Fighting with the French

It was not simply that French aircrews flew from the base. RAF Elvington became quite literally a French enclave, a foreign territory on Yorkshire soil and the only one of its kind in Britain.

Elvington was part of No. 4 Group, whose headquarters were located a few short miles away at Heslington Hall in York.

During the previous month, many French personnel had begun to arrive at their new home from the places in England where they had undertaken their training. Initially, these were mostly ground crews, the mechanics, armourers, meteorological and intelligence officers, and even a padre who make up the running of an effective operating station.

Only a few English and Canadian personnel remained, mostly acting as translators and interpreters. There were nearly 2,000 Frenchmen on the site and it is not surprising that the station became known as "Le Petit France."

In a concorde of solidarity, the French squadrons joined their Allied partners in the pursuit of liberation and the banishing of the enemy from their beloved homeland.

All the training and preparation came together on May 16 and, by now fully conversant with the Halifax Mk. III aircraft, 346 Guyenne Squadron was officially formed under the command of Colonel GE Venet. The base itself was under the control of Commandant Puget, who was responsible to Air Commodore "Gus" Walker and Air Vice Marshal Carr, who had overall command of 4 Group.

With the Tricolour flying proudly beside the Union flag, life at Elvington was distinctly different for the Frenchmen. For a start, with just one exception (Ginette Plunkett, the French wife of an English intelligence officer, affectionately known as "Miss Pancake"), there were no women on the base, not even among the catering staff.

It had been decided that this would provide too much temptation for les liasions dangereuses, and although some romance was inevitable as crews enjoyed their time off, such relationships were to be discouraged wherever possible.

Then there was the wine, because, in a tradition begun in Africa, each man was entitled to a glass of pinnard, the rough, Algerian red wine, with every meal.

The station mascot was another idiosyncrasy. A white rabbit which became the living embodiment of the Guyenne Squadron insignia and a much-loved source of comfort to many. So, with a strong sense of camaraderie and purpose, the French were ready and settled in preparation for the battles ahead.

It is entirely fitting that, just two weeks after being formed, 346 Squadron were called into action on the night of June 1, 1944, in an operation directly in support of the imminent Normandy invasion of D-Day.

Twelve aircraft from the squadron helped make up the combined attack force of 110 bombers. The target was the strategically important radio station at Ferme d'Urville, near Cherbourg, which was completely destroyed.

All 346 Squadron aircraft returned safely. The mission had been supervised at Elvington by Air Commodore Walker. After having studied the results of the mission, Gus Walker announced that he was completely satisfied with the competence of the French crews and that he would not take a supervisory role again.

True to his word, he did not and a bond of mutual trust and affection was built.

This raid, taken in conjunction with another by 617 Squadron, led by Group Captain Leonard Cheshire on the radar stations at Douvre and Le Havre on June 5, were vital to the success of the Normandy invasion.

The enemy had been left virtually blind in the area of the English Channel and were unable to mount a naval challenge that could have thwarted the invasion.

On the night of D-Day minus 1, Sir Arthur Harris had ordered the deployment of every available aircraft within Bomber Command and on that fateful night, 1,136 aircraft dropped the largest weight of bombs since 1939 on the coastal batteries along the Atlantic Wall.

Twelve aircraft from 346 Squadron were among a force of 150 whose specific target was the heavy battery on the Cotentin Penninsula at Grandchamps Maisy. This was in a vital position in relation to Operation Neptune, the initial assault phase of the Overlord campaign.

The destruction of the gun emplacements was another crucial factor in the success of the landings. On return to their bases, these aircraft overflew the massed armada of more than 4,000 vessels steaming towards Normandy, which were clearly visible in the early morning sun.

Only a few short hours after debriefing had finished, the crews were assembled again for the instructions for the next operation. The target for the French crews on the night of June 6 was the railway station of St Lo and the German Headquarters position.

Similar rail and road junctions at Coutances and Caen were also attacked that night. Civilian losses were inevitable and heavy.

How were the French received by the people of York and the surrounding area? In this intense part of early operations, many French crews were in a state of great anguish, having been in some part responsible for the deaths of their own countrymen, and it is not surprising that there were reports of bar room brawls taking place as this pain was vented.

Neither is there any wonder that the Chapel at Elvington base was full every Sunday. The padre, the bearded and pipe smoking Reverend Father Meurisse, was well liked. Always on duty when crews returned from missions, he would offer solace and a welcome tot of rum.

However, many friendships were also made between the Frenchmen and local York residents, and they were ultimately accepted, just as the Canadian crews in the area were, becoming familiar in places such as Betty's.

An interesting tale, recounted by Louis Bourgain in his semi-autobiography Halifax Pour Liberte, involves two French airmen during an evening dinner in the Royal York Hotel. Having been among the first to arrive that evening, the two Frenchmen were offered a prominent table, and duly presented with the menu.

As the room filled up, they made their choices, and, with their broken English, attempted to call the waiter, who replied: "Just one moment, please."

They thought nothing of this, until successive requests were met with the same response. At this point, it was decided that action was required and they resorted to a party trick. This consisted of breaking two glasses into small pieces, chewing them to a fine powder, and swallowing them.

As the glasses disappeared, the whole room became focused on the two Frenchmen. As their attention turned towards the fine Bordeaux glass, the maitre d'hotel arrived at their table with a flourish, saying: "May I help you?"

With a perfectly straight face and impeccable timing, one of the French officers replied: "Just one moment, please". On this, the other diners applauded the stand and, from that moment on, the French were always welcome guests at the hotel.

On June 20, Guyenne Squadron was joined by No 347 Tunisie Squadron and, from then on, the Groupes Lourds (Heavy Groups) together took the offensive to the heart of German industry.

Oil production and the strategic weapons development of the V1/V2 programmes were the targets in what became categorised as the Battle of Germany and the Battle of the Secret Weapons. With two crews to each aircraft, the sturdy Halifax bombers were in almost constant use, and 96 of these aircraft were delivered to the French during their time at Elvington.

As the raids progressed ever further into enemy territory, with corresponding increases in attacks by anti- aircraft defences and night fighters, along with the strains on aircraft and crews caused by the long flights of more than eight hours, casualties were inevitable.

The first of these came on the night of July 6 1944, when, returning from another successful mission, Halifax LK728 of 347 Tunisie Squadron, crashed near Thorne in East Yorkshire for unknown reasons. All the crew, under the command of Lieutenant Chapron, perished in the ensuing fire.

From then on, losses mounted steadily. On November 4, 27 aircraft from Elvington joined the attack on the important steel producing town of Bochum, deep in the heart of the Ruhr valley. The aircraft from Guyenne Squadron were in the final wave, the most vulnerable to interception by nightfighters, and the price was heavy. By the end of Commandant Puget's longest night, five aircraft and 35 men and friends were missing.

Another incident saw 13 killed when a bomb went off during loading at Elvington, highlighting the fact that ground crew were not invincible to the terrible effects of conflict.

Almost 11 months after commencing operations, the French Squadrons flew their last mission, on April 25, 1945. The daylight raid was to finally silence the once-formidable gun batteries at Wangerooge, which protected the entrance to the harbours of Bremen and Wilhelmshaven.

The Halifax flown by Capitaine Hautecoeur, in command of No 1 Flight, Tunisie Squadron, was caught by heavy gunfire. The aircraft split in two and crashed into the sea, killing all seven crewmen. On this day, the Americans met the Russians on the Elbe, while Hitler's nest at Berchtesgaden was obliterated. The Fuhrer committed suicide the following day.

So, how can the contribution of the French Groupes Lourdes to the eventual outcome of the war be summed up? The answer possibly lies in the message sent to Elvington from Bomber Command Headquarters, shortly after the German surrender.

"Please convey to all French personnel who have served in Bomber Command, my admiration and gratitude for their unfailing co-operation, their outstanding gallantry and efficiency.

"To all those brave Frenchmen who carried on the fight in our ranks, the warmest salutations of Bomber Command."

Ian Richardson is marketing manager of the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington, which has on display the only remaining Halifax Mk. III bomber, painted half in French markings and half with the Friday The 13th markings.

The museum is open 10am-5pm daily. Ring (01904) 608595.

Updated: 09:46 Monday, May 31, 2004