André Girard (born 22 April 1909 in

Cahors Cahors (; oc, Caors ) is a commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitanie Region. The main city of the Lot department and the historical center of the Que ...

, died 4 June 1993 in

La Mulatière La Mulatière () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. The city is known, among other things, for its Aquarium du Grand Lyon. Population See also *Communes of the Metropolis of Lyon The ...

, near

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

) was a French civil servant and Resistance worker with the ALLIANCE network.

Life

Pre-war

Girard worked for the ''Société d'exploitation industrielle des tabacs et des allumettes'' in France from 1929 onwards.

French Resistance

He was captured at the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on t ...

in 1940, but escaped from Germany in 1941 to Brive-la-Gaillarde and soon joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. Under the pseudonym "Pointer", Girard was the regional head of the Alliance or "Arche de Noé" resistance network in occupied France from 1940 to 1945, the only network whose supreme commander was a woman,

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade Marie-Madeleine Fourcade (11 August 1909 – 20 July 1989) was the leader of the French Resistance network "Alliance", under the code name "Hérisson" ("Hedgehog") after the arrest of its former leader, Georges Loustaunau-Lacau (“Navarre”), d ...

(Alias "Hérisson"). This network was notable for giving almost all of its three thousand agents codenames based on animals :

Bleu d'Auvergne Bleu d'Auvergne () is a French blue cheese, named for its place of origin in the Auvergne (province), Auvergne region of south-central France. It is made from cow's milk, and is one of the cheeses granted the Appellation d'origine contrôlée fr ...

, Setter, Labrador, Bichon, Abeille, Aigle... Divided up by region, the network's central command was "Hôpital" (centre-west sector), which Girard led from 1943 to September 1944. In 1944, his sector numbered 185 main agents across 16

départements A department (, ) is an administrative or political division in several countries. Departments are the first-level divisions of 11 countries, nine in the Americas and two in Africa. An additional 10 countries use departments as second-level div ...

, from south of the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

to north of the

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – ...

, a sector particularly marked by the

Tulle Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Cat ...

and

Oradour-sur-Glane Oradour-sur-Glane (; oc, Orador de Glana) was a commune in the Haute-Vienne department, New Aquitaine, west central France, as well as the name of the main village within the commune. History The original village was destroyed on 10 June 194 ...

massacres. Its agents were from diverse social backgrounds – the mayor of

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

and colonel in the reserve Léonce Vieljeux, the student Roland Creel, the vicar of Tulle cathedral Charles Lair, the usselois doctor Jean Sirieix, the

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

commissioner Henry Castaing, the briviste businessman Pierre Bordes, the secretary-general to the council of

Guéret Guéret (; Occitan: ''Garait'') is a commune and the prefecture of the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France. Geography Guéret is a light industrial town, the largest in the department, with a big woodland a ...

Roland Deroubaix, the creusois lawyer René Nouguès or the electrician Vincent Renaud, as well as civil servants, peasants, surgeons, railway workers, architects, and ushers. On 30 June 1945, charged with a mission of the utmost importance for the ''Direction générale des études et recherches'' and promoted to captain, he was

demobbed Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

at his own request. Returning to his pre-war job, he was transferred to the tobacco factory at Riom before becoming administrative director and inspector of the tobacco factory at

until his retirement. He also succeeded

Jacques Soustelle Jacques Soustelle (3 February 1912 – 6 August 1990) was an important and early figure of the Free French Forces, a politician who served in the French National Assembly and at one time served as Governor General of Algeria, an anthropologist s ...

on the municipal council of

in 1962 under

Louis Pradel Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

. He was for several years the national treasurer of the Old Comrades association for the ALLIANCE network. He published his war memoirs in 1965 with éditions France-Empire under the title "Le temps de la méprise". He is buried in the cemetery at Saint-Sauves d'Auvergne.

Medals

Officier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

* Croix de guerre 1939–1945, 2 citations *

Médaille de la Résistance The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...

Médaille des évadés The Escapees' Medal (french: Médaille des Évadés) is a military award bestowed by the government of France to individuals who were prisoners of war and who successfully escaped internment or died as a result of their escape attempt. The "Esca ...

* Croix du combattant volontaire *

Croix du combattant volontaire de la Résistance Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

Insigne des blessés militaires The Medal for the War Wounded (french: Médaille des blessés de guerre) was originally a mere insignia in the form of an ribbon awarded for wounds received in the line of duty while facing an enemy. The insignia was established by the law of 11 De ...

* Croix du combattant de l'Europe * Croix d'honneur du mérite Franco-britannique *

King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom The King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom is a British medal for award to foreign nationals who aided the Allied effort during the Second World War. Eligibility Instituted on 23 August 1945, the medal was a reward to foreign nationals ...

(UK)

Sources

* ''Le temps de la méprise'', by André Girard, éditions France-Empire, 1965 * ''L'arche de noé'', by

, éditions

Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayard ...

, 1968 * ''Les SS en Limousin, Quercy et Périgord'', by Georges Beau and Léopold Gaubusseau, éditions des Presses de la Cité, 1969 * ''

, un chef de la Résistance'', by Michèle Cointet, éditions Perrin, 2006 * ''Centre national d'études de la Résistance et de la Déportation

Edmond Michelet Edmond Michelet (8 October 1899 – 9 October 1970) was a French politician. He is the father of the writer Claude Michelet. On 17 June 1940, he distributed tracts calling to continue the war in all Brive-la-Gaillarde's mailboxes. It is consid ...

'', 4 rue Champanatier, 19100 Brive-la-Gaillarde

External links

Site
on André Girard and the Alliance network {{DEFAULTSORT:Girard, Andre 1909 births 1993 deaths People from Cahors French Resistance members Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Resistance Medal Recipients of the King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom French prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany French escapees Escapees from German detention French Army personnel of World War II