Born in Lisieux in 1911, Daniel Desmeulles studied law and history, which he taught at the Lycée d’Alençon in the 1930s. When the Second World War broke out, he was called up as an officer and showed determination and bravery. Demobilised in 1940, he returned to his job as a teacher for a year before joining the Resistance in September 1941. He became head of the departmental network under the pseudonym “Gérard”, the name of his third child. His network organised sabotage missions as well as parachute drops, petrol supplies and the creation of intelligence networks. The Germans tried to arrest Daniel, but he narrowly escaped in January 1944. His escape ended a few months later, in June. Captured by the Gestapo, he was taken to the Château des Ducs for interrogation.
He left with 6 other prisoners (5 were shot on the way) and wanted to be shot along with the others, but the head of the Gestapo (Hildebrandt) refused, saying of him “You can’t shoot a man like that”. After this episode, he was sent to various camps before being liberated by the British army in April 1945.
Exhausted by typhus, he died in May 1945 during an operation. He was posthumously decorated “Commander of the French Forces of the Interior” on 15 October. A square in the Lancrel district of Alençon was named after him on 21 March 1947.
