La dernière patrouille de l’UC 61

In 2017, accompanied by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lesoin, Chris Heal addressed a conference of over 200 residents and tourists at the French holiday town of Wissant, south of Calais. The subject was the wreck of UC-61 still to be found on the beach, a short distance from the resort, 100 years after its stranding in WW1.

The conference was organised by Art et Histoire de Wissant. It aroused so much interest on the day, and later, that the organisers approached Dr Heal and asked if they might abstract from his book, Sound of Hunger, that material related to the u-boat and its captain, Georg Gerth, and his crew.

The result was a labour of love by Lesoin who translated the story into French and added further items and memories uncovered after the conference. The detailed booklet is called La dernière patrouille de l’UC 61 and is available for sale from Art et Histoire de Wissant, 3 rue du Calvaire des Marins, 62179 Wissant, France for €15.