After France was divided into Occupied France and 'Free' France the town of Loches ended up being close to the Demarcation Line, more or less as far north as you could get in the 'Free' zone. As a result the area around Loches became one of the principle crossing places for people wishing to clandestinely get from one zone to the other.
Sympathetic locals emerged from the farming communities that lived along the frontier. They wouldn't accompany the refugees, but they would pass on information about the best routes so as to avoid unpleasant encounters, the timings of patrols, and they might offer a bowl of soup and shelter for the night. Later the frontier became better guarded, and brave souls came forward, offering to drive refugees up to the border, and they became known as 'passeurs'.
Now a Michelin starred restaurant called Abore et Sens, this was until 2019 the Gerbe d'Or.
Initially they were patriots offering their services for free. But as time went on, the Germans increased their surveillance and the risks became greater. The number of passeurs diminished, and the profile of the passeurs changed to more 'professional', some of whom asked for payment for their services in view of the risks they were running. Little by little a true network developed, with links to the Resistance. The veterinarian Goupille and his family in Descartes were key members of this organisation.
Then several passeurs were denounced. They were deported, and three of them never returned from the concentration camps.
In Loches the café-restaurant La Gerbe d'Or was a meeting point for those wanting to discretely cross into the Occupied Zone. They would be driven to Dolus le Sec, where it was possible to cross the frontier secretly. They would wait at the Hotel Perrusson then at nightfall, accompanied by their guide, they would slip out. After several hours of walking over ploughed fields and open meadows they would reach the little train station of Cormery, in the Occupied Zone.
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