Rédigé par Alain dans la rubrique Portrait , Pont Lasveyras
Just after dawn on the 16th of February 1944 several convoys of German soldiers attacked the winter quarters of new recruits of the AS Violette who were camped at the old mill known locally as le Pont-Lasveyras close to Beysennac and Payzac. There were fifty young résistants aged 19 – 25 years staying there at the time, many of them refractaires to the S.T.O.
The Germans shot 34 of them and took 13 away for deportation. Two of the maquisards managed to escape from the attack and another was left for dead but survived.
Just after dawn on the 16th of February 1944 several convoys of German soldiers attacked the winter quarters of new recruits of the AS Violette who were camped at the old mill known locally as le Pont-Lasveyras close to Beysennac and Payzac. There were fifty young résistants aged 19 – 25 years staying there at the time, many of them refractaires to the S.T.O.
The Germans shot 34 of them and took 13 away for deportation. Two of the maquisards managed to escape from the attack and another was left for dead but survived.
Later that evening, locals, some of whom were the parents of those killed, made their way down the track to the old mill. They discovered 33 bodies and one survivor. The following day the 33 victims were taken to the Mairie at Payzac, 6km from the mill. A 34th body was found a few weeks later on the banks of the river further downstream.
Not all of the 33 bodies could be identified. Nine of those that could be recognised were taken by their families for respective local burials. On the 19th twenty four bodies were buried at the cemetery at Payzac. Twelve had been identified and belongings of the other twelve were kept to aid future identification.
Sadly, countless members of the Résistance died only known to their comrades by their ‘nom de guerre’ making it difficult to inform the loss of loved ones to their families or for their bodies to be ever formally identified.
On the 28th of july 1945 an official list of those who had lost their lives that fateful day was compiled by the Bataillon Violette. At that time thirty had been identified and four remained unknown.
Among those four was Albert Borderie ‘Bébert’ but it was not until 2008 that his name appeared on the monument inaugurated in 1947 aux Martyrs du Pont Lasveyras. Up until 2008 thirty three of the victim’s names were engraved followed by X… non identifié.
Albert was born on the 12th of june 1923 at Ruelle-sur-Trouve which is just east of Angoulême in the Charente. His mother’s maiden name was Marguerite Delmont and she came from Salagnac in the Dordogne. His father was Léon Borderie and he came from Genis also in the Dordogne. He worked at la fonderie at Ruelle where in September 1944 just after the Libération of Angoulême many of the canons and other artillery left behind by the retreating Germans were taken for a check over and adaption where necessary to be used by La Brigade RAC for the push to the Atlantic. The following message of gratitude to la fonderie appears in ‘La Brigade Rac’ in 1975 –
“Trente-trois ans après, nous voudrions qu’à travers ce récit les cadres et le personnel de la fonderie de Ruelle trouvant ici l’expression de toute notre reconnaissance pour la conscience, le Coeur et la foi qu’ils ont apportés a la réalisation de notre projet.”
In 1945 and again 1946 several people who had known Albert confirmed that he had died at the massacre at le Pont-Lasveyras and in 1959, fifteen years after he had been killed the following was recorded on his birth certificate :
- décédé au Pont-Lasveyras (Dordogne) le 16 février 1944.
- transcrit à Ruelle le 19 juin 1959. Mort pour la France
These official documents held at la Mairie at Ruelle remained (I believe) unknown until 2008. Later that year a new plaque was made for the monument which at last bears his name.
Related post :
- Cérémonies (lien)
- Le chant des partisans (lien)
- Pont Lasveyras en juillet 2011 (lien)
- Récit du 16 février 1944 (lien)