Normandy museum shows the power of UK-France cooperation
Musee No 4 Commando in Ouistreham pays tribute to the French commandos who landed on Sword Beach on D-Day
Frédéric Fouquart, conservator at Musee No 4 Commando
Sally Ann Voak
A small museum in Normandy is offering visitors an example of how closer cooperation between France and the UK can prove mutually beneficial.
Musee No 4 Commando in Ouistreham (Calvados) tells the story of the 177 French commandos who came ashore as part of the British forces on D-Day.
They managed to storm their way over the Normandy beaches and capture the casino at the highly fortified port of Ouistreham, before making their way inland to join Allied forces.
They fought together, trained in both countries and spoke both languages.
Read more: How a Frenchman became a GI on Omaha beach in WW2
Kieffer's commandos
The unit was founded by Philippe Kieffer, from Alsace, who had been working in a London bank at the start of the war.
He was called up, rose through the ranks and, after seeing the disaster of Dunkirk, somehow convinced Prime Minister Winston Churchill that the UK needed a French unit working side by side with its own commandos.
Frédéric Fouquart, a conservator at the museum, explained: “Young Frenchmen would journey down through France, over the Pyrenees to Gibraltar, where they were transported by the British navy to the UK.
“Their training, together with members of the Free French Forces, was in Scotland, at Achnacarry Castle in Lochaber.
“They stayed with Scottish families and learned to speak English. Meanwhile, Churchill’s British commandos learned French under his orders to produce highly trained troops to operate clandestinely.”
Mr Fouquart said that June’s D-Day commemorations attracted many more visitors to the museum, especially from Scotland.
“People asked how the two countries could cooperate in such dangerous times. Simple: it was war, so things had to be done.
“These days it is just as important for us to get along and help each other and people, especially youngsters, are keen to see that. They want real rapport, not just talk, and the 80th anniversary of D-Day is a good time to start.”
This year is especially poignant for the museum as France's last surviving veteran of D-Day, Léon Gautier, died last July aged 100.
Read more: Last survivor of French D-Day commando unit dies aged 100
