Wimereux

Wimereux
Wimeruwe
Commune
Wimereux
Coat of arms
Location of Wimereux
Wimereux
Wimereux
Coordinates: 50°46′N 1°37′E / 50.77°N 1.61°E / 50.77; 1.61
CountryFrance
RegionHauts-de-France
DepartmentPas-de-Calais
ArrondissementBoulogne-sur-Mer
CantonBoulogne-sur-Mer-1
IntercommunalityBoulonnais
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Jean-Luc Dubaële[1]
Area
1
7.71 km2 (2.98 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[2]
6,256
 • Density811/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
62893 /62930
Elevation0–71 m (0–233 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Wimereux (French: [vim(ə)ʁø]; West Flemish: Wimeruwe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France[3] 5 kilometres (3 mi) north of Boulogne-sur-Mer, on the banks of the small river Wimereux. The river Slack forms the northern border of the commune and the English Channel the western.

History

In March 1899 the first radio link between France and England was established at Wimereux by Guglielmo Marconi.[4]

During the First World War a number of hospitals were created at Wimereux:

  • The Women's Hospital Corps (WHC), founded by Flora Murray and Louisa Garratt Anderson, opened its second hospital at Chateau Mauricien in Wimereux.[5] WHC was the first women's hospital to be recognised by the British Army.[6]
  • Lady Hadfield set up and ran the 'Anglo-American' Red Cross hospital in Wimereux under the Anglo-French Hospitals committee of the British Red Cross; the Matron was Mrs De Winton.[7][5]
  • 'The British Hospital' was established by Sir Henry Norman and his wife Priscilla Norman who became the Lady Superintendent of the hospital, which had 102 beds and was at the Hotel Belle Vue, Wimereux.[5] Dr Grey was in charge of the hospital supported by Matron Mary Foster-Elliot.[8][9]
  • The 'Australian Hospital' was on the sea front. Colonel Eames was the Commanding Officer, and the Matron was Miss Ida Greaves; it had an x-ray department and a high number of ambulances - about thirty.[5]

In 1916, Solomon J Solomon set up a Royal Engineers establishment, the Special Works Park, in a disused feldspar factory and developed new military camouflage techniques and equipment for the British Army.[10]

People

Twin towns

Wimereux is twinned with the following towns:

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 5,241—    
1975 6,712+3.60%
1982 7,023+0.65%
1990 7,109+0.15%
1999 7,493+0.59%
2007 7,398−0.16%
2012 7,161−0.65%
2017 6,575−1.69%
Source: INSEE[12]
  • The beach at Wimereux
  • Beach huts
  • The west front of the church
  • The war memorial
  • The seafront promenade
  • Villa «La Frégate»
  • Villas on the seafront
  • Villa «De Sonis»
  • Plaque commemorating wireless link-up between France and England
  • High tide along the beachfront
  • The beach crowded with people at lower tide

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 9 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.
  3. ^ INSEE commune file
  4. ^ "Guglielmo Marconi". National Trust. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d "Hospitals at Wimereux and Le Touquet". Nursing Times. 11 (505). 2 January 1915.
  6. ^ GEDDES, JENNIAN F (1 January 2007). "Deeds and Words in the Suffrage Military Hospital in Endell Street". Medical History. 51 (1): 79–98. doi:10.1017/s0025727300000909. ISSN 0025-7273. PMC 1712367. PMID 17200698.
  7. ^ "Lady Hadfield, Obituary". The Times. 8 November 1949.
  8. ^ "Work in Great Britain Sending Nurses to the Front". Nursing Times. 10 (496). 31 October 1914.
  9. ^ "Work in Great Britain". Nursing Times. 10 (497). 7 November 1914.
  10. ^ Rankin, Nicholas (2008). Churchill's Wizards - the British genius for deception, 1914 - 1945. London: Faber and Faber. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-571-22195-0.
  11. ^ The CWGC cemetery
  12. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
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