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WWII Antibes’ 75th Tribute for HMS Unbroken

Jemma Hélène — October 5, 2017

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It is a time of anniversaries. World War I’s centennial commemorations have dotted the globe. Canada celebrated its 150^th. Even Lolo’s summer camp in the woods of Ontario proudly handed out t-shirts with “100” on them.

World War II anniversaries cannot yet claim three digits. Partly because of the war’s relative recentness, and partly because of its direct impact on the Côte d’Azur, parades and wreath-laying ceremonies are annual events here in late August. To be precise, on August 24, 1944 – only 73 years ago – our town of Antibes celebrated its Libération from the occupying forces.

…Continue reading here as Jemma describes a daring and heroic operation that involved a secret landing of the HMS Unbroken in Antibes on that date.

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Tags:Antibes,Côte d'Azur,French Riviera,History,WWII

Jemma Hélène

Jemma was born and raised in the US Midwest. A banker by trade, she slogged away at a Swiss investment bank in the UK and South Africa before moving – for decent spaces of time, anyway – to the South of France. At a similar stage, she also moved to the right side of her brain as a writer. She has published articles in Maclean’s, SuperYacht World, and various travel and university presses.

At this point Jemma lives mostly in Canada, but she spends the whole of every summer in the Côte d’Azur town of Antibes. From this seaside town of ramparts, situated midway between Nice and Cannes, she has penned her blog French Lessons since 2007. Each post captures a snapshot of the remarkable, real life of the French Riviera. “Consider these pages my summertime gift to you,” she tells her readers.

When not engrossed in things French, Jemma is - not in any particular order - writing a book, making music, performing motherly duties, expanding sustainable education in places that have less of it, promoting Canadian writing, and travelling off-the-beaten-track: over 90 countries, and counting.

You can reach Jemma through her blog site at French Lessons.