大象传媒

Many of the French wounded who came out through Dunkirk were taken to what had been Leavesden Mental Hospital, a huge set of buildings taken over as a military hospital. One of the military nurses was billeted on us and told us what happened to the French soldiers.

They were called together and given twenty four hours to decide whether to stay in Britain or be taken back to France. Those who wished to go home would be put on a British destoryer and taken immediately to a port on the Atlantic coast of France, not at that time occupied by the Germans.

This was a difficult decision for the men. France still had a legal government which was negotiating peace terms with the Germans. If the French soldiers decided to stay in England they would technically be deserters disobeying their government and could be shot if caught by the French authorities. Also everyone thought England was going to be overrun by the Germans at any minute.

Most of the Frenchmen decided to go back to France to be with their families and hopefully to be in that part of France which at that time was not going to be occupied by the German army. Soon of course all France would be occupied, but the men did not know that then.

The few who decided to stay in England were mostly the young unmarried men.

After all the Frenchmen left either to go home or join General de Gaulle, who also was in a dubious political situation, the hospital was taken over by Canadian soldiers.

Incidentally in all the Dunkirk coverage I have not heard the joke everyone was telling at the time about the French officer who stepped ashore at Dover and saw the worthy middle aged ladies of the W.V.S . handing out tea, food and clothes.

He asked who they were and what they were doing.

Upon being told they were the Women's Voluntery Service welcoming the returning soldiers, he remarked that he would rather pay a professional.

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