THE French Ambassador to Britain has thanked the people of York for their wartime support following the unveiling a memorial plaque in York Minster to French fighter pilots.

Bernard Emié expressed his gratitude and celebrated the bond between France and the UK in a letter to the Yorkshire Air Museum, following the ceremony and service in October.

He said: “I would like to express my admiration for the 2,000 and more French who, as mechanics, pilots, secretaries and bombardiers, lived here in York during the Second World War and contributed to the allied war effort. Thanks to them and others, my country’s honour remained intact.

“But, quite obviously, I’m also grateful to the people of York, past and present, and Britain as a whole. On behalf of the French people, I want to express my country’s gratitude to you, the British people, for your support back then and for your welcome today. Yesterday, as today, we fought together, in the air, as well as on land and sea.”

More than 2,000 French airmen were based at Elvington during 1944 and 1945. Among their first missions was the bombing of their own country in preparation for the Normandy invasion. Half of all French aircrew perished during bombing operations, particularly over the Ruhr and Berlin.

Ian Richardson, of the Yorkshire Air Museum, said: “It is something that the Yorkshire Air Museum and Allied Air Forces Memorial can be justifiably proud of, having been the instigator of the idea and the driver of the event as it gathered momentum. However, the event would not have come to fruition if the project had not received the wholehearted support of the City of York and our tourism and business community. A great sense of civic honour for the city has been achieved and we can all take great pride in the words of the French Ambassador.”