A collection in Condom to save the graves of fighters who died for France

In the archives, we find traces of a Condom committee in 1892 which found real visibility and dynamism in the 2000s with its president at the time Michel Delorme. The mission of Souvenir Français is to maintain and commemorate the “dead for France” but also a duty to remember by transmitting this memorial imprint to younger generations.

Since its creation and becoming a national commemorative day in 1919, Le Souvenir Français has made All Saints' Day a strong moment of mobilization around the maintenance of the graves of the Dead for France in all conflicts. Throughout the Great War, all the committees of the “Le Souvenir Français” association collected at the gates of the cemeteries.

Since then, volunteers from each committee have been at the entrance to cemeteries to raise funds. As the controller general of the armies (2s) Serge Barcellini, general president of Souvenir Français, points out: “Buried in a communal cemetery, a “Mort pour la France” is rooted in three stories: family, territorial enriching the history of his municipal as well as national. They connect the family, the community and the Nation in a shared history. In order to maintain this triple rooting, French Remembrance is mobilized everywhere so that no tomb of “Death for France” disappears from our municipal cemeteries. History is also learned in municipal cemeteries.”

€500 raised

This as well as on this sunny November 1st, the volunteer members of the Condom-Ténarèze committee took turns throughout the day to collect from people going to pay their respects at the graves of loved ones.

In addition to the charitable gesture, it is also an opportunity to meet up with volunteers but also between Condomois and residents of the Ténarèze region. The totality of the sums collected constitutes an essential part of the funds devoted by Le Souvenir Français to the maintenance of the tombs of the Dead for France and to the safeguarding of family tombs which have fallen into disuse in which soldiers are buried.

This year, Ténarèze donors were particularly generous since the collection reached nearly 500 euros.