"Hallo, I am thrilled to discover this site. I live in Lismore, Australia. My father, Jean Kervroedan escaped in a fishing boat, the Dalch Mad, from Douarnenez and arrived at Newlyn in April 1943. There were I think 19 men on that boat, including a Canadian airman. My father passed away a year ago, and I am going to be visiting Douarnenez in August, but decided to also visit Penzance for a couple of days in the hope of finding further information for a book I'd like to write about my parents. I will be in the Newlyn area on the 24th and 25th August. If anyone responds to this post, perhaps we can get in touch.
Many thanks,
Yvonne Hartman"
Dalc'h Mad means 'hang on' - so this is one of things that doesn't translate easily. This may be the boat after the same family's boat mentioned in the comment above (Bihen like Behan in Irish Gallic means little)- there is another photo and story on the Free French web site of the vessel and story Yvonne mentioned. To get a rough translation of the story - highlight the text and copy (CTRL+C), go to the Google home page, More and select translate - paste (CTRL+V) the text copied.
Dalc'h Mad from a Breton blog.
Hello, Yvonne Hartman here. I am new at this blogging business, so I apologise for not posting my details. I was most excited to see a response to my enquiries. I am aware of the Free French site, and I also have a copy of the report the master of the Dalch Mad made after the voyage. My father told me the boat had remained at Newlyn for many years after the war, but I think it has been returned to Douarnenez now. My father always impressed upon me the close links between Cornwall and Brittany in terms of gaelic culture.
ReplyDeleteMy email address if anyone would like to contact me is: harty617@gmail.com