AUVERGNE-André

André Auvergne was born on 16 May 1918 in Le Havre (76 – Seine-Maritime), which was then part of the department of Seine-Inférieure. On the day of his birth, his father, André Auvergne, a chief engineer aboard the squadron torpedo boat *Capitaine Mehl*, was away on board the vessel.
He is an only child, a dreamer and a creative soul who grew up between the two world wars and was a very good pupil.
In 1937, he began taking flying lessons. He must have learnt to fly as part of what was known as ‘popular aviation’. During this period, and before he joined the Air Force, he logged 41 hours and 55 minutes of flight time on the Potez 60, Potez 43, Caudron Aiglon and Caudron Luciole.
On 15 November 1937, aged 19, he joined the railway company in Le Havre, where he was living with his parents.

1938
On 12 September, at the age of 20, André AUVERGNE began his military training.
On 3 November, he was called up and assigned to the 54th Reconnaissance Wing. This wing comprised two Reconnaissance Groups, GR I/54 and GR II/54. There is no information to indicate which of the two groups he was in. He was administratively attached to 104th Air Battalion, which was responsible for the administration of the Dugny–Le Bourget airfield.

1939
On 1 January, he joined the 3rd Squadron of the GR II/54 Reconnaissance Air Group at Le Bourget.
On 14 July, British soldiers from the British Expeditionary Force arrived in Paris and marched alongside French soldiers (photo 1 taken from a newspaper).
The British soldiers will all be given a small French-English booklet (like a dictionary) to help them communicate. Posted at Le Bourget, he is at the meeting point and this is probably the first time he has spoken to the Allies (Photo no. 1 – second from the left).

On 16 August, he was promoted to Lance Corporal and continued his training, organised by the 131st Air Battalion.
On 22 September, the personnel of GR II/54, of which he was a member, learnt that it was to become a Low-Level Assault Bombing Group and was redesignated GB II/54 (Bombing Group).
On 16 October, GB II/54 joined GBA I/54 – the Air Force’s sole Assault Bomber Group – at the Salon-en-Provence airfield, becoming GBA II/54. Initial training was carried out on Potez 631 aircraft, and on 28 November 1939 the Group took delivery of its first Breguet 691s.
On 30 November, he received his posting to the 38th Wing, 1st Group, Bombing Group GB I/38, based at Troyes-Barberey airfield, which he was to report to in January 1940.
On 2 December, he went to the medical examination centre for aircrew in Tours (14, rue du Général Meusnier) to confirm his fitness for the roles of trainee pilot and trainee aircraft gunner. He was accompanied by Staff Sergeants MAHE and LAMARQUE and Airman 1st Class SOLANE, for whom he had been appointed responsible by Captain GRENET, commander of Air Group 2/54.

1940
On 16 January, he arrived at GB II/38 and was attached to the 131st Air Battalion, 8th Company.
On 27 February 1940, he was sent for training at the Cazaux School, where he undertook an advanced course in aerial gunnery. (Photo 2)
On 5 May, he was certified as an aircraft gunner.
On 10 May, the very day Germany launched its offensive against the Netherlands, Belgium and France, he was assigned to Reconnaissance Group GR I/14. This group, equipped with Bloch MB131s and Potez 63/11s, was, at that time, attached to the 1st Army’s 1st Air Division of the ZOAN (Northern Air Operations Zone).
On 20 May, he was appointed sergeant.
On 25 May, he was posted to 101 Air Base.
From that point on, there were no more certainties... The French Air Force, driven back by the German advance, continued to retreat southwards. The GR I/14 Reconnaissance Group withdrew to Toulouse from 24 June 1940, two days after the Armistice was signed.
On 21 August, he was demobilised from the 113th Air Battalion in Perpignan, his final posting, in Reconnaissance Group GR 1/14 (photo no. 4).
However, on his demobilisation order dated 26 August 1940 (see document below), it states ‘Discharged from Coastal Fighter Group III/3’. André AUVERGNE therefore appears to have been temporarily assigned to the GC III/3 Fighter Group, no doubt after the Armistice, a fact confirmed by the annotation on the back of a photograph found by Mrs Patricia AUVERGNE.

- Intérieur SPG CS : from 2 september 1939 to 15 june 1940.

Probable meaning: Service carried out in mainland France – excluding prisoner-of-war camps, standard campaign --> One day’s service = one day’s campaign.

- Aux armées CD : from 16 june 1940 to 25 june 1940.

Probable meaning: Double Field Service Allowance --> The double field service allowance was granted to military personnel serving in particularly hazardous conditions. For the purposes of calculating entitlement: One day’s service = two days’ field service allowance

- Sur P de G CS : from 26 june 1940 to 20 august 1940.

Probable meaning: On a War Footing – Simple Campaign. After the Armistice, soldiers remain mobilised. This period is no longer recognised as ‘in the Armed Forces’ but is still considered wartime service.

Between august 1940 and august 1944
He returned to the SNCF in Nantes. It took a long time for his reinstatement to be finalised, and his career up to 1944 was a complicated one.

1944
7 August: he left the railway company and rejoined the French armed forces.
He returned to the Air Force and was posted to the headquarters of the ‘Normandy-Brittany’ sub-command. He noted the name of this sub-command on a document alongside the name ‘Col Gaujour’. (Photo no. 6 – extract from a personal document – song written in 1944). The name “Lt or Capt Tournes” also appears on a personal document drawn up in the same year (photo no. 7).

On 26 October, he wrote a letter to the railway company in which Château-Bougon Airport is mentioned. He stated that he was about to leave France (photo). The specific posting given was Air Subdivision ‘A’. (photo no. 8)

Further research is needed to establish its location and functions during this period and up until the end of the war.

1945
On 31 March, he was issued with a military driving licence for passenger vehicles. The licence states that he was posted to Nantes Air Base. The document is signed by Lieutenant-Colonel THOMAS.
On 1 September 1945, he was promoted to staff sergeant.

1946
He was demobilised on 16 March by CRAP 206 in Rennes Saint-Jacques and returned to the railway company. (photo no. 9) He was placed in the reserve with effect from 17 December 1946 by the Compiègne (60) mobilisation centre.

He will be awarded the French Commemorative Medal for the 1939–45 War, with the ‘France’ and ‘Liberation’ bars.


Photo 4			Photo 5	Photo 8	Photo 6	Photo 7


		Photo 2				Photo 1