The Sussex Network

It was the casual remark made in the 1980s by a friend in Paris that led to my discovery of a little-known piece of Second World War history – the Sussex Network. ‘Did I know,’ my friend asked, ‘about the café in rue Tournefort where la patronne sheltered allied airmen during the war?’

I did not, but thinking it worth investigation I set off – only to find that the café had just closed down. Disappointed and fearing that the owner had died (my friend said she had run the café since 1928) I pushed a note through the door and thought no more about it until a few weeks later when I received a letter informing me that the owner, Andrée Goubillon, was alive and well and would be happy to meet me and tell me her story.