Free French Memorial A conspicuous white-painted monument on Lyle Hill in Greenock, the Free French Memorial was designed and built by the officers and men of the wartime French Naval Base at Greenock and takes the form of a Cross of Lorraine, the symbol of the Free French Forces. It commemorates their fellow seamen lost while stationed at Greenock during World War II and, in particular, the officers and crew of the submarine Surcouf, together with the corvettes Alysse and Mimosa which were all lost in the Atlantic during 1942. Launched in 1929, the Surcouf was an underwater cruiser, for ten years the biggest submarine in the world, with its own on-board seaplane hangar. The dead were buried in Greenock cemetery until 1946 when the bodies were returned to France. There was a service for those who had died in St. Mary’s church. The Free French memorial on Lyle Hill was erected in memory of those who had died. There’s something about the granite that it stands on, I think it represents the solidarity of this country with France. There was a church in Greenock called the Martyrs North Church and they gave their halls over to the Free French Navy. The sailors had a canteen there and also beds for those off on shore leave, if they didn’t want to go back to their ship. One time Charles De Gaulle came over and broadcast to the French people from Martyrs North Church just to let them know that things were going well in Greenock and this was the homeport for the Free French Navy.
During this time away from the current tone I like to also feel very angry about the mistakes made by politicians in times of war from all sides Lives were sacrificed by a hell a lot of greed and stupidity
this is amazing This site, created by @jamesinealing, which lets you search WW1 casualties near your address is a jaw-dropping and deeply moving way of starting to appreciate the loss on a personal level. http://astreetnearyou.org/#=undefined&lat=10&lon=0&zoom=2…
What a brilliant website and as you say Kiwi a very moving way of seeing the personal sacrifices made. Although our area would have been fairly sparsely populated then, there is still the son of the then landlord/lady of the local pub about 100 yds from home......
