Free French Commando commemorative plaque at Criccieth

Llety [English = Lodging] is the white end of terrace adjoining the cream Caerwylan Hotel.

https://goo.gl/maps/mLlMc

Nick

A commemoration of the Free French Commandos will be held in Criccieth on Saturday 18th June, when the plaque will be unveiled. This event will be attended by family representatives of twelve of the wartime commandos, from both France and the UK, and by a delegation from the present day Commando Kieffer.

This is a private event by invitation of the Rabouhans family. I would like there to be a representative for No. 4 Commando, the British unit with which the Free French Commandos were most closely associated. I invited the only two No. 4 "Commando kids" that I know, but neither can attend. Therefore, I invite any No. 4 Commando kids who would like to attend to advise me by private message, and I will provide further details.

I regret that I can accept only a few additional persons, but it would be disappointing if no-one with No. 4 Commando connections could attend.

This promises to be a memorable occasion, and may well be the largest gathering of Free French Commando families in the UK since the war.

Noel Rabouhans

Noel

Can you contact Frank Churchill please his Dad may be able to go.

BILL

I am pleased to report that Patrick Churchill will represent No. 4 Commando and the CVA at Criccieth, accompanied by his wife Karin and son Frank.

Thanks are due to Bill Harvey for re-posting my message on Facebook.

That's fantastic news - I wish I could have attended but unfortunately I have other commitments that day.
Thanks Noel.

Nick

Wish I could have been there to be alongside relatives of my Dads French comrades of No 4. Noel's Dad was with No 4 at Dieppe. I will be thinkng of you all.

Best wishes.

Bill

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 23/06/2016 22:03:06

Commando Kieffer families reunion at Criccieth, 18th June 2016

On Saturday 18th June, more than 50 members of the families of 12 Free French commandos gathered in Criccieth, North Wales, to commemorate those commandos who were billeted in Criccieth from July 1942 to May 1943. Four families from France and the Czech Republic were represented, and eight from the UK. I believe that this may have been the largest reunion of families of Free French commandos to take place in the UK since the war.

We were honoured and privileged by the presence of the Commandant, Pierre Roty, and two of his adjutants, from the present day Commando Kieffer Special Forces unit; and by Patrick Churchill, a veteran of the British No. 4 Commando, who fought alongside the Free French commandos at Walcharen in November 1944.

The day started with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque, at Beach Bank, Criccieth, immediately below the large house 'Llety', which served as Kieffer's headquarters during the war. This was followed by a group photograph.

The plaque is the only such monument in the UK to the Free French commandos, and as Commandant Roty in his address put it so well "...in Criccieth today, the hometown of the Free French commandos".

We then moved up to the Memorial Hall, where a French flag was raised by the Commando Kieffer, and a short ceremony was carried out by the Reverend Sue Williams, Padre to the British Legion. Commandant Roty made a short but moving address. Wreaths were laid from the families of the Free French Commandos, from the citizens of Criccieth, and from the Commando Veterans Association, represented by Patrick Churchill. The ceremony concluded with the Welsh, British and French national anthems.

Extracts from Commandant Roty's address.

"Nothing had been prepared or organised for them here; nothing had been adapted to host a military garrison. However the citizens of Criccieth (the parents and grandparents of those present here, and of many others) immediately engaged to support these young men in their mission to continue their training, and prepare for the ultimate battle. They opened their doors to these young Frenchmen, and shared their tables. They did what was possible and necessary to support them, whilst they were far from, and out of contact with, their families in occupied France. They provided a home-from-home, and a refuge from the hard training and the loneliness that would otherwise have engulfed them".

"So today I want to express my gratitude to you, the citizens and community of Criccieth, for what your families and your town did for us some 74 years ago. As you may know, many of those young men that you hosted took part in the first landings on D-Day.
177 men of the Kieffer Commando were the first to land on Sword Beach at Ouistreham, alongside their British comrades in No. 4 Commando. So Criccieth was an important milestone towards what they accomplished later in the War, and we can consider that through them, Criccieth also played a part in D-Day and the liberation of France".

"It is entirely fitting that we have just unveiled in this town, facing the sea from whence they came to the UK, and from whence they returned to liberate their homeland, and next to the house which was their war-time headquarters, the only commemorative site in the UK to the Free French commandos".

A reception followed in the Memorial Hall, where an exhibition had been mounted, with panels explaining the origins and training of the Free French commandos, their 10 month stay in Criccieth, and their participation in the Dieppe raid in August 1942 (their only action during their time in Criccieth). The military odyssey of Raymond Rabouhans was illustrated with photographs and documents pertaining to his service in the Marine Nationale before the war, the FNFL and the Free French Commandos. And finally a brief biography of each of the Free French Commandos represented was displayed.

In the afternoon, a small group met in Llanystumdwy, a small village 3 km from Criccieth, and the site of a famous photograph taken in the summer of 1942, of Kieffer and his men on a route march through the village. The original photograph was recreated with the places of Kieffer, Trépel, Morel and Lanternier taken by their sons or daughters. A unique and moving moment for all those involved.

The day concluded with a dinner in the Memorial Hall, to the accompaniment of the Welsh harp and piano, played by 10 year old Emma Buckley.

This commemorative day was blessed by magnificent weather, under which the French flag flew from Criccieth Castle.

The following morning (Sunday) a few hardy souls braved the driving rain for a ramble through 'Commando country', where the commandos trained during the war. We followed the Watkin Path, as far as the Gladstone rock, past the ruined house, Plas Cwm Llan, where the bullet-scarred walls are testament to its use in the war for training in urban warfare.

All in all a unique and memorable occasion. For the most part, those families who came to Criccieth were meeting for the first time. We came as strangers but left as friends, bound by our common links to the Free French commandos, and our gratitude to and respect for our fathers and grand-fathers, to whom we owe our present freedoms and way of life.

The plaque was commissioned, and the reunion was arranged by the son Noël, and daughters Marie-Louise and Annette, of Raymond Rabouhans. We would like to thank the many people in Criccieth, without whose enthusiastic support, our little project would never have got off the ground, let alone been the great success it proved to be.

Marvellous!

Thank you, Noel and family, for your hard work, devotion and enthusiasm. Well done!

Thank you Noel and family for this and all your hard work. Sorry I could not be there. Thanks also to Patrick Churchill and family for representing No 4 Commando (British) in memory of the gallant French.

Bill

Sounds wonderful and a fitting tribute to some very brave men.
To see the Llanystumdwy photograph referred to, see the link below:

http://ecole.nav.traditions.free.fr/encadrement_kieffer_philippe.htm

Paul

Thank you Noel, I really wish I could have been there but look forward to my next visit to Criccieth so I can witness the memorial to the brave French Commandos.

Nous nous souviendrons d'eux...

Nick

Noel has asked me to upload a few of his photos relating to the Plaque to the Forum, which I have the greatest of pleasure in doing.

Nick

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 27/06/2016 11:49:35

Les drapeaux de la France et du Pays de Galles volent au-dessus du château.

Nick

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 27/06/2016 11:56:13

The Commemorative Plaque, in situ, in the wall below 'Llety' - the building used by the French Troops, No.10(IA) Commando as their HQ

Nick

The wreaths laid to Remember the brave fallen French commandos.

Mort Pour la France.

Nick