ARMAND Vergne and Jean Caillet were just 20-years-old when they came to Elvington to play their part in the fight against Nazi Germany.

They were among 3,500 Frenchmen who lived in York and fought alongside the RAF and who paid a heavy price for their courage - half of the men were killed in battle, many in missions in Germany.

Now in their late 80s, Armand and Jean yesterday joined a huge party of nine Elvington veterans and their families, to return to York as part of a week to commemerate the role of French airmen in York in World War Two.

Speaking on the specially arranged East Coast train as they travelled to York, the two friends said they remember their time in the city as one of the most important times of their lives.

Jean said: “It’s very moving to return to York. It was a very special part of our lives and that has remained in our minds. We were about 20, it was an adventure.

“I was very pleased to be in England. I had read English before, I could read Shakespeare but I could not call a taxi.

“The war was terrible but they were the best years of my life. It’s funny to say that.”

Both Armand and Jean remember the friendships made with local people and even romances between servicemen and local women.

Armand said: “I met women everywhere - dancing, at parties with friends. We were lucky because we had the French uniform, there were many successes.”

The aftermath of war brought into sharp clarity both the tragedies and happiness of their time in Elvington, for navigation instrument technician Jean even more so, as he returned to France to find that none of his family had survived the Nazi’s concentration camps.

They said they both found that little was known in their home country about the sacrifices made by French airmen seving in England.

Jean said: “The French did not know what happened during the war. Elvington is seldom talked about - nobody knows.

“We are pleased this event is happening.”

After leaving the train the group headed to Betty’s for tea - a well known haunt for the airmen stationed in York.

Earlier in the day, a Hurricane was stationed in St Sampson’s Square as part of the French in York Week. For the comprehensive list of events, visit yorkshireairmuseum. org