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During the Second World War, Jean-Jacques Chatel lived with his family in Longues-sur-Mer, a seaside village in the Calvados region of Normandy. The family home was less than 1,000 feet from a German battery of four cannons pointing out to sea. On the night of June 6, 1944, the Allied armies swept along the Normandy coast. As we celebrate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Jean-Jacques remembers that terrible night very well. We caught up with him.
At the age of 87, Jean-Jacques Chatel lives with his wife in a beautiful house in Longues-sur-Mer, where he slept when the D-Day landings began on the night of June 6-7, 1944. He was seven years old at the time.
Growing up surrounded by war
Raised among adults, he describes himself as a sensible little boy who was aware of everything going on. Thus, he confesses, “My childhood was spent in a tense atmosphere: My mother lost her brother at Dunkirk on June 1, 1940, my father was a prisoner of war, and the Germans occupied the village. But I felt safe thanks to my grandparents, who accompanied me and loved me.”
When his father returned from captivity at the end of 1943 due to illness, the little family settled in the village. A few months later, at the beginning of June, word spread that something big was about to happen. Jean-Jacques remembers the school closing, a few bombs exploding here and there, and “lots of planes flying overhead.”
The rumors were worrying enough that on Monday, June 5, his family decided to sleep 500 feet further inland at their grandparents’ house. “I settled in with my grandfather, and my little sister with my grandmother, and everyone tried to get some sleep.” But around 10:30-11 p.m., heavy shelling broke out. “When we opened the window, I remember a strong smell of gunpowder and the sky all lit up.”
Escaping in the middle of the night
It was too risky to stay. The danger was too great. They had to go even further, to another house. Everyone left except the grandfather, who kept his grandson close to him. The boy trusted him completely. “He was the man of my life!” But 10 minutes later, Jean-Jacques Chatel remembers vividly, his mom came back to fetch him and said, “Dad, if you want to play the fool, you’ll do it on your own!”
She told her son to get dressed quickly, but she couldn’t find his shoes! Once they arrived, the bombing intensified. “We all took refuge under the kitchen table, with my grandfather who eventually joined us.” A bomb exploded in the garden, killing a dozen calves.
At 4-5 a.m., they had to flee to Bayeux, some four miles inland. The child was still in his socks. They put grass inside them to prevent his feet from hurting too much. But this was no time for a stroll:
We jump from hedge to hedge to escape the sight of the Allied hunters stalking us. We can see as clear as day. I can feel that my parents and grandparents are not proud, but they surround me with their affection and reassure me: ‘[the bombs] are going to fall to one side!’ Indeed, a string of bombs falls on a parallel hedge and I see all the trees jump like chaff. I think the noise is impressive, and I’m so reassured and loved that I’m not afraid.
Refuge in Bayeux
Safe and sound, the family reached Bayeux, where they took refuge with friends. The Germans had left the town by June 6, and all was quiet for two or three days until the massive arrival of refugees and wounded.
While some coastal towns and villages were liberated early on, the same could not be said of the rear, where the battle raged on, with its share of military and civilian casualties. Attentive, the little boy observes, “I remember the coaches whose seats were removed to place the stretchers on the floor. The side windows were broken to put more stretchers across. The wounded and refugees were welcomed everywhere: in schools, churches, hospitals, clinics…”
At night, we went down to the cellar because German planes were flying overhead.
Night and day, vehicles circulate, as Bayeux is a strategic point through which all the forces and equipment that landed on the beaches pass (the artificial port of Arromanches will not be operational until June 19). Because of the nearby battle, Jean-Jacques remembers that “at night, we went down to the cellar because German planes were flying overhead.”
Returning home
A few days after D-Day, Jean-Jacques returned to Longues-sur-Mer with his father. At the time, the family home was occupied by the English. “We went to see the sea: It was covered with boats. It was fantastic!” marveled the child at the time. But the village lost seven of its inhabitants: a family decimated while hiding in a ditch, and three bedridden people unable to escape. As the area was too uncertain, the family moved to Bayeux, where the children attended school. Jean-Jacques Chatel did not return to the family home until he went with his wife to retire.
And today we celebrate...