Event Venues
Explore the memorials, museums, and trailhead towns that host ELMS ceremonies and Freedom Trails.
Find practical details about ceremonies, memorials, and trailhead towns that feature in the ELMS calendar. Each venue page highlights the site’s role, together with travel tips and partner contacts where available.
Featured Venues
Brussels
Brussels is the starting point for numerous Comète Line commemorations. Memorial plaques across Ixelles, Anderlecht and Schaerbeek mark the safe houses where helpers such as the de Jongh, de Greef and Nothomb families sheltered Allied...
View venue detailsItalian Freedom Trail
The Italian Freedom Trail traces the escape routes that crossed the Maiella and Gran Sasso ranges after the 1943 Armistice. Centred on Sulmona (Campo 78) and the Abruzzo National Park, the commemorative walk connects villages that hid...
View venue detailsMaribor
Maribor, Slovenia, serves as the hub for ELMS-linked commemorations of the Drava Valley escape routes. Resistance fighters moved Allied aircrew from safe houses in the Pohorje Mountains through Maribor’s rail yards before directing them...
View venue detailsMonkBar Hotel
The DoubleTree by Hilton York (formerly the Monkbar Hotel) hosts the annual ELMS reunion. The venue provides conference rooms for lectures, remembrance services and the society’s AGM, with accommodation for veterans, helpers’ families and...
View venue detailsNational Memorial Arboretum
The National Memorial Arboretum (Alrewas, Staffordshire) is home to the Escape Lines Memorial, dedicated to the helpers, escapers and evaders of World War II. ELMS holds annual wreath-laying ceremonies at the memorial during the autumn...
View venue detailsPays Basque
The Basque Country forms the final stage of the Comète Freedom Trail, linking villages such as Urrugne, Sare, Ainhoa and Zugarramurdi. These communities sheltered Allied aircrew before guides escorted them across the Pyrenees into Spain...
View venue detailsRumes & Bachy
Rumes and Bachy, twin villages on the Belgian-French border, commemorate the recueils (gathering points) of the Comète Line. Helpers here sheltered Allied aircrew after the Brussels safe houses, guiding them across the frontier toward...
View venue detailsSaint-Girons
Saint-Girons, Ariège, is the gateway to the Chemin de la Liberté. During 1940–44 the town’s “Cité de la Résistance” sheltered Allied evaders before guides led them toward the high passes of the central Pyrenees. The Maison des Chemins de la...
View venue detailsSaint-Jean-de-Luz (Basque Coast)
Saint-Jean-de-Luz served as a safe harbour for Comète Line couriers. Local fishing families ferried Allied aircrew to Spanish waters and provided final rest before the Pyrenean crossing. The port hosts commemorations during the Basque...
View venue detailsSaint-Jean-de-Luz, France
Saint-Jean-de-Luz on the French Basque coast was a vital staging point for Comète Line escapers. Local fishermen ferried aircrew to the Spanish border, while safe houses in the port district fed and clothed them before the mountain...
View venue detailsServigliano (Campo PG 59)
Servigliano in the Marche region was home to POW Camp PG 59. The preserved camp barracks and the “Casa della Memoria” museum mark the starting point for the Tenna Valley Freedom Trail, honouring civilians who shepherded escaped prisoners...
View venue detailsSulmona (Campo 78)
Sulmona, Abruzzo, was the site of POW Camp 78 and a key waypoint on Italian escape routes after September 1943. Local families and the Liceo Scientifico students continue to support the Italian Freedom Trail, guiding walkers through the...
View venue detailsTenna Valley Freedom Trail
The Tenna Valley Freedom Trail takes place in the Marche region of Italy, following the wartime routes used to move Allied POWs from the Sangro and Moro front lines to safety. Villages such as Smerillo, Monte San Martino and Force hid...
View venue detailsValencay
Valençay, in France’s Indre department, hosts the memorial to the Special Operations Executive (F Section). Each May, ELMS members join French officials to honour agents and helpers who supported escape lines throughout occupied France.
View venue detailsVictory Services Club
The Victory Services Club in London provides a base for ELMS veterans and families during capital-based commemorations. Located on Seymour Street near Marble Arch, the club hosts lectures, fundraising dinners and meetings with partner...
View venue detailsYork (City Centre)
York city centre provides satellite venues for ELMS reunion activities, including civic receptions and remembrance services held at historic churches within the city walls.
View venue detailsYork/Malton
York/Malton (Extended) denotes the wider North Yorkshire countryside used for ELMS battlefield walks and remembrance visits, including Eden Camp Museum and the Howardian memorial sites linked to RAF Elvington operations.
View venue detailsYork/Malton
The York/Malton venue descriptor covers field visits around RAF Elvington and the Howardian Hills undertaken during ELMS reunions. Activities include memorial services at local churches and site tours of wartime airfields used by French and...
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