What's On - the Diary of events of our Member Associations

A buffet, bubbly, wine, speeches from former Presidents & other committee members, a slide show and panels showing the development of the association over the years, music, dancing…

Presentation, tour of chai, and tasting, Château de Portets. Lunch at Auberge André, 33880 Cambes.

A presentation on the work of the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre by caseworker, Rosie Barrons. When remains of British personnel killed in historic campaigns back to the Great War are found, the JCCC will try to identify them. Where new evidence confirms the name of an individual already buried as an "unknown" British war grave, the JCCC will verify or decline the evidence case, researching military and historical records to help confirm the identity of a casualty where possible.

The British community in France, and particularly our Military associations, have been granted the honour of being the first non-French nationals permitted to hold a ceremony at this “Haut lieu de la Mémoire Nationale”. Mont Valérien is the location for the annual ceremony of the “Appel du 18 juin 1940” by General de Gaulle, which is presided by the French President.

Libre Résistance has assembled a number of associations and the ambassadors from the 10 nations that made up the SOE F-Section and will hold a ceremony to honour the role played by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the French Resistance. We are expecting to have approximately 200 veterans, guests and participants from numerous associations/clubs. Visit Mont Valérien 14h45 Wreath laying clarière 16h00 SOE Ceremony 16h30 Cocktail party 17h30

S.O.E., the Special Operations Executive, was a British secret service formed in July 1940 – soon after the fall of France – to foster resistance among the civil population in Nazi-occupied Europe and promote sabotage and subversion. Winston Churchill inspired the formation of S.O.E. From 1941 until 1944, F Section trained and infiltrated 429 agents into France, who ran 75 networks with over 30,000 local French resistance members.

This is the traditional annual ceremony which brings us together at the foot of the Memorial of Valençay where we pay homage to the memory of all our departed comrades, and in particular, to the memory of the 104 agents of F Section who lost their lives on operations or died in the Nazi concentration camps.

This is followed by a cocktail party at the Mairie and then lunch at the Orangerie du Chateau de Valencay. This is the 35th anniversary of the unveiling by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and the 85th anniversary of the parachute drop of the first agent, Georges Begué on 6th May 1941.

Ceremony: 10h30 Cocktail & lunch: 13h00