Sentiers du Patrimoine ®
Chaussy
Se rendre dans le centre du village. Continuer toujours tout droit jusqu’à la place où se trouvaient les anciens commerces.
Anciens commerces
Prochain point : lat="49.121914" lon="1.691164"
Situated between the Oise and Seine valleys, the Vexin region saw a great deal of combat during the Second World War. The first German bombardment struck the region 11 May, 1940 at Méry-sur-Oise. The “battle of Vexin” took place not far from Fontenay-Saint-Père and lasted around ten days. It began on 19 August 1944, when American and Canadian troops arrived in Mantes, where the first units crossed the Seine. A commemorative stele was erected in memory of the Canadian airforce pilots who fell in the area. Two, out of the crew of seven men, lost their lives: Mr Gundry and Mr Scheldt, who are now buried in the Omerville cemetery. The stele was built along the Roche country road, near Chérence, not far from the Dours fountain. It is marked with the inscription: “To the allied airforce pilots fallen here on 25 July 1944, for the liberation of our country”. From 1942 to 1944, allied forces used planes to keep the populace informed, regularly dropping tracts and newspapers such as “Le Courrier de l’Air” (the Air Courier).
War memorials are generally built to honour soldiers, in particular those killed or missing without trace during wartime. They are designed to keep a collective historical event alive in the national memory. The Chaussy memorial is marked with the inscription: “Your elders died to save France. Children, never forget.” followed by the names of the soldiers who died during the two World Wars. Below this is a carving of a woman in mourning, representing both grieving wives and mothers, kneeling before the grave of a soldier, no doubt killed on the front.
The artwork is by sculptor Paul-Marcel Dammann (1885-1939).
