Escape from Paris, June 1940

In November 2020 I was looking at Delcampe and discovered a pair of old photographs annotated “Ferme où n avons passé la nuit du 15 au 16 juin 1940 près de Preuilly sur Claise". I sent copies of the photos to various people, but no-one could shed any real light on who the people were, nor the location of the farm. I knew I would be able to identify the farm as soon as I saw it, because there aren't many barns in this area with rounded arch windows.

Some more research brought the fact that the people were staff of L'Illustration, a weekly French newspaper published in Paris from 1843 to 1944. In 1891, L'Illustration became the first French newspaper to publish a photograph, and in 1907 the first to publish a color photograph.

On June 14 1940,  German troops entered Paris, which had been declared an "open city".  A caravan of cars and trucks carried members of staff to Tours, where they saw the destruction of the Mame printing house (to where L'Illustration had planned to withdraw). They then headed for Bordeaux, where the government had taken up residence, and at a later date they moved on to Clermont Ferrand.

During the Second World War, while it was owned by the Baschet family, L'Illustration supported Marshal Philippe Pétain's Révolution nationale, but turned down pro-German articles.

 

Louis Baschet (seated on the right) and René Baschet (2nd on the left) during the exodus.

I was still struggling to identify the location of the first two photos. Then...

About a month ago Susan and I were driving to Amboise. I was in Célestine, and happened to glance in her rear vision mirror at exactly the right time. I don't know how many times we have driven past these buildings and not seen them, but I am absolutely sure we are right, although these have been improvements and additions made since. These photos were taken on Monday - almost 82 years to the day.

further reading:
https://www.lillustration.com/La-periode-1940-1944_a82.html

https://presseillustree.home.blog/2019/04/25/jose-simont-trois-decennies-dillustrations-a-lillustration-ii-les-annees-1918-1968/