Bernard Anquetil
In memory of Bernard Anquetil, Resistance fighter member of the Confrérie Notre Dame network, Compagnon de la Libération, shot on October 24, 1941 at the age of 24.
Bernard Anquetil was in June 1940 embarked on the submarine Ouessant, undergoing refit at the Brest arsenal; when the Germans occupied the city, the submarine's crew was dispersed. Anquetil found work as a radio repairman in Angers. There, recommended by the Ouessant's former first officer, lieutenant de vaisseau Philippon (future vice-admiral d'escadre), he met colonel Rémy, and Bernard Anquetil enthusiastically agreed to join the BCRA network being set up, to provide radio links with England. With his transmitter, he settled into the home of a discreet family, the Combes in Saumur. The messages he transmitted mainly concerned the movements of German ships in Brest, their damage and availability, as well as the characteristics and movements of the Super Battleship Bismark, which as a result of these actions was sunk off Brest on May 27, 1941. In particular, in July 1941 the Scharnhorst was also reported to be underway, enabling the Royal Air Force to attack it successfully.
However, German direction finders eventually located the transmitter and on July 30, precisely following the message about the Scharnhorst, Anquetil was arrested and transferred to Fresnes. Sentenced to death on October 15, he refused to reveal the origin and content of the transmitted messages, despite the promise of the court's support for an appeal for clemency. On October 24, 1941, he was shot at Mont-Valérien fort. He is buried in Montrouge cemetery, in the "carré des fusillés".
After the war, his body was transferred to the family vault at Colleville-sur-Mer in the Calvados department.
Source Wikipedia
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