Official Website Launch - Dereham, April 26th, 2018
THE Massacre at Le Paradis - Hell in Paradise - website was officially launched at a reception in Dereham War Memorial Hall, Norfolk, on April 26th, 2018.
Descendants of those killed in the massacre and those who served in the Royal Norfolk Regiment in the area at the time were able to swap memories and stories. There were a number of emotional meetings as evidenced by our photograph above and also the first meeting between the families of survivors Bill O'Callaghan and Bert Pooley.
The evening featured presentations by Dennis O'Callaghan and John Head from the Le Paradis Commemoration Group which is responsible for the site. John outlined the historical context and events leading up to the massacre and Dennis covered the massacre itself and the story of the two survivors - Privates Bill O'Callaghan and Bert Pooley.
In his opening remarks John thanked all those present for their support: "We cannot thank you enough for your support and encouragement which has been a key driver to our development of the Le Paradis Massacre Website. We would also like to thank our wives and families for supporting us in our pilgrimages and for all the tea and cakes whilst we have been incarcerated in rooms with information falling off tables like a volcano erupting."
John extended special thanks to Brigadier Max Marriner CBE, president of the Royal Norfolk Regiment Association, Colonel C. H. Maginnis, Commandant of the Norfolk ACF, and John Bossion, county chairman of the Royal British Legion for being in attendance.
John also thanked all those who had contacted the group and shared information including Ralston Ryder, son of Major Lisle Ryder; the Long family whose father Captain Long was responsible for the poignant aftermath drawings featured on this site and also for invaluable diaries; David Dickson and Ian Johnstone of the Royal Scots Regiment whose first battalion fought alongside the Royal Norfolks; Jeannette and Greg Hawkes (daughter and son-in-law of Bert Pooley); Heather O'Callaghan for the support she has given to her brother Dennis; Bob Brown and his family; the late Arthur Brough and the books of Cyril Jolly and Richard Lane which have been vitally important in putting together a full picture of the events at Le Paradis.
"Finally our thanks go to the dignitaries and people of Lestrem and Le Paradis and to Dereham Town Council for providing the facilities of this wonderful and appropriate venue. Dereham is inextricably linked to Le Paradis, not only because of the O'Callaghan connection, as we have several families affected by the atrocity who still reside in Dereham or in close proximity of.
"Le Paradis Remembrance Day is a very big event in France and to see banners, bands and school children who wave the Tricolours and Union Jacks together with singing out national anthems is a very moving scene. The Mayor of Lestrem, Monsieur Jacques Hurles, in a conversation with me, stated that, as Britain was never occupied, we probably couldn't fully appreciate what it was like to have another country pay the ultimate sacrifice in an attempt to liberate France. It was, he went on to say, something which would never be forgotten by their children, their children's children and their children's children's children.
"The Royal Norfolks, the Royal Scots and other units defended Le Paradis in 1940. In that peaceful cemetery in Le Paradis, lined up in their rows, the Royal Norfolks, the Royal Scots and other units still and always will defend Le Paradis," John said.
Dennis O'Callaghan explained the birth of the website:
"Just over a year ago we were discussing with Peter Steward, one of our team, the massacre for a local article. The longer we discussed it the more it became apparent that there was a need to record all events and family memories of loved ones killed or who survived and the best way to achieve this would be on a dedicated Le Paradis website before all memories and documents are lost forever as another generation departs. We felt we owed this to our brave boys who never returned from the defence of Le Paradis.
"Much prominence has rightly been placed on the heroism on the beaches of Dunkirk and the defence of Calais, but there were other small groups of soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice by staying behind when they could have retreated to potential safety even with a necessary permissive order. The defence of Le Paradis saw such a group of soldiers comprising of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Norfolks, the 1st Battalion The Royal Scots and other units.
"Their selfless acts kept the corridors to Dunkirk open for a further three days, enabling a staggering 338,000 allied servicemen to be evacuated - far more than the original estimate of 45,000 given by Winston Churchill.
"With the underbelly of Dunkirk exposed to the enemy, we believe that the defence of Le Paradis assisted in making a substantial contribution to the success of the Dunkirk evacuation. It was history changing for, without it, there would have been no Dunkirk.
"Captain Hastings of the 2nd Battalion the Royal Norfolks was captured close to the massacre scene and recorded, as a prisoner of war, upon learning about the heroics of Dunkirk, the following:
We felt that if there was any honour in getting large British forces back to British soil such honour belonged, least of all, to those who were themselves got back. Such honour as there was belonged rather to those who got them away in boats at Dunkirk and by those whose gallant and costly rearguards extending as far back as 40 miles behind Dunkirk enabled the evacuation to take place at all.
The 2nd Battalion the Royal Norfolk Regiment, were amongst those who performed this very important task. If the effort made by a unit is proportional to the casualties sustained, and I think it must be considered so, then the effort made by this particular unit must be notable amongst the achievements in France in 1940, for I know of no unit that had a longer list of casualties in that campaign.
"We hope our website helps to address Capt. Hastings' comments to bring the defence of Le Paradis and the sacrifices made there to its rightful place in history," Dennis said.
John Head underlined opportunities for groups and individuals to sponsor the website, something that is being actively looked into. He also outlined plans for a special pilgrimage in 2019 which would be a re-run of the "epic pilgrimage of 2010" and follow the steps of the 2nd Battalion Royal Norfolks from the Dyle line to Le Paradis.
Descendants of those killed in the massacre and those who served in the Royal Norfolk Regiment in the area at the time were able to swap memories and stories. There were a number of emotional meetings as evidenced by our photograph above and also the first meeting between the families of survivors Bill O'Callaghan and Bert Pooley.
The evening featured presentations by Dennis O'Callaghan and John Head from the Le Paradis Commemoration Group which is responsible for the site. John outlined the historical context and events leading up to the massacre and Dennis covered the massacre itself and the story of the two survivors - Privates Bill O'Callaghan and Bert Pooley.
In his opening remarks John thanked all those present for their support: "We cannot thank you enough for your support and encouragement which has been a key driver to our development of the Le Paradis Massacre Website. We would also like to thank our wives and families for supporting us in our pilgrimages and for all the tea and cakes whilst we have been incarcerated in rooms with information falling off tables like a volcano erupting."
John extended special thanks to Brigadier Max Marriner CBE, president of the Royal Norfolk Regiment Association, Colonel C. H. Maginnis, Commandant of the Norfolk ACF, and John Bossion, county chairman of the Royal British Legion for being in attendance.
John also thanked all those who had contacted the group and shared information including Ralston Ryder, son of Major Lisle Ryder; the Long family whose father Captain Long was responsible for the poignant aftermath drawings featured on this site and also for invaluable diaries; David Dickson and Ian Johnstone of the Royal Scots Regiment whose first battalion fought alongside the Royal Norfolks; Jeannette and Greg Hawkes (daughter and son-in-law of Bert Pooley); Heather O'Callaghan for the support she has given to her brother Dennis; Bob Brown and his family; the late Arthur Brough and the books of Cyril Jolly and Richard Lane which have been vitally important in putting together a full picture of the events at Le Paradis.
"Finally our thanks go to the dignitaries and people of Lestrem and Le Paradis and to Dereham Town Council for providing the facilities of this wonderful and appropriate venue. Dereham is inextricably linked to Le Paradis, not only because of the O'Callaghan connection, as we have several families affected by the atrocity who still reside in Dereham or in close proximity of.
"Le Paradis Remembrance Day is a very big event in France and to see banners, bands and school children who wave the Tricolours and Union Jacks together with singing out national anthems is a very moving scene. The Mayor of Lestrem, Monsieur Jacques Hurles, in a conversation with me, stated that, as Britain was never occupied, we probably couldn't fully appreciate what it was like to have another country pay the ultimate sacrifice in an attempt to liberate France. It was, he went on to say, something which would never be forgotten by their children, their children's children and their children's children's children.
"The Royal Norfolks, the Royal Scots and other units defended Le Paradis in 1940. In that peaceful cemetery in Le Paradis, lined up in their rows, the Royal Norfolks, the Royal Scots and other units still and always will defend Le Paradis," John said.
Dennis O'Callaghan explained the birth of the website:
"Just over a year ago we were discussing with Peter Steward, one of our team, the massacre for a local article. The longer we discussed it the more it became apparent that there was a need to record all events and family memories of loved ones killed or who survived and the best way to achieve this would be on a dedicated Le Paradis website before all memories and documents are lost forever as another generation departs. We felt we owed this to our brave boys who never returned from the defence of Le Paradis.
"Much prominence has rightly been placed on the heroism on the beaches of Dunkirk and the defence of Calais, but there were other small groups of soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice by staying behind when they could have retreated to potential safety even with a necessary permissive order. The defence of Le Paradis saw such a group of soldiers comprising of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Norfolks, the 1st Battalion The Royal Scots and other units.
"Their selfless acts kept the corridors to Dunkirk open for a further three days, enabling a staggering 338,000 allied servicemen to be evacuated - far more than the original estimate of 45,000 given by Winston Churchill.
"With the underbelly of Dunkirk exposed to the enemy, we believe that the defence of Le Paradis assisted in making a substantial contribution to the success of the Dunkirk evacuation. It was history changing for, without it, there would have been no Dunkirk.
"Captain Hastings of the 2nd Battalion the Royal Norfolks was captured close to the massacre scene and recorded, as a prisoner of war, upon learning about the heroics of Dunkirk, the following:
We felt that if there was any honour in getting large British forces back to British soil such honour belonged, least of all, to those who were themselves got back. Such honour as there was belonged rather to those who got them away in boats at Dunkirk and by those whose gallant and costly rearguards extending as far back as 40 miles behind Dunkirk enabled the evacuation to take place at all.
The 2nd Battalion the Royal Norfolk Regiment, were amongst those who performed this very important task. If the effort made by a unit is proportional to the casualties sustained, and I think it must be considered so, then the effort made by this particular unit must be notable amongst the achievements in France in 1940, for I know of no unit that had a longer list of casualties in that campaign.
"We hope our website helps to address Capt. Hastings' comments to bring the defence of Le Paradis and the sacrifices made there to its rightful place in history," Dennis said.
John Head underlined opportunities for groups and individuals to sponsor the website, something that is being actively looked into. He also outlined plans for a special pilgrimage in 2019 which would be a re-run of the "epic pilgrimage of 2010" and follow the steps of the 2nd Battalion Royal Norfolks from the Dyle line to Le Paradis.
Below is a gallery of photographs taken at the launch by Peter Steward and Faye Lebon. More of Faye's photographs can be viewed by clicking here. Click on the photographs below to enlarge them.