Projects

The research and commemoration of one of France’s greatest WWII fighter pilots and the RAF’s first French Squadron Leader.   My sincere thanks to the many people who were involved in this very special Anglo/French project:  Jan, for setting us all off on this venture and the following for their support, research and hard work…

Looking for crew relatives of HP Hampden L4194, “ZN-B” of 106 Sqdn, Finningley for the 80th anniversary in France.     Two commemoration are being planned at Vannes and at Pluneret in Brittany on Sunday 22nd November 2020 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the deaths of 4 British airmen who were flying Handley Page…

Presentation of a “Special Duties” Westland Lysander to France at the Hôtel des Invalides, Paris on 26th January 1946.   New Project:  In August 2020 plans were first conceived to re-enact the special commemorative event which took place in 1946, but has remained on hold due to the pandemic. The idea however is still very…

80 years ago, an extraordinary but true story about the crew of a special aircraft, which continues to this day.   HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND Approaching Christmas 1944 and the Allies had made great advances across France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland. The huge logistical problems of supplying the troops 340 miles (540km) ahead from the landing beaches…

Resurgent Balkan interest in the RAF & Balkan Air Force of WW2 and pilots of the Battle of Britain.   A full translation in Serbian can be found at the end of this article. Verzija teksta na srpskom jeziku se nalazi pri kraju ovog članka.     The Royal Air Force in the Balkans 1941…

The compelling story of a French airman Henry Martin, who fell in love with “Pat” Pattimore, a British special agent.   The Story   Prior to the invasion of Jersey by the German Army on 1 July 1940 , Phyllis Joyce Pattimore, (aged 23) known as “Pat” to her friends, had left her family home…

A mission to secure the memory of 46th Royal Marine Commando on D-Day and the part played by his father. Monument to 46th Royal Commando, Luc sur Mer, Normandy The Mayor of Luc sur Mer, M. Philippe Chanu, June 2019 Three years before D-Day, a discrete landing took place at Luc-sur-Mer, named “Operation Chopper”, on…

  A Poet’s Tale. Through no other reason than by being born at a specific time and place, destiny called. André was born in the City of Limoges in west central France on 28th September 1920 and was schooled nearby in the small town of St Junien. As for many people born at that period,…

100th Anniversary of  l’Association Nationale pour le Souvenir des Dardanelles et Fronts d’Orient the French Gallipoli & Dardanelles Association. (Updated 04.2021)     On behalf of our colleagues at the Gallipoli & Dardanelles International based in UK, Ian Reed attended the ceremony at Port Maillot in Paris for the 100th anniversary of the formation of…

  Discovery of the private letters of a French airman in Britain.  One of the largest wartime collections in France. The Beginning   Prior to the fall of France on 22nd June 1940, French Air Force personnel and their serviceable aircraft had pulled back to Oran in Algeria in order to re-group for the fight…