In August 2011, The Ulysses Trust led the planning and funding of a Tri-Service expedition of 11 Reservists, from the RNR, TA and RAuxAF that retraced the steps of perhaps the hardest and most famous wartime escape routes, ‘Le Chemin de la Liberté’, over the Pyrenees from France into Spain on Ex ODYSSEY.
Le Chemin de la Liberté, ‘The Freedom Trail’, was used between 1939 and 1944 by 3,000 allied airmen to escape from German-occupied France to continue fighting the war. The allied airmen, and other fugitives including as many as 30,000 free-French fighters and Jewish refugees, were named the ‘évadés’. Their route began by jumping from a moving train before the River Salat in St-Girons near Toulouse when two blasts of the train’s whistle warned of the train’s approach to the bridge. They were then collected by waiting French guides and hidden in refuges. As night fell, they made the perilous journey through the Massif de Couserans to Esterri d’Aneu in Spain in darkness.
The Reservists took 4 days to cover the 72 km route, tackling steep climbs, ravines of packed ice and over boulder fields. Spending the night at 7,408 feet amongst circling griffin vultures was all part of the challenge.
After 12 months of planning and selecting the participants, Ex ODYSSEY was the first expedition of its kind, both planned and funded wholly by the Ulysses Trust. The £10,000 needed to run the expedition was granted entirely by The Ulysses Trust, a charity that provides financial assistance to UK Reservists and Cadets to undertake challenging expeditions. The Trust’s objectives are to help individuals acquire new skills and experiences, promote team working, initiative and self-reliance, thus emerging better able to serve the community of which they are part.
Upon return, Sqn Ldr Jonathan White said: “We learnt a lot from these activities and had much to reflect upon on the journey home. Like all successful adventurous training, the week took us out of our comfort zone and exposed us all to activities that helped to build our self-confidence and develop teamwork. We faced and overcame personal fears and trepidations as well as many physical challenges to complete the expedition, which was a great success and a satisfying, hugely enjoyable, experience for every member of the team”.
Colonel Julian Radcliffe OBE QVRM TD, Chairman of The Ulysses Trust, said he was “delighted” to have been able to support the expedition: “I know that the Reservists who took part have a deep interest in the history of the challenges faced by the évadés in the Second World War and were able, through the adventure they experienced in retracing their steps, to return to the UK better able to serve the communities of which they are part”.
Ex Odyssey 2011 is just one of around 100 expeditions that The Ulysses Trust financially supports on an annual basis, of which half are undertaken by Cadets.
27 Oct 2011