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French town tries to save first world war soldier’s room for posterity French town tries to save first world war soldier’s room for posterity
(about 20 hours later)
Until this year, few would have known the name of Dragoons officer Hubert Rochereau, or heard of the tiny village of Bélâbre in central France. But the revelation this autumn that the young soldier’s bedroom, complete with his feathered dress helmet and military jacket, had been preserved for almost 100 years after his death on a Belgian battlefield in the first world war brought unexpected recognition to both. Until this year, few would have known the name of dragoons officer Hubert Rochereau, or heard of the tiny village of Bélâbre in central France. But the revelation this autumn that the young soldier’s bedroom, complete with his feathered dress helmet and military jacket, had been preserved for almost 100 years after his death on a Belgian battlefield in the first world war brought unexpected recognition to both.
Now Laurent Laroche, mayor of Bélâbre, is hoping his commune’s new-found fame will also bring a benefactor to save Rochereau’s room for posterity. “When you walk into it it’s as if time has stood still,” he told the Guardian. “On a much smaller scale, I imagine it’s how the explorers felt when they opened the first pyramid or ancient tomb.Now Laurent Laroche, mayor of Bélâbre, is hoping his commune’s new-found fame will also bring a benefactor to save Rochereau’s room for posterity. “When you walk into it it’s as if time has stood still,” he told the Guardian. “On a much smaller scale, I imagine it’s how the explorers felt when they opened the first pyramid or ancient tomb.
“It would be a great shame for it to disappear. As someone who loves history, I feel it’s is also important not to forget the sacrifice made by men like Rochereau.”“It would be a great shame for it to disappear. As someone who loves history, I feel it’s is also important not to forget the sacrifice made by men like Rochereau.”
Second Lieutenant Hubert Guy Pierre Alphonse Rochereau, 21, a graduate of the elite French Saint-Cyr military school, died in an English field ambulance on 26 April 1918, a day after being wounded during fighting for the village of Loker in Flanders. His parents had no idea where he was buried until 1922 when his body was discovered in a British cemetery and repatriated to the graveyard at Bélâbre.Second Lieutenant Hubert Guy Pierre Alphonse Rochereau, 21, a graduate of the elite French Saint-Cyr military school, died in an English field ambulance on 26 April 1918, a day after being wounded during fighting for the village of Loker in Flanders. His parents had no idea where he was buried until 1922 when his body was discovered in a British cemetery and repatriated to the graveyard at Bélâbre.
They turned the room where their son had been born on 10 October 1896 into a permanent memorial, leaving it largely as it had been the day he went off to war.They turned the room where their son had been born on 10 October 1896 into a permanent memorial, leaving it largely as it had been the day he went off to war.
On the shelves his school books and military manuals collect dust. On his desk lie a filled pipe, Gold Flake cigarettes, two pistols, a knife; keys and a notebook remain untouched alongside a small vial labelled as containing “the earth of Flanders in which our dear child fell and which kept his remains for four years”.On the shelves his school books and military manuals collect dust. On his desk lie a filled pipe, Gold Flake cigarettes, two pistols, a knife; keys and a notebook remain untouched alongside a small vial labelled as containing “the earth of Flanders in which our dear child fell and which kept his remains for four years”.
On the lace counterpane that covers his iron bedstead are Rochereau’s medals – the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d’Honneur – and photographs of friends who also died in the war.On the lace counterpane that covers his iron bedstead are Rochereau’s medals – the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d’Honneur – and photographs of friends who also died in the war.
The grief-stricken Rochereau, a distinguished military family whose forefathers were believed to go back to the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte, then bricked up the entrance to the room.The grief-stricken Rochereau, a distinguished military family whose forefathers were believed to go back to the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte, then bricked up the entrance to the room.
However, Laroche revealed that the sealing of the room was just the beginning of the property’s extraordinary and controversial history.However, Laroche revealed that the sealing of the room was just the beginning of the property’s extraordinary and controversial history.
In 1935, Hubert Rochereau’s parents bequeathed their substantial mansion house in Bélâbre to a military friend, General Eugène Bridoux, on the express condition that their late son’s room would remain untouched and unchanged for 500 years.In 1935, Hubert Rochereau’s parents bequeathed their substantial mansion house in Bélâbre to a military friend, General Eugène Bridoux, on the express condition that their late son’s room would remain untouched and unchanged for 500 years.
Seven years later, Bridoux became secretary of state in the Vichy regime and was responsible for organising the deportation of Jewish families to the Nazi concentration camps. During the Allied liberation of France, he escaped to Germany before being captured and returned to France where he again escaped and fled to Franco’s Spain where he remained until his death in 1955.Seven years later, Bridoux became secretary of state in the Vichy regime and was responsible for organising the deportation of Jewish families to the Nazi concentration camps. During the Allied liberation of France, he escaped to Germany before being captured and returned to France where he again escaped and fled to Franco’s Spain where he remained until his death in 1955.
Bridoux was condemned to death by the French authorities in absentia and his house in Bélâbre confiscated as the property of a collaborator. Laroche said it was rented to a family of solicitors until it was reclaimed in the 1950s by Bridoux’s granddaughter, whose husband, Daniel Fabre, still lives in the house.Bridoux was condemned to death by the French authorities in absentia and his house in Bélâbre confiscated as the property of a collaborator. Laroche said it was rented to a family of solicitors until it was reclaimed in the 1950s by Bridoux’s granddaughter, whose husband, Daniel Fabre, still lives in the house.
“They knew about the room at the end of the corridor but had never seen it because it was bricked up. So they broke down the wall and made this strange discovery,” Laroche said.“They knew about the room at the end of the corridor but had never seen it because it was bricked up. So they broke down the wall and made this strange discovery,” Laroche said.
“The family invited local officials to see it in the 1980s and said they intended to keep the promise made to keep the room untouched even though the clause in the sale document has no basis in French law. But we cannot forget that it is a private property. Mr Fabre has two daughters and we don’t know what they will do with it one day. Indeed, they are perfectly free to do whatever they want.“The family invited local officials to see it in the 1980s and said they intended to keep the promise made to keep the room untouched even though the clause in the sale document has no basis in French law. But we cannot forget that it is a private property. Mr Fabre has two daughters and we don’t know what they will do with it one day. Indeed, they are perfectly free to do whatever they want.
“We are currently reflecting on what we can do to preserve the room, but to be honest we are a small local authority whose finances, like everyone’s, have been squeezed by the economic crisis. The fact is that while it would be nice to be able to one day buy the property and perhaps turn it into a museum, we simply don’t have the money.”“We are currently reflecting on what we can do to preserve the room, but to be honest we are a small local authority whose finances, like everyone’s, have been squeezed by the economic crisis. The fact is that while it would be nice to be able to one day buy the property and perhaps turn it into a museum, we simply don’t have the money.”
Laroche added: “It is a magical place, which we believe was built using stone from the Middle Age ramparts of the village and has a superb little garden that is like something out of a fairytale. Perhaps one day a generous donor will come along and buy it.”Laroche added: “It is a magical place, which we believe was built using stone from the Middle Age ramparts of the village and has a superb little garden that is like something out of a fairytale. Perhaps one day a generous donor will come along and buy it.”
Laroche said he was surprised at how the story of Rochereau’s room had captured headlines around the globe. “Someone even sent me a picture of someone in China reading the story in the Guardian,” he said.Laroche said he was surprised at how the story of Rochereau’s room had captured headlines around the globe. “Someone even sent me a picture of someone in China reading the story in the Guardian,” he said.
“Our little village is being spoken about the world over, which makes me proud to be mayor. And maybe it will help us find long-lost Rochereau relatives and save the room. It would be a great pity for it to be lost to future generations.”“Our little village is being spoken about the world over, which makes me proud to be mayor. And maybe it will help us find long-lost Rochereau relatives and save the room. It would be a great pity for it to be lost to future generations.”