FOCH'S TRIBUTE TO THE DOVER PATROL

Evening Star, Issue 17319, 6 April 1920, Page 5

FOCH'S TRIBUTE TO THE DOVER PATROL

_m the presence of a large and distinguished company of British and French naval and military officer.;. Marshal Foch recently laid the foundation stone of the Dover patrol _ memorial obelisk, which is to be erected at Gape Blanc Noz, near Calais. Ihe sailors and« troops formed guards of honor at the memorial site, where guards were also supplied by French caiaiiy, infantry, and marines. Marshal Foch was f enthusiastically received on arriving. _ The ceremony of laying the? foundation stone was a quiet and brjef one. Sir Edwin Farley presented the -Marshal with an ivory mallet and silver trowel, with which the ceremony was performed. Subsequently the party returned to Calais, and a luncheon took place at the Tprnvnftis Hotel, the men who figured in the Zeebrugge operations being also entertained. An address frpm the Dover Patrol Memorial Committee was presented by Lord Noithhourne to .Marshal Foch, and the health of tire Marshal was proposed in felicitous terms by Sir Edwin Farley. In acknowledging the- address and the toast, Marshal Foch expressed himself as particularly happy and proud to have laid the first stone of the Dover Patrol ■Memorial at Cape Blanc Nez. He had opportunities of witnessing the valor of the English troops on the battlefields of France every day from 1914 to 1013, ami be greatly appreciated that valor. As to the crews of tile vessels of the Dover Patrol, they also had to fight continuously against a stubborn enemy, with his submarines and mines, by clay and by night; and they showed a valor which compared well wuh the bravery of the troops on tho battlefields. He was in a position to j be able to appreciate more than anybody the valuable work the Patrol did.’ Bv their bravery and by -heir energy they maintained sea ccmmunicatu.:.-. between Great Britain and Franco, and maintained tho supplies to the armies, and thus brought about- the final victory. The monument of which the foundation stone had been laid that day was a great symbol o: tire victory gained through unity of action between our two countries, and | he hoped this unity would ba continued.

A companion obelisk is to be erected at Dover, just opposite Cape Blanc Nez; and the Marshal likened the two to the posts of a gate which should form a barrier in future against the barbarians. If future generations should be inclined tn forget the lesson of the great war, let them listen to the voices in the wind of those who are resting under tho sea and calling Upon them to do their .duty. In conclusion, Marshal Foch raised his gfxss to the co-operation of the British and French navies and the~British and French armies, and to the continued glory and unity of the two nations. “The immortal memory of the Dover Patrol ” was the toast proposed by Dr Tan How-den, coupled with tho names of Admiral Cecil Dumpier, who was formerly in ciomnnnd of the Dover Patrol, and Admiral Ronarch, who commanded the French patrol on the other side of the Channel.