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SAOBA History Department

History 1940 - 1946

A French tank crew "se rendre" to the Germans in 1940

France, May 1940

The German plan of attack through neutral Belgium and Holland (Manstein plan).

The allies in Belgium are outnumbered and outmanoeuvred by the more modern German Army. 

Once the channel ports are lost, the British-held perimeter shrinks down towards the beaches at Dunkirk.

Britain is humiliated but manages to evacuate 330,000 Soldiers from the beaches. France falls in 3 weeks. 

"The people in the houses were rudely awakened by the din of our tanks, the clatter and roar of tracks and engines. [German] troops lay bivouacked beside the road, military vehicles stood parked in farmyards and in some places on the road itself. Civilians and French troops, their faces distorted with terror, lay huddled in the ditches, alongside hedges and in every hollow beside the road. We passed refugee columns, the carts abandoned by their owners, who had fled in panic into the fields. On we went, at a steady speed, towards our objective... The flat countryside lay spread out around us under the cold light of the moon. We were through the Maginot Line!"
-- Major General Erwin Rommel, commander of the 7th Panzer Division

What has this to do with us?

S.S. VIKING

S.S. VIKING Launched 7th March 1905 Gross Tonnage 1956.76, Length 361ft. Passenger Accomodation 1^st Class 976, 3rd Class 900.

Trial speed 24 knots. Built to compete with the Midland Railway Company's "MANXMAN" she was the first Steam Packet Co ship to be turbine driven, and soon proved her speed by arriving in Douglas from Fleetwood in 2 hours 22 minutes on 25-5-1907 (averaging 23.2 knots) also sailing from Liverpool to Douglas in 3 hours. 

Converted to a seaplane carrier by the Admiralty in World War 1 and renamed HMS VINDEX, she the first ship to launch a wheeled undercarriage plane from her decks, presaging the advent of the aircraft carrier. Attached to the Grand Fleet between 1915 and 1918 she also saw active service in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

Between Wars she was on station with the Steam Packet Co. She was requisitioned for duties in World War 2, in which she evacuated retreating troops from Le Havre and Cherbourg. On a unique mission in 1940 she evacuated almost the entire child population of Guernsey from St Peter Port. running the gauntlet of air attacks and landing the children (1800 in all) at Weymouth. 

Released from War Service in 1945 she sailed the Steam Packet Co routes until she steamed away to the breakers yard on 16-8-1954. leaving a wonderful history of 49 years of service.

Clue 1:

Les Vauxbelets is a De La Salle Brothers' School for Boys, in Guernsey, just off the French coast.

School motto: Vitam Impendere Vero 

Clue 2:

A Newspaper clipping from the North of England

more below...

S.S. HANTONIA

S.S. Hantonia

The ship which carried back the remaining 12 Les Vauxbelets pupils

from Hale back to Guernsey in 1945. Crucially, 150+ local boys remained at St Ambrose College.

*S.S. Hantonia was  a passenger steamer taken into military service in both World War 1 and World War 2. Used to carry troops across the English Channel, then later as Navy accommodation. more info

Who was this man?  

Brother Aldhelm

Eric Heumann

1914 ‒ 2009

With wide embracing love

Thy spirit animates eternal years,

Pervades and broods above,

changes sustains,

dissolves, creates and rears.

There is no room for Death,

nor atom that has might

could render void:

Thou – THOU are Being

and Breath.

And what THOU art may

never be destroyed.

St Ambrose College was in existence before the Irish Christian Brothers took over in 1945/6. 

Sean Fleming's school history, written in 1996 (to celebrate the school's 50th Anniversary) 

described the origins of the St Ambrose College in the wartime evacuation of "Les Vauxbelets", which was 

a de la Salle brothers' school in Guernsey. 

Old Boy Peter Mulhern wanted to find out more about the school he joined in Altrincham during 

the Second World War.  

Old Boy Peter Mulhern recounts his investigation into the origins of our school.

Peter has managed to track down a photocopy of an advertisement about the opening of St Ambrose to locals in 1941 and an article recounting the history of the Les Vauxbelets school in England 1940 - 1945. The information was received from Bro Damian who is the archivist for the de la Salle Brothers. See correspondence on 12 & 13 September 2002 below.

Peter's email to Bro Terence. 

Hi (to Bro Terry)

I went to a college called St Ambrose from 1942 to 1949. It was located in Bowdon, a part of Altrincham some 8 miles south of Manchester. From its inception 1940 to 1946 it was run by some refugee brothers of the de la Salle congregation from Guernsey - Les Vauxbelets College. As I recall the headmaster - "Brother Director" - had a strong French accent, we were encouraged to join "zee cobs", and did. I well recall going to school on Saturday mornings - after all we'd had Wednesday afternoon off for "zee cobs" - and getting "Weekly Reports" - pink, blue or white depending on one's work that week. In 1946 when the brothers returned to Guernsey the school was taken over by the Irish Christian Brothers at very short notice. It is now, as you will know, one of the leading Catholic Boys Grammar Schools in UK. I left the "new" St Ambrose College in December 1949 as the subjects I wished to study were not available in the VI form. 

In 1995/6 St Ambrose College celebrated its 50th aniversary. As a member of the St Ambrose Old Boys Association I pointed out that they were 5 years or so too late!

My queries:

Have you any information on the period of the "exile" in England? In particular I am intrigued by the school motto "Vitam Impendere Vero". This I know is a quote from Vergil's Satires VI - 91 and was a motto much used by Jean Rouseau in connection with education in particular. 

A translation "Risk your life for the truth" would be particularly apposite for refugees. Is my guess that the brothers had a college in Guernsey correct? What was its history? What was its motto?

Any light you can throw on this matter would be most gratefully received by

Peter Mulhern

Reply from Bro Damian:

I am Brother Damian, keeper of the archives of the De La Salle Brothers in Great Britain. I take note of your 

e-mail to Br Terence. Your memory of 1942 to 1945 is quite good. Yes, St Ambrose College owes its origin to 

the school, Les Vauxbelets, evacuated from Guernsey in 1940. The Brother Director was French. There are 

records here of the Brothers' occupation and I will post photocopies of some documents. There is no copyright 

to what I send. I will need to do a bit more research regarding the motto and hope to contact you again.

Kind regards. 

Br Damian.

Peter Mulhern replies. 

(to) Bro Damian
Thanks for your wonderfully swift reply. I look forward to reading the photocopies in due course.
It will be very interesting to see what you can turn up over the motto. A French Bro Director would be very familiar with Rousseau's works, especially on education (Emile) and the idea of sacrificing everything for the truth most apposite for refugees from the Nazi occupation.
Once again
Many thanks
Peter Mulhern

Peter Mulhern responds

And finally...

----- Original Message -----

From: Brother Damian

To: mulhern@mulhern.org.uk

Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 9:31 AM

Subject: RE: Les Vauxbelets & St Ambrose College

It was the Presentation Brothers who took over St Ambrose for a year.
Damian
 

---

From: mulhern@mulhern.org.uk
To: p_bedam@hotmail.com
Subject: Les Vauxbelets & St Ambrose College
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 15:12:44 +0100

Bro. Damian

 

I owe you 10,000 apologies for the discourtesy of not replying straight away to your letter 27.09.07  with which you enclosed a copy of the chapter "Les Vauxbelets College in Guernsey and at Hale". 

 

I read it with the greatest interest as I was as a local boy at St Ambrose from about 1942 to 1949.  So good to see the names of the Bros.  I recall well Bro. Director (Clarence ?) and joining "Zee Cobs"; going to school on Saturday morning - because we'd had Wednesday afternoon off for "Zee Cobs"; and weekly report forms coloured white pink or blue.  While I was with the De La Salle brothers the school was  located in a quite large Victorian  house "Oakleigh" which was in Bowdon, on the A556. In 1946 the College, now under the Irish Christian Brothers after a year with the Presentation Brothers, moved to a large house "Woodeaves"  with extensive  grounds about 2 miles south-east along the A538 from Altrincham on the way to Ringway, now Manchester  International, Airport.

 

Perhaps you can throw some light on the motto "Vitam Impendere Vero". Was it the Les Vauxbelets motto?  It's a quote from Vergil Satires VI - 91 which I'd translate, perhaps too freely, as "Risk your life for the truth". It has connections with Rousseau's  writings on education, "Emile",  and would seem, therefore, particularly apposite for French refugees.

 

Another area of darkness. The De La Salle Bros. left on 10 July 1945. St Ambrose College celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2006. Who provided the staff for the school year 1945/46 ? I think it was the Irish Christian Bros. Any light ?

 

Evacuation of the Guernsey boys & Bros. From a Guernsey Tourist Board site some years ago, perhaps 2003,  a reference to a re-union of Guernsey evacuees says "Prior to the occupation of Guernsey by the German Forces in 1940, 2000 school children were evacuated onboard the SS Viking on 21st June, 1940"  ".....  Perhaps the Viking was the ship on which the Les Vauxbelets people left the island. TSS Viking was a ship, perhaps the fastest of the fleet,  of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. There's a good photo of TSS Viking at
 www.deltatango.freeserve.co.uk/paddlesteamer.html
 The Viking was a turbine screw not a paddle ship but just click on until you come to a list of ships & then on TS Viking.

 

I trust that you're keeping well and that the Bros. continue to flourish.

Peter M

 

S.S. HANTONIA

S.S. Hantonia

The ship which carried back the remaining Lex Vauxbelets pupils

from England (Southampton) back to Guernsey in 1945.

*S.S. Hantonia was  a passenger steamer taken into military service in both World War 1 and World War 2. Used to carry troops across the English Channel, then later as Navy accommodation. more info