Ancient Fourcés…

A fortified Gascon village located in the department of Gers, at an altitude of 88m, in the canton of MONTREAL-DU-GERS, at 12 km from the subprefecture of CONDOM, the village of FOURCES is characterized by its circular shape.

Its history makes Fources one of the jewels of ARMAGNAC.

At the end of the first millennium, the seigneury of Fourcés was one of the most important of Gascony.
At this time, the seigneurial residence was situated on the central Place.
Fourcés and the surrounding territory depended of the château and formed a complete seigneury with its military, legal, fiscal, vassal and rural rights.
A Charter in 1068 certifies the existence of this fortified village located in a loop of the river Auzoue.

Before the year 1020, when a very difficult period began for the province of Gascony (it was coveted by powerful Aquitaine), Brigitte de Fourcés' voice was heard ; she was Guillaume de Fourcés' wife and Guillaume de Gascogne' grand daughter.

Brigitte and her family were the heart and soul of the Gascon resistance, facing the dangers coming from Aquitaine, but the annexation of Gascony followed in 1064 after the bloody battle of La Castelle.

A century later, Pérégrin de Fourcés was the IX° abbot of the powerful abbey of Condom.
In 1240, Géraud de Fourcés' property spread over Larroque, Beaumont, Lauraët et Lagraulet.
In 1279, The Treaty of Amiens took Fourcés out of Gascony and into the possession of the English.
Edward I, King of England, created peers of the Lords of Fourcés and annexed the seigneury to the Crown.

Fourcés came back into French possession after the Saint Sardos war. But, during the Hundred Years War, Fourcés changed hands many times. In 1352, Guillaume and Jourdain de Fourcés joined forces with the King of France and in 1378, Thomelin de Fourcés escorted DUGUESCLIN to Spain.

On May 13th 1488, Charles VII, King of France, ordered the destruction of the castle of Fourcés wich was situated on the Place in the centre of the village, for " felony and disloyalty ". It was rebuilt again by Bertrand de Fourcés in 1491 at its present location.


Another page of History...
      Memories of the Resistance...

It is 1942, the second year of France’s occupation by the German army. We live life as best we can with our ration cards and news from the war that has become global. There is a heartfelt wish that all this will soon all be over. It was in November of this year that some of the villagers of Fources became members of the “Active Resistance”, their headquarters being the café and forge belonging to Alice and Joseph DARROUX. Among those meeting at the café with Joseph and Alice were Eloi CASTAY, Danton FILHOL, Sainte FAUSTE and BACQUIRE the village primary school teacher. They were later joined by two more Fources inhabitants, Yvan DUPEYRON and Paul PAILHES.

It was in a place called ‘Lacave’, a farm away from the village, kept by the LABADIE family, that the decision was taken to designate a landing area for allied parachute drops. Throughout the rest of the German occupation this courageous family of Gascon country folk were to collect the clandestine parachute drops, whether they were of English or Polish aviators, communications equipment or munitions supplies; all this despite the risks involved.

The first of these drops came in 1943 (the code from the BBC in London that day was “the red casserole is on the table”) and was followed by many others right up until the liberation. One night a drop ended badly. The aircaraft was flying too low and collided with the tops of the tree canopy, crashing in the forest. Luckily the 15 containers full of arms were safely collected by the resistance members and the seven air crew treated and hidden at the LABADIE farm and in the village attic of Alice and Joseph DARROUX’s café.

Despite the German patrols, causing many anxious moments for our Resistance friends, the members of the aircrew escaped to Spain and eventually to London. In November of 1943, after another parachute drop, a message was found in the container written in French. It was a thank you to the LABADIE family and “a big kiss for Alice” On the 3rd January 1944 Alice was sent 15 escapees from the Eysses prison, still dressed in convict suits. They were to be hidden on the LABADIE farm until their escape to Spain via the Pyrenees.

At this point the Fources Resistance fighters joined the Gascon Movement whose English commander “Hilaire” had come from London and in Alice’s back kitchen he tasted and enjoyed her cooking, expressing a great liking for the “tourrin blanchi”
There were to be many more incidents and dramas for our brave fighters during this period, notably the 21st June 1944 when a German column attacked a resistance encampment in nearby Castlenau sur Auvignon, killing eleven Resistance fighters and three civilians.

Paying respect to these fighters and to the liberation, Alice, who is today no longer with us, wrote the following:-

“I will not throw a veil over this period. Our lives were exposed to uncommon events and conditions. I hope my children and grandchildren will recount these events and from time to time, think of Alice”

Alice DARROUX died in Fources in 1997 aged 92. These extracts were taken from her ‘Memories of the Resistance in Fources’ with the kind permission of the DARROUX family.

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