Creation of EMPs 1884 (≈ 1884)
Fondation des Écoles Militaires Preparations in France.
1886
Opening of Billom School
Opening of Billom School 1886 (≈ 1886)
Installation in the former Jesuit college.
1927
Project launch
Project launch 1927 (≈ 1927)
Choice of location and national subscription.
13 mai 1928
Opening of the monument
Opening of the monument 13 mai 1928 (≈ 1928)
At the Ancient Students Congress.
13 septembre 2019
Historical monument classification
Historical monument classification 13 septembre 2019 (≈ 2019)
Registration by official order.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The monument to the dead of the Troop Children, sis avenue Cohalion (Box AD 30): inscription by order of 13 September 2019
Key figures
Robert Delandre - Sculptor
Author of the Patriotic Lock in 1928.
Origin and history
The Monument to the Dead of Billom's Troop Children, made of limestone, represents an allegory of the Victoire housing two children of the military school under his coat, in front of a cannon. A young soldier lies at their feet. This monument, entitled Patriotic Serment, is one of only two in France to honour specifically the students of the Preparatory Military Schools (EMPs) who died during the First World War. It depicts children not as passive victims, but as combatants sacrificed for the homeland.
The EMPs, created in 1884, formed teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, sons of military men. During the 1914-18 war, those of combat age (17-18 years) were sent to the front, and many died. The school of Billom, opened in 1886 in a former Jesuit college, decided in the 1920s to erect this monument. A committee formed in 1927 to choose its location (in front of the field of Mars, place of exercise of the troupe children) and launch a national subscription, supplemented by a municipal grant.
Norman sculptor Robert Delandre was responsible for the creation. The monument was inaugurated on 13 May 1928 at the National Congress of the Former EMP Students in Clermont. Ranked a historic monument in 2019, it is now located on Cohalion Avenue in Billom. Its originality lies in the representation of children as actors of patriotic sacrifice, breaking with humanist monuments associating children with the pain of hairy fathers.
The location of the monument is estimated to be satisfactory a priori (note 6/10), although its exact address (6 Victor Cohalion Avenue) is derived from approximate GPS coordinates. Owned by the municipality of Billom, it remains accessible to the public, without tourist vocation or accommodation.
