French veteran returns to Fimber

Antipodean Andy · May 4, 2008

French Second World war veteran returns to Fimber - Driffield Today

A DREAM come true - that is how a French veteran has described his return visit to the Wolds village where he was stationed during the Second World War.
Andre Espi, 84, of Malakoff, near Paris, has returned to Fimber for the first time in 64 years to talk about the time he spent there while serving as an engineer with the 12eme Regiment de Chasseurs d'Afrique between April and July 1944.

Despite only being stationed in the village for three months before heading for French shores as part of the D-Day landings, Andre vowed to return to Fimber in the hope of finding familiar faces.

Retired English teacher and Andre's companion, Josette Lendi, said: "We met five years ago and he mentioned this trip he wanted so much to do. I eventually realised that until he had come back to Fimber he wouldn't go to any other place."

Having lost touch with the people he met during the war, the trip was organised, thanks to the help of Fimber Parish Council chairman, Peter Leese, and council clerk, Edwin Lovette.

Josette said: "Andre had no connections with this area. So he wrote a letter which I translated into English and sent it to the local authorities."

In Fimber Andre shared his war stories with the local residents who remember the soldiers stationed in their village like it was yesterday.
Margaret Brent, who lived in Fimber until moving to Fridaythorpe in 1965, said: "I remember the searchlight in the village. It was at the farm further up from where I used to live. It was bombed once.

"My parents used to own a shop in the village and the soldiers used to go there for their cigarettes."

Albert Haron, 75, who spent much of his life in Fimber until moving to Driffield nine years ago, recalls the soldiers being camped out in the village: "I was going on for 15 and I remember them being here.

"I had been down to their camp and they were all under canvass at the time. Andre was a mechanic who repaired the broken down vehicles, but he wasn't one of the ones that went over to France at first."

Algerian-born Andre was 19 when he joined the 12eme Regiment de Chasseurs d'Afrique and was drafted into the Free French Forces under the command of General Leclerc.

Josette said: "At the beginning of April 1944 they were shipped from Morocco and had a long trip to avoid the German submarines. They landed near Swansea before arriving here in Fimber.

"Andre was in a special group in his regiment where they took care of the spare parts and they fixed the tanks and vehicles whenever there was a problem."

Andre said it had been an emotional time for him and a dream come true to finally return to the village which he remembers so fondly. When asked whether he would return to Fimber again, Andre said: "I thought that my life would be over at 60, but I have lived for 24 years more so who knows.

"But next time we come to England we will rent an automatic drive on the car because changing gears with the left hand is really difficult for us."
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