Sennecy Le Grand - SAS memorial - hoping to visit today. Has anyone got any suggestions for visiting? (1 Viewer)

[MisterB]

We've revised our 'whim' and are pushing on up to Sennecy Le Grand. There is a little known small museum and monument to 5 SAS men who were killed there in WW2, which is on our route so we plan to spend some time there

Has anyone visited?

 

[maison]

Yes, we used to live nearby.

The SAS Memorial is just outside a park near to Seneccy and well worth a visit. There is ample parking there. Use Google translate if your French is not good enough to understand the plaque telling the story. It is interesting.

The large bronze plaque, in the shape of the country of France is also worth studying.

The Museum is in the walled enclosure at the south end of Seneccy on the Route Nationale, (on the left as you enter, just after the roundabout), and there is an Aire right outside it. Flat gravel surface and ideal for the visit.

The museum, as I remember, is only open at limited times and is very small. Check on-line before visiting.

The town itself is not much but there is another large memorial, this time honouring the French Resistance, on the northern edge of the town, again on the Route Nationale.

At the southern end of Sennecy, as you enter, is an Auchan supermarket and filling station.

Just further north Chalons-sur-Sâone is worth a visit for the Cathedral and old quarter. If you can make it on a Saturday there is an excellent, large market around the Cathedral area.

You are visiting a lovely area. Follow the wine route north through Givry, Mercury, Nuits-St-George, Beaune etc. avoiding the Autoroute. The journey is worth it.

Good luck.

 

[Orion]

If you haven’t already read it ‘Fire From The Forest’ by Roger Ford covers all the SAS Brigade operations in France post D Day. The action in and around Sennecy Le Grand involved the men from 3 SAS operation Newton which were reinforcing the previously inserted operation Harrod.

 

[BusyBuilder]

I read a book, about the SAS behind the lines during Normandy. It also td of them rounding up SS types.

 

[The Old Man]

Operation Loyton - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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[MisterB]

Yes, we used to live nearby.

The SAS Memorial is just outside a park near to Seneccy and well worth a visit. There is ample parking there. Use Google translate if your French is not good enough to understand the plaque telling the story. It is interesting.

The large bronze plaque, in the shape of the country of France is also worth studying.

The Museum is in the walled enclosure at the south end of Seneccy on the Route Nationale, (on the left as you enter, just after the roundabout), and there is an Aire right outside it. Flat gravel surface and ideal for the visit.

The museum, as I remember, is only open at limited times and is very small. Check on-line before visiting.

The town itself is not much but there is another large memorial, this time honouring the French Resistance, on the northern edge of the town, again on the Route Nationale.

At the southern end of Sennecy, as you enter, is an Auchan supermarket and filling station.

Just further north Chalons-sur-Sâone is worth a visit for the Cathedral and old quarter. If you can make it on a Saturday there is an excellent, large market around the Cathedral area.

Drove through Chalon's, but it looked a bit 'busy' for us, so we've ended up at Ecruses, by a lake. Facilities have been damaged, which is a shame, but it's quiet and peaceful, which we needed after the horrors of traffic through Lyon!

we visited the SAS memorial and museum and enjoyed the visit. It's well worth making a stop there. We decided not to stay over though, but on hindsight we should have stayed. There was space for about 20 motorhomes at least around the motorhome service point area, though we parked outside the museum itself, and really should have stayed there as the area outside the museum was more than suitable, quieter (apart from the church bells) and less obvious to passing traffic (it's a busy route), than the motorhome service point area.
I learnt some interesting facts, I'm not a military buff but do respect those who gave and were prepared to give their lives and didn't realise that there were sections of the SAS (Brigades??) under the overall command of the British who were all French or Belgium soldiers who had escaped from the invading forces and made their ways to Britain.
The 5 SAS men who were buried in the graveyard were all French SAS. It was really pleasing to see that their graves were well kept and lay under a French flag flying on a flagpole above them.
The SAS memorial took a bit of finding from the map we found outside the museum and we really should have driven there as it was a 15 min walk uphill for us old 'uns.
I'm not sure what the two plaques said but there were around 200 men named on the memorial, mainly British but quite a few French and Belgium's (I think).

We enjoyed the experience and thank those who lost their lives so we could enjoy ours in peace.

There was a very informative video playing (automatically) with English subtitles, explaining the history of the SAS and a booklet was available from the Tourist Office to translate all the information displayed in the museum.i had to go to the Tourist Office for the key (only about 100 yards from the museum) and leave my passport as a deposit for the key.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU VISIT IF YOU'RE IN THE AREA !!

 

[Orion]

Many thanks for reporting back on your findings, much appreciated.

As posted earlier, Roger Ford’s book is well worth a read for the history of the SAS Brigades actions in France.

If you are ever in the Vienne at Rom (a beautiful rural region IMO) then a visit to the graves of the SAS personnel murdered in the aftermath of operation Bulbasket will also reveal graves well tended even after the passage of years.