the V1 in Seine Maritime by Abbé Norbert DUFOUR and Mr. Christian DORE, as well as the Military and Historical Archives Services of London.
Greener, carbon-free Europe / Environment protection and resource efficiency / Development and promotion of public cultural and heritage services