Île de Sein

The small island of Île de Sein (56 hectares) is located in Brittany, off the Pointe du Raz, and had 1,400 inhabitants in September 1939. The large majority of its men were mobilized, while a small garrison of around twenty men was set up on the island.

In June 1940, in addition to the aerial combats taking place above their heads, the island’s inhabitants received information from the boats that docked there as well as via the few battery-powered wireless radios and crystal sets on the island which did not have any electricity.

This is how the islanders found out about the Capture of Rennes and the evacuation of Brest on June 19. On the same day, Ar Zénith, which transported passengers, goods and mail twice weekly between Audierne and Île de Sein, docked on the island. It was carrying around one hundred alpine troops, young men from Audierne, and war equipment that it was required to take to Ouessant. It left the island at around 7 pm with the soldiers only, accompanied by the Velléda, a ship that supplied lighthouses, which took the civilians and islanders. But in reality, after a stopover in Ouessant, Ar Zénith was ordered to cross the channel by the military authorities and head to Plymouth; its four crew members were the first of the island’s inhabitants to leave for England.

Velléda returned to Île de Sein the following day and told the inhabitants what had happened. On June 21, Île de Sein’s garrison left. A few dozen islanders found out that a French general was due to speak on the radio in London. On June 22, they gathered round one of the island’s wireless radios and listened to General de Gaulle’s speech. Strongly impressed, they each returned home while planes bombed the cargo ships that passed offshore.

On June 24, the mayor displayed a notice containing information received from Audierne by telephone, which ordered the military to surrender to the German authorities in Audierne. In reaction to the threat of being taken prisoner, Jean-Marie Porsmoguer and Prosper Couillandre took it upon themselves to arm their respective ships, the Velléda and Rouanez-ar-Mor. By 9 pm, both boats were fully loaded with men of fighting age.

On June 25, a boat from the island sailed to the continent where a notice stated that all men aged 18 to 60 were required to make themselves available to the occupation’s forces. This new threat came with a new response: the next day, two more boats left the island: Rouanez-ar-Péoc'h belonging to François Fouquet, and Maris Stella belonging to Martin Guilcher. Pierre Couillandre’s Corbeau des mers and its passengers followed shortly after. Like the day before, the mayor and rector (parish priest) supervised the departures; islanders aged 15 and under were not allowed to leave.

As such, from June 24-26, 114 islanders, who had not previously been mobilized due to their age or family responsibilities, left Île de Sein. Others arrived in England by various means at a later date. In total, 128 of the island’s inhabitants left for Great Britain; the oldest was 54 and the youngest was 14. In early July, those who headed to England were assembled with three hundred other volunteers at Olympia Hall in London, where General de Gaulle inspected them. Shaking the hand of every one of them and asking where they had come from, the leader of the Free French was extremely surprised, reportedly exclaiming “So it seems Île de Sein is a quarter of France!”.

Île de Sein inhabitants then received various postings in line with their age and specialisms; the majority were sent to the Free French Naval Forces and initially served on the Courbet. The oldest inhabitants were assigned to the Fisheries Department in Penzance and the Free France merchant navy, and took part in providing England with supplies. Twenty-two of them died for France.

The Germans arrived on the island in early July 1940, before establishing a small infantry garrison and maritime customs post (GAST) there, which exercised control over fishing boats. They also planted mines and put up barbed wire. Extremely strict regulations were applied to traffic both on the island and in the sea; those who were given travel documents and temporary authorizations to leave did so on the understanding that their families were the guarantors of their return.