An almost forgotten Memorial (update: It's my great great uncle! )

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The expeditions led by Georges-Marie Haardt and Louis Audoin Dubreuil principally using Citroën ‘autochenille’ half-tracked vehicles in the 1920s and 30s that began with their trans-Sahara crossing are reasonably well-known and documented. When we were in Paris for Rétromobile, but visiting elsewhere in the city, we were though surprised to find a memorial to Haardt, his colleagues, André Citroën, and his vehicles. It is located at the Hôtel des Invalides, but tucked away in a stair-well. The most conspicuous building on the site is the church of the Dome with Napoleon’s tomb therein, but the Hôtel, originally built to house disabled soldiers, covers several hectares and has two long passageways running through it, the memorial being off the eastern one. Why it was erected in the Invalides, when, and who created it remains unknown to me. I have contacted a number of knowledgeable Citroën enthusiasts, but they have been as surprised by it, and its location, as we were. Can someone please enlighten us?

(Text Leo McAllam, photos editor RB)

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