• Work began on the Memorial in 1945 on the initiative of colonel CHABANNE (1914-1963) - founder of the Maquis A S 18 BIR-HACHEIM - and members of the maquis. It was inaugurated on 21 October 1951 by the President of the Republic Vincent AURIOL..

• The Memorial stands 21 metres high and is the work of François PONCELET -an architect from the Charente. It combines the cross of Lorraine and the "V" for Victory. It was designed as a "book of stone". The bas-reliefs created by the sculptors Georges GUIRAUD, Raoul LAMOURDEDIEU and Emile PEYRONNET retrace the lives, the sacrifices and the commitment of civilians and soldiers in the Resistance to liberate France.

• A crypt was fashioned within where several leading members of the Resistance in the Charente are interred, including : Claude BONNIER, André CHABANNE, René and Pierre CHABASSE, Bernard LELAY, Jacques NANCY.