These large buildings, located between Avenue de Bretagne and the estuary of the Pont-l’Abbé river, have had many lives!
Constructed in 1881, they originally served as the Bourriquen-Quénerdu canning factory, named after an industrialist based in Douarnenez. After several years of closure, the factory was taken over in 1896 by René Béziers, another resident of Douarnenez, but it closed again in 1911.
A significant change came in August 1917, when the French Navy established a seaplane base there to combat the U-Boats, the German submarines wreaking havoc along the Breton coast. The base was soon handed over to the US Navy, which accommodated up to 385 American servicemen.
After the departure of the Yankees in early 1919, the cannery (sardines and tuna) resumed operations, now under the management of the Lecointre establishments, based in Vincennes. The closure of the factory in 1932 marked the definitive end of canning activities in the premises. At the end of 1939, the factory, which had been disused for seven years, briefly sheltered up to 490 Spanish Republican refugees (mainly women and children) from the Domaine du Dourdy in Loctudy.
During the Second World War, the building was occupied by the German customs authorities.
In 1946, the buildings were acquired by the Notre-Dame La Blanche de Bourges association. The summer of 1947 witnessed the arrival of the first young people from the Berry-Tudy holiday camp, which has owned the premises ever since. Three quarters of a century of loyalty to Île-Tudy!
