Le mémorial de Veluché

On November 16, 1939, it was decided to set up a Polish army camp on the Veluché site, on the edge of the Airvault commune, on land that today belongs to the cement works. The land was requisitioned from private individuals at the time. The official name of the camp was "Camp de circonstance de Saint-Loup-sur-Thouet", which was to be used for the incorporation and training of 32,000 fighting units of the 2nd and 4th Polish divisions. Once the units had been formed, they were distributed to neighboring farms to undergo the necessary military training. The Veluché camp served as a base camp and military depot for all these units. Two books have been published on this subject: Un Camp en Deux-Sèvres, 1939-1941, by Mattieu Manceau & Airvaudais-Val du Thouet, miroir de la seconde guerre mondiale, by Souvenir Français, on sale.