大象传媒

Walter Farmer, 19, was the sole survivor of a Lancaster shot down on March 26, 1944 near Lieges, Belgium. After an incredible journey from March to June 1944 through the roads of Belgium and France, in the Ardennes region, within the Maquis Prisme, he was trying to reach Switzerland. The Maquis Prisme, identified by its military leader鈥檚 (Commandant Jaques Paris de la Bollardiere) pseudonym, comprised in April 1944 fifty fighters near Revin, Ardennes. This Maquis was betrayed and eventually surrounded and attacked on June 12 to June 14, 1944. Having barely escaped from this German attack, and then having roamed through the countryside and forest trails of Champagne, Walter Farmer managed to join the underground group from the subsection of Saint-Blin, under the leadership of Sirocco. With them, he participated in sabotages and harassment operations against the retreating German troops during the months of July and August. On September 3, during a road watch with the underground, he met an American Reconnaissance Patrol composed of four jeeps and one armorcd car. The American Commanding Officer invited him to go to Neufchateau with the Patrol. When they reached the hills near l'Etendard, the Americans felt that they needed to assess how many German troops were in the city. Wearing civilianclothes, WaIter Fanner volunteered to go in the city that had just been reoccupied by the Germans, a few hours before, to identify fortified posts. Coming down Rue Victor Marin, he first met two young women who invited him to come with them and then, they met the Resistant, Serge Louis, who immediately took the young man under his wing and invited him to spend the night at his home. Still wanting to report his observations to the Americans, (he had only seen 20 Germans in the streets) Waiter Farmer went back to the Patrol in the afternoon. That evening, he returned as planned to Serge Louis's house where he spent the night. The next morning, on September 4, the Germans started to look for 鈥渢errorists鈥� and decided to search every house wbile all the men of Neufchateau had to stay on Place Jeanne d'Arc. The Louis Family had to hide the young British: they quickly proceeded to lift Walter Fanner on the roof of a building located behind their house. Remarkably, Madame Louis kept her cool during the search, when she discovered that one of the young man's feet was plainly visible through a small window. Fortunately, Walter Farmer was not discovered and he stayed in hiding at the Louis's house for a few days before Serge Louis helped him to cross the lines.

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