There is a corner of Yorkshire which will be forever France.

During the Second World War nearly 2,000 members of the Free French Air Force gave the tiny village of Elvington, near York, an unmistakable Gallic flavour.

Under orders from RAF Bomber Command, they flew Halifax bombers from the county to targets across their homeland - a campaign that played a huge part in its liberation from German control.

When they left, the 346 and 347 squadrons took 200 girls from the surrounding area as their wives, and left a lasting impression so big that the area is still known as Petite France.

Now, 53 years after their departure, 110 ex-airmen and their families are back in York, revisiting the place which for them became home for so long.

Colonel Robert Nicaise, from Versailles, who is vice-president of the Groupes Lourds, an association of the ex-airmen and their families, said: "Elvington and York have so many memories for the men who were stationed here.

"They were very good times. The village became a home for us for more than a year. It is wonderful to come back."

The effect of the village is clear. Many have made the pilgrimage back despite old age and illness, to meet up with old friends and relive their memories.

Colonel Nicaise, 78, was only 24 when he arrived in North Yorkshire. Working as a wireless operator, he travelled in the heavy bombers, most frequently to Normandy.

"My pilot is dead now, but other members of my crew have come to York. The bomber I worked with is here, and my site engineer as well as a lot of other old friends. We are reliving old times."

Of York's many sites, Col Nicaise remembers clearly the Minster and the city walls.

But the place that has stuck in his mind most vividly is Bettys Tea Rooms.

"We used to go there every Saturday night to dance and meet friends," he said.

"I have so many memories of the place. It is wonderful that it is still here and that we can go there and relive the times we had."

Col Nicaise and his colleagues flew into the old Elvington airbase, now the Yorkshire Air Museum, yesterday.

Ian Robinson, chairman of the Yorkshire Air Museum, said: "This visit is full of nostalgia.

"The effect of 2,000 Frenchmen arriving in a village the size of Elvington must have been huge, and most have very many happy memories of the place."

Today they returned to their old haunt, Bettys.

Other highlights of the trip include a service of thanksgiving and commemoration at York Minster and the transformation of the Yorkshire Air Museum's Halifax bomber with the colours of the French Tricolour during a special gala day tomorrow to unveil the re-furbished French Officers' Mess.

They were also meeting the Duke of York during his visit to the city today to mark the restoration of the Minster's Great West Door.

He was expected to talk with them at the RAF memorial in the Minster's North Transept.

See WEBSITE Yorkshire Air Museum

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