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"I believe the end of my existence has come,
I will die for France,
bravely facing the enemy. In an hour it will be finished...be assured
that I will die a good Christian... for the last time I embrace you"...............François Marie Scornet
1941
Taken from the last
Known Letter to his Parents
On the trail of Francois Scornet
check out the story and pictures |
In the early hours of the 17th of March 1941, the Rev. Père
Maré a Catholic Priest from St. Thomas's church in Jersey
received a message from the Germans to the effect that a
member of his religion required the last holy rites. At
05:00HRS that morning the Priest went to the Grand Hotel,
there he was informed by a German officer that " François
Scornet" a twenty-one year old French Patriot had been
sentenced to death by the German War Court in Jersey and the
young Frenchman was to be shot that very morning because of
his favouring the actions of the enemy by wilfully
supporting England in the war against the German Empire.
It was early in 1941 when
François Scornet together with fifteen other Frenchmen
escaped from the north Brittany coast in an open sailing
boat hoping to reach England and join the Free French
Forces. But their poor navigation meant that after several
hours on the rough seas they were mistaken into thinking
Guernsey's coast was that of the English coast.
They sailed
jubilantly into "Vazon Bay Guernsey" singing the
Marseillaise only to be immediately captured by the
German sentries.
Jersey being
the German Command Headquarters they were transferred to
this Island for trial.
Their trial
was held in the old Committee room in the States of Jersey
building in the Royal Square St. Helier this resulted in
François Scornet and two others being condemned to death,
the other two later had their sentences reduced to life
imprisonment and the others in the party received severe
sentences and were sent to German Concentration camps.
François Scornet,
the Priest Père Maré, the firing squad, and the coffin were
placed into a lorry and driven to St. Ouens Manor.
François Scornet was tied
to an ash tree the Priest embraced the youth and gave him
his crucifix to kiss, Père Maré then retired, the firing
squad then took aim while young Scornet called out his last
words "Vive Dieu!" -"Vive La France!"- "Long Live God" -
"Long Live France!"
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