--To see the history of Asnelles--
--To see the way of life in olden times to Asnelles--
--Asnelles and Maurice SCHUMANN “the voice of the Resistance”--

The name Asnelles is arising from a latin word : “Asinus” (=donkey). But it has a female ending (“elles”). Nobody knows if, in the past, jennies were numerous in Asnelles. Another possibility : the latin word “Asinulus” (=young donkey) . Were the ancient inhabitants of Asnelles idiot like asses ? (in French = “bête comme un âne”).Nobody dares to say that !

During the Middle Age, Asnelles was not built near the beach, but was one kilometre far away from the sea. There were several reasons for this location :
-the shore was not protected against the storms, or important tides, by seawalls, as it is now.
-it was dangerous to live close to the beach, because of the possible attacks coming from the sea (pirates, invaders…) .You can guess where these enemies might come from ….. !
At that time, there were no important houses along the sea, but there were two little ports, usable by small ships, in the mouths of the two little rivers. These harbours were occupied on several occasions by the English soldiers, as many other parts of Normandy.
These harbours died out,  filled in with alluvial deposits and sands.

During the eighteenth century, Some houses were built near the sea. The danger coming from the sea was still present. A local militia, formed with men of the village, was in charge of protecting the coast. They were provided with rifles and ammunitions. Their weapons were stored in a special building. This building has been destroyed, but to-day a street of the village is still called “Rue du magasin à poudre” (Street of the gun-powder store). The militia service was not popular among the population : it needed at least two nights for a month. And the cost of the guard was paid by the village. On the other hand, the men of the village were not compelled to the military service.

During the reign of Napoleon the war between France and Great Britain was continuous and the local fights were frequent. In 1812, a battle between an English frigate and a French battery occurred in the place of the actual artificial Harbour. On the cliff, between Arromanches and Asnelles, a little monument was erected, in memory of Captain Renard, commander of the battery, killed during the fight. Several English cannonballs, dating back to this period, were cemented in the stone (most of these cannonballs have been stealed later).Many visitors, coming to the point of view of the modern battle go past this monument without noticing it.

During the nineteenth century, the danger of war disappeared. A seawall was settled along the beach, and many houses were built. Most of these houses were the properties of rich owners, living in Bayeux, and also in Caen, and sometimes in Paris (after the construction of the railway between Paris and Bayeux, an other small one was established, leading to Asnelles). Some of these holiday homes were very luxurious ones, true manors sometimes. Asnelles became the beach of Bayeux, a fashionable seaside resort, with several hotels, restaurants, casino i.e…. It is in that period that the local council requested with the  national authorities the modification of the name of the village. They wanted to be called “Asnelles la Belle Plage” (=Asnelles the beautiful beach). It was refused. (in the same times Arromanches got the right to be called Arromanches les Bains, who knows why ?)
Nowadays some people go on to use the refused name, on non-official papers.

During the 2th War, the occupying Germans fortified the coast, building many bunkers, destroying several houses in order to have free firing-spaces for their cannons.

On the D-Day, among the landing-beaches, Asnelles was in the Gold Beach sector (on the English maps of the Battle Asnelles is often called “Le Hamel”, i.e. the part of the village near the beach)

No landing was planned in Arromanches (this village is surrounded by cliffs covered of German bunkers). The troops landed in Asnelles went inside the country and attacked Arromanches from  the hinterland.

The battle on the beach and in the streets of Asnelles had been heavy and the last bunkers were taken only in the end of the afternoon. Several streets of Asnelles have taken the name of a British unit and the place of the village has the name or Major Stanier, commander of the 231st Infantry brigade. This one came back many times in Asnelles. Sir Alexander Stanier, General, died in 1995.

Another troop, landed in Asnelles, was in charge to liberate, also from the hinterland, the fishing port of Port en Bessin, at 15 km in the West of Asnelles.

After the War a sort of Twinning was planned, between Asnelles (500 inhabitants) and South (50 000 inhabitants). This twinning was unsuccessful : the difference was too much high !

The present Twinning was established 20 years ago, between Asnelles and Charmouth, with a real success.

After the War,  Asnelles stretched out. The marshes, in the eastern side of the coast, were little by little drained, and many houses were built in it. Very ordinary cabins, in the beginning, just for holidays.  And then normal houses, some of them being occupied all year round.

Asnelles and Maurice SCHUMANN “the voice of the Resistance”

Have you heard of Maurice Schumann? Perhaps the name doesn’t mean anything to you but he was the voice of BBC’s Radio London during the Second World War. Maurice Schumann died in Paris on 9th February, 1998. He is buried in Asnelles, very near the beach on which he landed in 1944. There is a road in Asnelles named after him.

Maurice Schumann went into journalism with the Havas Agency in 1935. He joined up in 1939, and joined General de Gaulle in England at the end of June 1940. He became the spokesman for Free France, first of all with the British army and then with General Leclerc’s Armoured  2nd  Division which liberated Paris.

Maurice Schumann was at the forefront of the resistance against the German foe. He was the voice of the Free French Resistance for five years of the war.  He addressed the French and undercover resistance fighters every day on the BBC’s Radio London, encouraging them in their brave and often perilous undertaking. These messages, sometimes strange and amusing, often announced operations that were risky and highly dangerous for the resistance fighters. The most famous of these coded messages was the announcement of the Allied landings five days before 6th  June 1944.

On DOCTSF.COM (the web site of old radio enthusiasts) some of these messages are archived. Quoted here is one:

The beach in 1932, a family from Asnelles taking advantage of the sun.