The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Probably Ciboure, France. c. 1945. Florentino Goicoechea (front), a Basque peasant sits by the side of the road, his leg wrapped in a blanket while he is convalescing from a broken leg. He is with colleagues who had been part of the Comet (Comete) escape route. Florentino was an illiterate Basque speaking man, a smuggler before the war who assisted 283 Allied airmen escape over the Pyrenees from France to Spain. The Comet route ran from Brussels via Paris, Bayonne, Ciboure and into northern Spain. Small groups of usually four airmen accompanied by an english-speaking escort and a local guide made their way over the dangerous route. On his last trip, Florentino was shot by German frontier guards and his leg and knee cap was shattered, necessitating hospitalisation. He was abducted from hospital by friends dressed up as German hospital orderlies using a forged transfer order, and not found by the Germans again. His leg was eventually reset, but he was never able to go on long treks again. Florentino was awarded a George Medal for his work. (Donor W. Jay)
Ciboure, France. August 1946. Colleagues who had been part of the Comet escape route sit on the grass in a field, the Pyrenees Mountains in the background. This route was used by 288 Allied airmen and
Lille, France. June 1945. Joe Balfe presents members of the Lille area with a certificate for their participation in assisting Allied airmen to escape. From left to right: John Madge RAF, an escaper (
Bierges, Belgium. April 1980. Noel Eliot (left) with Baron Jean (Big John) de Blommaert de Saye, outside his home. Baron de Blommaert de Saye, a Belgian Army officer who went underground after the inv
Forest of Freteval, France. April 1980. The memorial commemorating the participation of the Underground in setting up two camps in the forest where eventually 152 allied airmen were hiding between May
Forest of Freteval, France. c. July 1944. Eight of the 152 allied airmen hidden in the forest, part of the Comet (Comete) escape route organised by the Underground which included camps in the Forest o
Forest of Freteval, France. April 1980. Noel Eliot stands beside the memorial commemorating the participation of the Underground in setting up two camps in the forest where eventually 152 allied airme
