René la Combe

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René la Combe dit Bottin alias Melville, born in Combrée (Maine-et-Loire) and died in Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Maine-et-Loire) at 79, was a politician and leader of the French Resistance, Compagnon de la Libération by decree of 19 October 1945, medal of the Resistance, Croix de Guerre 39-45, Medal of the Evadés, and appointed Commander of the Legion of Honor, by decree on 30 March 1987.

Biography

Family
Son of Louis la Combe (1878-1951), knight of the Legion of Honour, diplomat, consul of France, and of Élisabeth Veillon de La Garoullaye (1878-1958). Louis la Combe served successively in London (1907-1912), Cyprus (1912-1914), Newcastle (1914-1919), Warsaw (1919-1920), Manchester (October 1920 - January 1921) and London (1921-1935) alongside Aimé Joseph de Fleuriau, Ambassador of France. Louis La Combe became friends with the royal family of England during his 25 years in England. After his diplomatic career, Louis la Combe returned to France and became mayor of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Maine-et-Loire) from 1936 to 1947, where the family home acquired by his grandfather, Count Paul la Combe in 1852. René had an older brother, Claude, born in 1905 in Paris, who died in 1984 in Combrée.

René la Combe married in 1946, Jacqueline Raspay (Cavaillon 1923 - Paris 2013) met during the Resistance in Nîmes at the age of 18. They will have three children, Jérome (1947), Anne (1950) and Frédéric (1965) and a half-brother René-Francois Teissèdre (1945), an art dealer, born in Jacqueline's first marriage with Robert Teissèdre. Jerome married Sabine Yon on 23 May 1972. They have four children, France, Benjamin, Gautier, Nathanael. Anne married Luis Munoz-Bastide in Valencia (Spain) in 1975. They have two daughters, Elisa and Isis. René-François married Béatrice Darlay. They have two children, Fabrice and Aurore.

Second World War
René La Combe lived as a child in Poland and England and completed his studies at the French high school in London. He performs his military service in Engineering. Engaged at 21, he was posted to the General Engineering Reserve in Strasbourg from 1936 to 1938.

Performed at the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division commanded by General Fortune, he was taken prisoner at Saint-Valery-en-Caux, during the encirclement by the troops of General Rommel and sent to Weinsberg near Stuttgart. In , he was transferred to Stalag V-A in Ludwigsburg (Württemberg). He does not hear the call of June 18 but listens to Pétain's calling for armistice. It was in the prison camps that he was told of General de Gaulle.

The , he escapes. In the Gard, he became the liaison officer of Albert Thomas, who was departmental head of the Secret Army. Recognised by Henri Frenay, founder of Combat, René la Combe became head of the movement in Alès and deputy leader of AS René Pagès. He was appointed deputy leader of the NAP-fer René Hardy under the name "Bottin" (Noy