Passadoc Gazette - No. 69

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The Quiz!
We talk a little... a lot... passionately!
The Sainte-Victoire mountain... A Sunday in Goult... Communication media « radio » 1940... The district of Antheor in Saint-Raphaël... The conservatory of the terraces of cultures... The mill in Jerusalem...
Some pictures here... From there... a little further...
Passadoc library.
Passadoc... Better than drugs!
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Giselle Penat-Lorde

Montagne Sainte-Victoire

Several routes allow access to a priory (XVII^e) and a monumental cross of 19 m high visible to kilometers in the round, called « Cross of Provence ».

From this location, the viewpoint is superb. You will discover a panorama of the Provencal mountains and the hilly plains of the country of Aix. A road runs around the massif and allows you to visit the small villages dominated by the steep mountain wall, such as Rousset, Beaurecueil, Vauvenargues, etc.

The village of Tholonet has a castle dating from XVIII^e and the ruined arches of a Roman aqueduct. Immediately after, the departmental park of Roques-Hautes begins, which protects the western slope of the Sainte-Victoire. Saint-Antonin-sur-Bayon is dominated by a great bastide of the XVIII^e century.

On a small plateau, close by, are the remains of the Bayon's poppidum. The peak of the massif is the peak of the Mouches (1011 m), one of the highest peaks in the Bouches-du-Rhône department. Then in the east are Puyloubier (Bouches-du-Rhône) and Pourrières (Var), surrounded by vineyards.

At the foot of the northern slope of the Sainte-Victoire, stretch the small village of Vauvenargues. Its castle, large square building of the XIV^e and XVII^e centuries, secluded on a hill. It was acquired in 1958 by Picasso, who was buried in the park. Since 1983, part of the Sainte-Victoire massif (6,525 ha) has been classified. Despite a fire that ravaged its southern face in August 1989, Montagne Sainte-Victoire remains a place of walking and climbing.

Several painters took the Sainte-Victoire mountain as a subject, including Paul Cézanne, who immortalized it in about sixty works, but also Vincent Van Gogh, Auguste Renoir, etc.

Sources: Based on the website of the Tourist Office of Aix-en-Provence and Wikipedia

Philippe Levieux

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A Sunday in Goult...

Walk through the alleys of Goult (Vaucluse). You will walk with pleasure in its small streets, after passing the church, you will fall under the charm of its vaulted passages, its arcades and ancient doors.
You will discover the remains of ancient ramparts as well as the castle of the Agoult family emerging from the rock (private property that does not visit). Large shaded squares of centuries old micocollars will welcome you to share the sweetness of Provencal life that reigns in Goult.

The conservation of the terraces of cultures

... a space of 5 hectares superbly preserved to show contemporaries how our elders took advantage of nature and adapted.

By taking the route of the Roche-Redonne or Carredone, due south from the Moulin, after fifteen minutes of walking, you will reach the Conservatoire des Terrasses de Cultures on five hectares. The Borie, the Citerne, the Aiguier, are some remarkable points.

These terraces – named by the provencals « rectified » or « Bank » – were built in a natural amphitheatre, protected from the mistral and frost by its south exposure, near the village. They were an addition to the cultivated land of the plain, fertile but floodable.

Terraced crops combine water, soil and stone.
– Water, which irrigates by infiltration and whose runoff is controlled by the capture in the sharpeners.
– The soil, which accumulates, enriches and amends the soil.
– The stone, removed from the ground, allows characteristic constructions of dry stone assemblies.

The mill of Jerusalem.

Recognized as the oldest mill of GoultThe mill in Jerusalem is at the top of the village. (There were two windmills in Goult).

This one appears in 1750 on the cadastre, where it bears the name of Tré Casteau (outside the Castle); then in 1806 in the inventory of the property of the Marquis de Donis. He will then take the name of the neighborhood where he is. It will function until the last decades of the XIX^e century.

After World War II, he returned to life by hosting the National Geographical Institute for about 50 years. The municipality took over the property of the mill in 1990 and extensive restoration work was carried out for a few years so that the mill could regain its former appearance.

Philippe Natalini

Communication media « radio » in 1940

During the Second World War, for resistance and special services, radio was « on » long distance communication medium, practical because hundreds of kilometers separate the different resistance groups and London, where the orders come from.

These radios range from 800 to 1,500 km. Radio is also a convenient way to deliver messages in a wide audience through regular programming, or to a specific recipient through codes. It is for these reasons that radio quickly became one of the most effective means of communication for delivering orders and communicating information in real time.

Nevertheless, the work of the radio operator remains very dangerous; At the beginning of the war, one in two radio operators were lost; At the end, this figure rises to one in four. It is estimated that the lifetime of a radio operator is about 7 months ...

Despite many disadvantages, radio was used extensively. In order to make this mode of communication more efficient, technological advances in miniaturization and increased performance are being made throughout the war. At first, radios are about the size of a suitcase, like the MK1 used in 1941 and weighing 13 kg. In the same year, what we call the radio biscuit will be developed, because it is the size of a box ... biscuits. It still weighs heavy: almost 8 kg.

It was only in 1943 that a truly light and discreet radio was developed, the OP3: 800 g with a size of 12 x 17 cm; It is perfect for the Resistance as it works on battery and has a range of 35 hours. The RB2 of the same year is even easier to carry with its minimum weight and size: 500 g for 14 x 11 cm. Thanks to its 10 m antenna it can emit up to 1,500 km.

1943... Antheor district in Saint-Raphaël

During the Second World War, the district of Antheor, a commune of Saint-Raphael (Var), was a vital strategic point for the German army.
Indeed, the Antheor railway viaduct allows the transport and transport of men and equipment between Marseille, Nice and Italy.

This vital point, identified as such by the allies, becomes therefore a target, and its destruction a goal to be achieved... Thus, between September 1943 and August 1944, the site will be bombarded 12 times, without success since the structure, although fragile, will only suffer minor damage. But the collateral consequences of these imprecise bombings will be enormous, because fromAntheor to Agay, everything is almost destroyed.
It was only on 15 August 1944 that the aerial bombardment and then the naval shelling prepared for the disembarkation of the troops of the 1/141st IR on this small beach, would end two of the batteries of the viaduct.

For more details on this viaduct and this period, I recommend reading the excellent book « Memoirs of the Viaduct ofAntheor 1859-2019 » d-Alain Dubreuil.

Claude Boyer

My father entered the SNCF (« to the Company »In 1942 he was just 18 years old.
While he was on duty at the 172 km switch station (distance from Marseilles) in Antheor, he saw a group of guerrillas arrive who told him:
– Get the fuck out of here!
He was not told twice and as he was running along the way to St.Raphael, he heard the planes and then the crash of the bombing.
– Trust me, I haven't turned around and I've never run this fast in my life., he confided..

Alas, the witnesses of that time were gradually disappearing as all those of 1914-1918 disappeared. Within a decade, the two world conflicts of the XX^e century will be in the eyes of the young generation what the Napoleonic wars have been for us and will be nothing but events of history...
My generation has had the privilege of meeting witnesses of these two wars, which is why she is more aware of these events. When I tell my grandchildren that my grandfather I knew and who died in 1982 was wounded in 1917, they look at me with round eyes that seem to say:
– But you're that old?
They were all born after the year 2000...

Giselle Penat-Lorde

For the little story: an anecdote related to the bombing of the bridge of Antheor this 15.08.1944, felt in Roquebrune-sur-Argens, certainly already told on the page of André and/or Passadoc, which often came out during family meals when the generations of our elders spoke of their memories and made weapons during the 2 wars and fortunately they did so, for now it almost amounts to talking about very ancient times, not yet in Antiquity or the Middle Ages but not far away ...- sorry for these radating repetitions due also to my age certainly ...

My paternal grandfather had a handicapped pig in the last litter of the sow, before all this little world would fatten the bandages of the occupants – this piglet, which was dragging on a ham had obviously not pleased the Germans and the Nazis did not like it, we know the disabled, who ended badly in general ...

Sung miraculously or by some ploy of my paternal grandfather, who was not at his first blow smoking for Um... the Germans (at his peril, it must be said) especially the last who had loudly demanded everything in the house, when it began seriously to feel the dust for Hitler after Stalingrad and the retreat of the troops on all fronts, this pig « forgotten » but pampered by my grandfather, grows and grows, despite his disability.

After the bombardment, our super pig stood back on his four legs – my grandfather found him on the morning of the 16th, walking quietly, proud as Artaban after the bombardment, he did not believe his eyes!! ... shock wave that made the father rise and found the use of all these limbs ...

Of course, ham was not very consumable, because it was obviously too truncated. We killed him to celebrate the Liberation. Bombardment ofAntheor unforgettable in the family!