Veterans to attend French Air Force Memorial event

The event, the first of its kind in an English cathedral, takes place on October 20 to mark the 66th anniversary of the French heavy bomber squadrons leaving Elvington to return to liberated France.

The 326 Squadron and 347 Squadron were the only French Air Force heavy bomber squadrons of the Allied air forces during the Second World War and were based at RAF Elvington.

The village, on the outskirts of York, was home to more than 2,000 French airmen during 1944 and 1945. Many of the men married local girls and the connection with Elvington and York remains strong.

A march past and flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster Bomber, plus a flypast by other aircraft, will follow the inauguration.

The French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillot are among many dignitaries who have been invited to attend the memorial, which will bring together French and British military and political representatives, veterans and their families.

Spearheaded by organisations including the French Embassy, the Royal Air Force, the Yorkshire Air Museum, and York Council, the event will provide the focal point for a week of special Anglo-French activities from October 17-22.

The French in York Festival will feature a series of events, including parades, exhibitions, displays and lectures, which will take place across the city.

A premier of the film Flightpaths will be shown at City Screen on October 18 and a Continental style French market at St Sampson’s Square has been planned for October 22 and 23. Here visitors will be able to see a Second World War Hurricane fighter along with French airmen living history re-enactors,and vintage Citroën Traction Avants.

A Remembrance Ceremony at the War Memorial in Elvington, which is the home of the Yorkshire Air Museum, is set to take place on October 19.

For more information on the French Air Force Memorial and the French in York Festival visit www.yorkshireairmuseum.org