X-Nico

42 unusual facts about Pas-de-Calais


1998 in England

26 June - England qualify for the next stage of the World Cup by beating Colombia 2-0 in Lens, with David Beckham scoring the first with a trademark 30 yard free kick, with Darren Anderton the 2nd.

Alexander Lion

Serving in Lens, he rescued wounded and dying soldiers from the battlefield.

Arc International

The company was established in Arques, Pas-de-Calais, where it is still headquartered, as a glass-making firm under the name Verrerie des Sept Ecluses in 1825.

Arc International was established in 1825 in the village of Arques in northern France by Alexander des Lyons de Noircarm, who began production by manufacturing glass storage containers known as "dame-jeanne" (demijohns in English), which were popular at that time.

Basil Horsfall

Between Moyenneville and Ablainzevelle, France, when the enemy attacked Second Lieutenant Horsfall's centre platoon, his three forward sections were driven back and he was wounded in the head by enemy fire.

Battle of Hill 70

The industrial coal city of Lens, France had fallen under German control in October 1914 during the Race to the Sea.

Bon Secours Sisters

For example, in northern France, four large schools which had been started in Lille and Lens to serve the local mining population were closed, based on accusations that they were not in compliance with the institute's approved charter.

Boulogne–Calais railway

The line opened on 7 January 1867 with railway stations at Wimille, Marquise, Caffiers and St Pierre.

Canal de Neufossé

The Canal de Neufossé is a French canal connecting the Aa River in Arques to the Canal d'Aire in Aire-sur-la-Lys.

Cecil Aylmer Cameron

Under the codename EVELYN he was responsible for running spies in German-occupied France and Belgium from stations at Folkestone in England, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and Montreuil in France.

Cecil Wingfield-Stratford

However he was recalled from retirement to serve in World War I in 1914 and held command on the Western Front, taking part in the Battle of Loos in 1915, the capture of Gommecourt on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and was Commander R.E. of the 46th Division when it broke the Hindenburg Line in 1918.

Chartreuse Notre-Dame des Prés

The Chartreuse Notre-Dame des Prés was a Carthusian monastery (Charterhouse) in northern France, at Montreuil, in the Diocese of Arras, now Pas-de-Calais.

Contes

Contes, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in France

Crépy

Crépy, Pas-de-Calais, a commune of France in the Pas-de-Calais département

Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley

As part of General Sir Edmund Allenby's Third Army, the 46th Division was involved in the diversion at Gommecourt on the first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916.

Fritz Knoechlein

It was in his capacity as a company commander that he gained notoriety, being responsible for the 27 May 1940 massacre of British prisoners-of-war at Le Paradis in the Pas-de-Calais.

Geology of East Sussex

For much of its history the Weald had been slowly subsiding basin, but the growth of the Alpine Chain to the south during the Cenozoic caused a reactivation of the Variscan basement basin-bounding faults, the rocks were arched into a broad anticline which stretched across the English Channel to Northern France, the Weald–Artois anticline.

Hampshire Royal Horse Artillery

On 17 February 1917, the division started moving overseas and by 3 March had completed its concentration at Méricourt in France.

Héricourt

Héricourt, Pas-de-Calais, a commune of the Pas-de-Calais département in France

House of Hauteclocque

The House of Hauteclocque is a French noble family established during the Middle-Age by the lords of the fief of Hautecloque.

Hubert Hamilton

On 14 October, Hamilton and several aides-de-camp traveled to the village of La Couture near Béthune on the front lines to witness the situation and had just dismounted from their horses when a large shrapnel shell detonated yards overhead.

Ian Juryeff

In April 2012, he was appointed first-team trainer and technical director at minor French club, US Gonnehem from the Pas-de-Calais department.

Since April 2012, he has been first-team trainer and technical director at minor French club, US Gonnehem from the Pas-de-Calais department.

Incourt

Incourt, Pas-de-Calais, a commune of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France

John Somers-Smith

He fell in action at the opening of the Battle of the Somme offensive on 1 July 1916 during the assault by the 56th (London) Division at Gommecourt.

Legionella

A team of French scientists reviewed the details of an epidemic of Legionnaires' disease that took place in Pas-de-Calais, northern France, in 2003–2004.

Leonard Crunelle

Leonard Crunelle (July 8, 1872 in Lens, Pas-de-Calais – 1944) was an American sculptor.

Margaret of France, Queen of England

Additionally, the English monarchy would regain the key city of Guienne and receive £15,000 owed to Margaret as well as the return of Eleanor of Castile's lands in Ponthieu and Montreuil as a dower first for Margaret, and then Isabella of France.

Michel Graillier

Michel Graillier was a French jazz pianist, born 18 October 1946 in Lens (Pas-de-Calais), died 11 February 2003 in Paris.

Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom

From 1803 to 1805 a new army of 200,000 men, known as the Armée des côtes de l'Océan (Army of the Ocean Coasts) or the Armée de l'Angleterre (Army of England), was gathered and trained at camps at Boulogne, Bruges and Montreuil.

Oppy

Oppy, Pas-de-Calais, a commune of the Pas-de-Calais département, in northern France

Order of battle

Operation Quicksilver, part of the British deception plan for the Invasion of Normandy in World War II, fed German intelligence a combination of true and false information about troop deployments in Britain, causing the Germans to deduce an order of battle which suggested an invasion at the Pas-de-Calais instead of Normandy.

Percival Molson

After recovering from his wounds, he returned to the front lines with his Regiment (PPCLI) and on July 5, 1917, at the outskirts of Avion, Pas-de-Calais near Vimy Ridge in France, Captain Percival Molson was killed by a direct hit from a German howitzer.

Ransart

Ransart, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in France

Richebourg

Richebourg-l'Avoué and Richebourg-Saint-Vaast, former communes of the Pas-de-Calais department, now part of Richebourg

Rouvroy

Rouvroy, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais département in France

Royale-les-Eaux

References in On Her Majesty's Secret Service suggest yet another département: when driving northwards along the N1 (now the D901), James Bond passes a Michelin road sign saying "Montreuil 5, Royale-les-Eaux 10, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage 15".

Roye-Amy Airfield

Presumably this was due to the fortification of the Pas-de-Calais, being believed by the Germans that when the Americans and British tried to land in France to open a Second Front, the airfield would have a key role in the defense of France.

Sarton

Sarton, Pas-de-Calais, a commune of France in the department of Pas-de-Calais

Thomas Poynings, 1st Baron Poynings

In the 1540s, he served King Henry VIII as Marshal of Calais and keeper of the castle at Guînes, then took an active role in the invasion of France in 1544, in particular at Montreuil and the sieges of Boulogne.

Wars of Augustus

GAUL: The Morini and Treveri tribes of Gallia Comata province (Pas-de-Calais region of NE France), rebel against Roman rule and the Suebi Germans cross the Rhine to give them support.

William Farr School

In March 2003 a French school, the College Descartes-Montaigne from Liévin near Lens, was due to send an exchange visit to the school, but this was cancelled due to all schools in the Pas-de-Calais department being told Britain was too dangerous to visit.


Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim

Azeez was chosen as Barisan Nasional(BN)candidate for Pilihan raya umum 2008 against a candidate from the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party(PAS), Uztaz Taib Azamudden Md Taib for the parliament Baling, Kedah but lost with 7613 votes.

Alain Barrière

In 1965 he was offered, and accepted, a leading role in a heist thriller, Pas de panique, alongside Pierre Brasseur.

Bangor Union Station

Maine Central Eastern Division branch line trains to Calais, Bar Harbor, or Bucksport required backing moves to cross the Penobscot River bridge approach upstream of the station.

Bernard-René de Launay

The thirteen years that he spent in this position were uneventful, though on 19 December 1778 he reportedly made the faux pas of failing to fire the cannon of the Bastille as a salute on the birth of a daughter (Madame Royale) to King Louis XVI.

British Rail Class 319

On 10 December 1993 they travelled through the Channel Tunnel to Calais-Fréthun and back with a party of invited guests, after the construction consortium TransManche Link (who were responsible for the construction of the Tunnel) had transferred responsibility for operations and management over to Eurotunnel.

Bukit Kepong Incident

On 21 August 2011, Mohamad Sabu, Deputy President of PAS, made a controversial statement saying that Mat Indera, the leader of the communists during the Bukit Kepong Incident, was a national hero for fighting against British rule.

Calonne

Calonne-Ricouart, commune of the Pas-de-Calais department in France

CASPA

The CASPA or Central Application Service for Physician Assistants is an application service for PAs similar to the Common Application used for some undergraduate students, and the American Medical College Application Service used when applying to medical schools.

Cat and Fiddle Inn

Various etymologies are claimed: some believe it is a corruption of le chat fidèle ('the faithful cat'); others (including Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable) that it comes from 'Caton le Fidèle' (a former governor of Calais); a third theory is that it derives from 'Catherine la Fidèle' (Catherine of Aragon).

Councils of Quierzy

ordered the monks of the abbey of Saint-Calais in the Diocese of Le Mans to return to their monastery, from which they falsely claimed to have been expelled by their bishop.

Fort Risban

Edward III of England's troops, finding the defences of Calais impenetrable, decided to erect a small fort to prevent any supplies reaching the town by sea, with a view to starving the inhabitants into submission.

Gommecourt, Pas-de-Calais

The victorious German troops who defended the village during the battle were the 52nd Infantry Division from Baden together with 2nd Guards Reserve Division from Westphalia; the British Army force taking part in the attack comprised the 56th (London) Division and the 46th (North Midland) Division.

Guînes

When the French captured the town of Calais in January 1558, Guisnes held out, by the courageous efforts of the English commander, William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton.

Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence

The ceremony however took place in secret at Calais on 11 July 1469, conducted by Isabel Neville's Uncle George Neville, archbishop of York.

Jacquemart de Hesdin

Hesdin, the town from which he took his name, was a fortified citadel in the Pas-de-Calais, then part of Flanders and a stronghold of the Dukes of Burgundy.

James Audley

In 1360 he took the fortress of Chaven in Brittany, as well as the castle of Ferte-sous-Jouarre, and was present at Calais when peace was made between England and France in October 1360.

Je voudrais pas crever

In 2009, fifty years after Vian's death, a wave of books about him and his work as well as re-issues of his books (including no fewer than thirty-three Le Livre de poche editions) proved that Vian is more popular than ever, as the French magazine Le Point stated; one of the new books is a reissue of Je voudrais pas crever, illustrated by Jacques de Loustal and others.

John Mennes

Mennes was himself satirised by John Denham, whose poem about Mennes going from Calais to Boulogne to "eat a pig" is mentioned by Samuel Pepys in his diary.

John Woodville

Before leaving Calais to support the uprising, Warwick had published a manifesto citing the Woodvilles in general, and the Earl and John Woodville specifically, as his reason for supporting Clarence against the King.

Les Halles

Part of the actual demolition of the site is featured in the 1974 film Touche pas à la femme blanche (Don't Touch the White Woman!), which iconoclastically restages General Custer's 'last stand' in a distinctly French context in and around the area.

Loïc Lantoine

Loïc Lantoine is a French singer and songwriter born in Armentières, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.

Montreuil, Pas-de-Calais

He recounted his visit through the eyes of the narrator of his novel A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy (1768).

MV Volcan de Tacande

After 7 December 1997, during operation between Calais - Dover, the SeaFrance Monet was laid up in Dunkerque.

Operation Acid Drop

Each raid consisted of one officer and 14 men, their targets were the beaches at Hardelot and Merlimont in the Pas-de-Calais, France with the aim of carrying out reconnaissance and if possible, to capture a German soldier.

PAS/CAL

After an exhaustive two years spent writing & recording their debut LP, I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura, which was released on July 22, 2008 via Le Grand Magistery, PAS/CAL disbanded.

Robert Majzels

Governor General's Award for French to English translation for Just Fine, from the French Pas Pire, by France Daigle (2000).

Rover Light Six

The act to promote the new Rover Light Six in a headline-grabbing campaign was the brainchild of former motorcycle tester and pioneer publicist Dudley Noble, in which a Light Six was to race the Blue Train across France from Calais to St Raphael on the Côte d'Azur.

Ruins of the Reich

Part 3 - Warsaw Ghetto, Gestapo headquarters, Pawiak Prison, Palmiry massacre site, Oskar Schindler's Deutsche Emalia Fabrika, Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Fermont, Immerhof and Hackenberg on the Maginot Line, Compiègne, tomb of Napoleon and the German submarine pens and Cross-Channel guns in Normandy and the Pas-de-Calais.

San Ferry Ann

Wordlessly, with soundtrack and sound effects, it tells the story of a holiday crossing from Dover to Calais.

Shrigley abduction

Edward Wakefield and Ellen had to follow them, and he took her to Calais.

SNCF Class Z 23500

They are mainly used on stopping services around the French Riviera (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), Lille (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) and Lyon (Rhône-Alpes).

Taxiarchis Fountas

Fountas scored his first goal for the club in a 1-0 win against Platanias on 28 October 2012, thus becoming the youngest player to score for AEK at the age of 17 years and 54 days.He scored another goal against Veria FC on 18 October 2012 and another one against PAS Giannina F.C. on 3 November 2012.

TER-GV

At the northern end of the LGV Nord in Calais-Fréthun, the train continues on the conventional line at lower speed toward Boulogne, Etaples and Rang.

The Pas

In Canada and elsewhere, the book is used as part of school reading, and so despite its size, The Pas is widely known to several generations of Canadians, much as the town of Hannibal, Missouri is known to many from Mark Twain's writings.

The World Triathlon

The World Triathlon consists of a 275 mile (about 442.6 kilometers) swim along the length of the River Thames and across the English Channel, then a 8,875 mile bike ride from Calais, France to Calcutta, India.

Thierry Paulin

The 1994 movie J'ai pas sommeil (I Can't Sleep), by director Claire Denis (Chocolat, No Fear No Die) was based on the Paulin case.

Thomas Waterman Wood

As examples of his work in this direction the following may be mentioned: The Yankee Pedlar had for its model a tin peddler known as "Snapping Tucker", a resident of Calais, Vermont.

Todd Bolender

Describing him in Jerome Robbins’ The Concert, she writes: “he was a henpecked husband who constantly escaped into daydreams of sexual conquest. Clad in a vest and long underwear and chewing on a huge cigar, he was the prototype of ... J. Walter Mitty.” Longtime New York City Ballet observer Robert Garis said of him in Agon, “his easy wit and charm in the first pas de trois seem unrecapturable” (ibid.)