#Landmark
Bedous train station
Occupied by German troops from November 1942 onwards, Bedous was also the starting point of the restricted zone established by the Germans on December 17, 1942. Only residents of villages located within the zone were allowed to move around freely. Everyone else required a pass.
The local garrison was stationed at Bedous station. Renaud de Changy's group (see Lurbe and Escot) had to pass through there to continue on their way. “Careful now, be quieter than ever,” whispered Tino to the group surrounding him. “We have to walk along the Kommandantur and cross the station.” The guide went ahead as a scout while the group waited below the railway tracks. With no news from him, the two other guides, Jean-Baptiste Capdaspe and Catherine Traille, decided to continue despite the risks involved. “Everyone took their places again, their hearts sinking a little, cursing the presumption of those damn guides who were so bold as to pass in such large numbers in front of the Kommandantur in the full moon! We had been hiding in the brambles for over two hours and Tino had not returned. Never mind, let's go. Our last chance lies in the darkness, we have to try.”
The instruction was passed from mouth to mouth: “If they shoot, scatter and lie flat on the ground!” Step by step, with bent backs and stiff legs, the twenty-two silhouettes resumed their march toward the lion's den. "
Soon, from the courtyard of the Kommandantur, we hear raised voices.
Fortunately, a train car parked on a siding somewhat conceals our movements. One by one, we cross the beam of light escaping from an uncovered window behind which... three Germans are conversing, less than 10 meters away! Between the train cars scattered here and there, we slip silently, like a group of enormous rats. Finally, we overcome the obstacle and soon resume our normal pace across vast meadows that leave us very vulnerable.
Renaud Carpentier de Changy, “It’s a long way to go…”, Unpublished, Louis Loustau-Chartez archives