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History
| | Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer is situated on the Channel coast in Normandy, 250 kilometres from Paris, at 49°19°16’’ latitude North and 2°41’29’’ longitude West. The early history of the site |
From a geological point of views, the cliff on the west side of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer is very interesting. On a base of Jurassic limestone (150 million years old) and reefs of fossilised sponges, can be seen quaternary sediments containing a great number of fossils and remains of prehistoric animals.
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Jutting out seaward the cliff was a perfect observation post to control the sea and shore east and west. It was, therefore, inhabited at an early date, and the many signs of occupation can be traced to this day, with the discovery of foundations, ceramics, coins and medals, tombs and bronze artefacts.
The Romans arrived in the area after their victory over the Gauls in 56 BC. They settled on the cliff, the strategic point called le Castel ever since, from the Latin castellum. Romans established a camp, a villa with a temple, ovens, baths and other buildings. In 1942, when the Germans occupying the site built their fortifications, a number of Roman foundations were discovered, and an imposing statue of a mother goddess was found and sheltered by an Austrian officer.
On show in the tourist office |
The men who came from the North |
Danish and Saxon pirates first came to these shores towards the end of the 4th century. Then from the 5th to the 9th century, invasions were frequent. In the 10th century, the Norman Chief Rollon ruled over the region, were he settled permanently with his warriors.
Saint Aubin
Aubin (469-550) was the bishop of Angers. The worship of this saint is associated with fecundity
Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer - A small village of fishermen |
Many ancient documents mention the hamlet of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer and show that its activity was dependent on the sea.
A remarkable feature of Saint Aubin sur mer are its passages and alleys.
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Fishing boats were flat-bottomed so they could be easily hauled up on the sand. They were hazardous and frequently capsized in foul weather. The fishermen took mackerel, herring, bass and various flat fish. (the picture shows a "Doris")
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The "picoteux" was made in Courseulles sur mer. It is also a flat-bottomed boat.
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Fish could also be caught as the tide went out, in nets stretched on stakes or with a line of hooks lying on the sand. Shrimping required individual nets with a handle, and crabs and lobster were taken with a hook on the end of a stick. Mussels and oysters were also collected. Seaweed was gathered used as fertiliser.
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Many boats disappeared at sea, and it was not uncommon for all the men of a family to be drowned together. Spinning and lace-making were the widows’ means of subsistence.
Beginning of a parish:
Originally Saint-Aubin-Mer was a part of the neighbouring community of Langrune. But with its growth, the community wished to have its own church. Saint-Aubin became a parish in 1831. The current church was built around 1858, and its steeple was finished in 1863.
The decree of 1851:
Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer became a town in its own right on July 1, 1851. The first mayor was M. Pierre Constant Aubert.
From pilgrims to holiday-makers
As a town, Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer acquired its basic resources.
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Schools had long existed in Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer and, uncommon in those days, there was a school for girls as early as the 17th Century. In 1879 a building was erected to house both the Town Hall and the boys’ school. In 1883, the girls’ school was added. The current school was inaugurated in 1989.
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The Post Office and Telegraph |
The Post Office was built in 1881. The postal service was very important during the high tourist season. |
The telephone in the town |
Telephone services was established in 1901. By 1905 there were four private telephones.
Dating back to 1860 a semaphore using optic signals was used to communicate with ships. The semaphore was later used for private telegraphy. It was torn down in 1940 by the German occupying army
The first train from Paris arrived in Caen, 20 kms inlands, on November 18, 1855. In 1875, it took nine hours to travel from Paris to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. Finally, in 1885, a direct train from Paris to Courseulles, a larger, neighbouring city, stopped in Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. The line was successful until 1940, but was abolished in 1951.
Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer: end of the line |
During the 1930’s when the vacationers arrived at the summer resort they found accommodation in hotels or in boarding houses. For long stays they could rent villas or rooms in the village. Many families owned their own villas where they would settle down for two months and sometimes longer. Most lodgings were not very comfortable, but some villas were particularly sumptuous.
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The fashionable seaside resort |
The Iodine Queen:
The first travellers who came to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer were religious pilgrims who, having travelled to Douvres to pray the Virgin of La Délivrande, continued on all the way to the sea on foot. Then, towards the middle of the 19th Century the benefits of bathing in the sea attracted invalids and their families. Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, where you can breathe the iodine in the air, became fashionable beach. After a swim, many vacationers chose among the community’s activities: games on the sand, contests, boating, fishing and enjoying many forms of sea food. |
The Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer casino was the place where people met and sometimes gambled. A tennis club was borne, various lay or religious holidays attracted crowds. One could stroll under the trees of Parc Pillier and along the waterfront on the promenade, have a drink at the Café l’Univers, visit the bazaar, attend a travelling circus and watch the return of the fishing boats and even the landing of an airplane.
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A few interesting characters |
Jean-Baptiste Couture
In the 17th Century Jean-Baptiste Couture, the five-year-old son of a Saint-Aubin sailor, was abandoned, as requested by his stepmother, on a shore of the Saint Laurent in Canada. He was miraculously rescued, first by an Iroquois tribe and a year later by French sailors who brought him back to his father. He became a brilliant scholar and a teacher of philosophy at the Royal College in Paris.
Other local men and women represented their times: picturesque fishmongers, lifeguards to look after the swimmers who, most often, did not know how to swim, the mussel vendor; notable families and their fabulous parties, photographers, the town-crier and many others.
Many historical figures lived in Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer: Louis Pasteur appreciated the beach; musicians such as Claude Massenet and Charles Gounod; the writers Hector Malot and Emile Zola; the latter described Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer at length in Correspondance.
The 32nd Military Hospital
During the war, the Villas Belle-Plage and the Hotel de la Terrasse became military hospitals for the wounded Allied soldiers, who were conveyed by train from the front.
After the war, a monument was erected in memory of the dead, Allied soldiers, honouring those who were residents and summer vacationers alike.
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World War II and the occupation |
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Arrival of the German Army
The German occupation army arrived in Saint-Aubin on June 19, 1940, and the coastal area immediately isolated. Inhabitants could not leave without a permit. Many villas and hotels were requisitioned to house the German army. Farm products and fish were equally reserved for the German troops.
The secret landing of Saint-Jacques
On August 4, 1940, a secret envoy sent by General Charles de Gaulle landed on the beach at Saint-Aubin to evaluate the German forces and bring the information back to Great Britain. His mission was successful.
A way of living
During the war, people of Saint-Aubin listened to the BBC, even though it was forbidden. On Sundays, they could listen to the music at Watson’s Café, go to the movies in the Casino or play basketball in the park.
1942 : the occupation becomes harsher
During the summer of 1942, the “Todt organisation” , assigned to build the “Atlantic Wall”, requisitioned all the young men of the community to erect a fortified camp on the Cap Romain. Houses were torn down, and the military zone was declared out of bounds. In the process, a number of archaeological discoveries were made ; graves, a Roman villa, a particularly characteristic Gallo-Roman statue. The beach and villas were mined.
Vestiges of world war II |
On June 6, 1944, the Allies landed on Normandy’s beaches, Saint-Aubin was in the area called Juno, the particular location was called Nan Red in the attack plan of the 3rd Division of the Canadian Infantry. This division comprised the North Shore, New Brunswick Regiment and the 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment, Fort Garry Horse. In the second wave came the 48th Commando of the British Royal Navy and the 19th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. The landing was strategically important, and it was all the more difficult as there was a strong sea, which caused the loss of men and material. But through their unfailing courage, the Allies liberated Saint-Aubin by the end of the day, and they were able to continue their assault inland. |
Casualties
The North Shore Regiment lost 34 men, Fort Garry Horse14, the 5th Company 6, and the 19th Field Regiment 3. The British lost 44 men in the 48th Commando of the Royal Navy. Saint-Aubin mourned the death of 24 inhabitants, 15 of which were killed on June 6.
The Allies in Saint-Aubin
Though glad to be free once more, the inhabitants had to face difficult problems. Many houses had been destroyed, and food was scarce. The Allies helped the population to get settled again. |
From ruins to reconstitution |
Lodging became even scarcer as refugees poured in, coming from Caen where the battle was raging and where it lasted 78 days. But Saint-Aubin built on its ruins and little by little the havoc got repaired. By 1947 the summer visitors started coming back.
Saint-Aubin has resumed its vocation as a friendly beach for families. Its calm attracts notable people from many realms : press, theatre, industry, science, publicity and more. Saint-Aubin is open to the world at large and has a permanent exchange arrangement with Liebenburg in Germany, Emsworth in England, and Bathurst in New Brunswick, the Canadian town where the North Shore Regiment came from.
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© Mairie de ST AUBIN SUR MER
Mentions Légales
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