ENTENTE CORDIALE

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 127, 3 June 1929, Page 3

ENTENTE CORDIALE

FRENCH EX-SOLDIERS

VISIT TO LONDON

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, sth April. Last Sunday Earl Jellicoe, in the name of the British Legion, welcomed 900 French ex-soldiers who had come to London to pay homage to their British comrades who were killed in the war. All these were members of La Flamnie dv Souvenir, the association which is representative of all tho 504 ex-service men's associations in Franco, and which has pledged itself to keep the Fiame of Eemembrance on the Tomb 1 of the Unknown Soldier in Paris ever burning. London received them with, open arms. Tens of thousands of people greeted them as they marched or—as in the case of many of them —limped to Westminster Abbey to pay homage at the Tomb of the Unknown. Warrior there and afterwards to the.Cenotaph. Marching with the pilgrims was one woman nurse. In Whitehall far-stretching crowds were moved to unwonted: emotion by the spectacle of a. sunlit cloud of silken tricolours mingled with the blue and yellow standards of the British Legion; of bandsmen of the 110 th Eegiment of French Infantry in blue uniforms and shell helmets ranged beside the band of the Welsh Guards in black and scarlet; of ranks of battle-scarred Britons and Frenchmen symbolically standing shoulder to shoulder. There was one figure in this spectacle that drew the admiring gaze of all—that of the tall, grey-bearded man who limped and whose right sleeve swung empty. He was General Gouraud, the "Lion of the Argonne," who served in Gallipoli (where he lost an arm and was wounded in the thigh), and who outwitted the Germans when he was called on by Foch to. meet the first shock of the great enemy offensive m July of 1918. -••- ■ IN WESTMINSTER HAM,. The French visitors arrived early on bunday morning in two parties. After they had attended service in Westminster and St. George's Cathedrals and other churches, there was a general assembly in Old Palace Yard, where the band of the 110 th Eegiment of French Infantry, 84 strong, ' wearing their blue-grey uniforms and steel helmets, stood to attention while the delegation, iv dark blue berets adorned with the badge of "La Flamme," and bearing numerous bright-coloured standards, surmounted with crepe in memory of Marshal Foch, passed into Westminster Hall between a guard of honour of British naval ratings. Inside the hall the delegation formed a solid semi-circle in front of the dais, from which the official welcome was given. "The time of your visit is particularly happy," said Major-General Olive, "fov last Friday at Cannes the twenty-fifth anniversary of ' the birth of the Entente Cordiale was celebrated."

Lord Jellicoe, welcoming the delegates in the name of the British Legion said:— - 6 '

It is you who light every day the sacred flame which burns to the eternal memory of the sons of France who fell in the Great War. Let me tell you that the homage which you render tb the dead of your Allies helps also to make the flame of comradeship shine, to which the-war gave birth. In spite of the misunderstandings which occasionally happen, we ex-soldiers know that wo are bound together because we have fought side by side. And that comradeship, if it is used, in a tolerant and generous way, can be.one of the finest means of preserving peace and increasing the goodwill which statesmen should use. We hope you are rejoicing in your unity here, and we thank your distinguished leader, General Gouraud and .Ins friends for their presence here to-day. Long live the Flame!" ' General Gouraud, in reply, first explained the origin .of "La Flamme," the movement for keeping alive the flame of remembrance at the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Paris. How was it possible, he asked, that two peoples who had shed their blood together cm the battlefield should cease that-friendship? To-day the Entente Cordiale was stronger than ever, and all i renehmen were eager to strengthen it. General Gouraud paid personal tributes to the memory of Lord Haig and to Field-Marshal Birdwood, and in conclusion expressed the gratification that the French people felt at the recovery of the King from his illness. "May God protect him; long live the King " said General Gouraud, and a loud cheer from the delegation followed. TRIBUTES TO THE DEAD. A procession was-then-formed to Westminster Abbey, in the presence of some thousands of spectators.. It was headed by the bands of the Welsh Guards and 110 th Eegiment of French Infantry, followed by detachments of the Eoyal Navy and the Eoyal Air Force, representatives of the British Government, General Gouraud, and officials of the British Legion and the French and British Services. The French Infantry Band played the delegation into the Abbey, and some 180 standard-bearers of the British Legion formed a" guard of honour. When they had assembled round the tomb of the Unknown Warrior, General Gouraud reverently laid a bronze palm. The procession, was reformed, and. on arrival at the Cenotaph the standardbearers formed up on four sides of it As the Band of the 110 th Eegiment played "Sommeil Eternel," all standards were dipped and heads bared General Gouraud, after a further tribute to the British dead, laid a second bronze palm on the meiriorial. The subsequent scene on the Horse Guards Parade was one of considerable animation and colour. lit the centre of the parade ground a stand had been raised, from which the saluto was taken. The French band drawn up alongside the band of the welsh Guards, struck up the stirring notes of "Sambre et Meuse," and the whole of the delegation, following the British_ units and representatives of the Bntish Legion,.marched past with a lively step. General Gouraud took the salute, with Major-GenCral Clive and Baron Daru standing beside him and Lord Jellicoe and General Sir lan Hamilton behind him. AVnumbor of lame and maimed men in a charatator WGrC hoartily cheered by the specDuring the afternoon the French delegates visited the Zoological Gardens, where thoir band played a programme of music. On Easter Monday the French esserviee pilgrims were shown over the Tower of London, and in the afternoon in thirty-two motor coaches thoy toured Central London. The veterans were puzzled by the quietness of the city Bank holiday's curious effects on London took some explaining Later the pilgrims motored to HampC a ftstV°T t f Palae!' th- ence t0 WiSr Castle before returning to London for a night crossing home. ■■ ■