ARMAND Vergne and Jean Caillet were aged only 20 when they came to Elvington to play their part in the fight against Nazi Germany.
They were among more than 2,000 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 party of nine Elvington veterans and their families, who returned to York as part of a week to commemorate the role of French airmen in York in the Second World War.
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 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 the 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 Nazis’ concentration camps.
They said they both found that little was known in their home country about the sacrifices made by French airmen serving 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 Bettys for tea – a well known haunt for the airmen stationed in York. The tearoom has a huge picture mirror on which are engraved the names of 600 young airmen, many of whom died on operational missions.
Earlier in the day, a Hurricane was stationed in St Sampson’s Square as part of the French in York Week. For a list of events, visit yorkshireairmuseum.org
A wartime photo showing just how well thought of Bettys was in those days
Heroes of France
NEARLY 70 years ago, they played their part in the fight against Hitler – flying from Elvington to bomb occupied France and Germany in the run-up to D-Day.
Yesterday, a small band of veteran French airmen returned to the city which was their base in the war – and were treated to the best York had to offer: tea at Bettys.
The noted café was a favourite haunt of wartime aircrew. So it was the ideal place to welcome the French veterans.
Tomorrow, they will revisit their old air base at Elvington. And on Thursday, they will attend the dedication of a plaque in their honour at York Minster. We’re sure all of York will join us in wishing them a hearty ‘bienvenue’.
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