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Hadfield-Spears Ambulance Unit
The Hadfield-Spears Ambulance Unit was an Anglo-French volunteer medical unit which served initially with the 4th French army in Lorraine, eastern France, during the Second World War from February 1940 until it was forced to retreat on 9 June ahead of the German advance. Its official French designation at that time was Ambulance Chirurgical Légère de Corps d’Armée 282. The unit made its way across France via Bordeaux to Arcachon from where it was evacuated back to Britain, arriving at Plymouth on 26 June. The unit re-grouped and re-equipped in Britain before sailing on 20 March 1941 for the Middle East, landing at Suez on 2 May. Under the designation of HCM (Hôpital chirurgical mobile) 3 Ambulance Hadfield-Spears, it was attached to the Free French forces ( 1st Free French Division) in the Middle East, North Africa, Italy and France before being dissolved in Paris in June 1945 on the order of General Charles de Gaulle. Origin and leadership Sponsor The unit was establis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy. It was founded in 959 following the division of Lotharingia into two separate duchies: Upper and Lower Lorraine, the westernmost parts of the Holy Roman Empire. The Lower duchy was quickly dismantled, while Upper Lorraine came to be known as simply the Duchy of Lorraine. The Duchy of Lorraine was coveted and briefly occupied by the dukes of Burgundy and the kings of France. In 1737, the duchy was given to Stanisław Leszczyński, the former king of Poland, who had lost his throne as a result of the War of the Polish Succession, with the understanding that it would fall to the French crown on his death. When Stanisław died on 23 February 1766, Lorraine was annexed by France and reorganized as a province. History Lotharingia Lorraine's predecessor, Lotharingia, was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mechanised Transport Corps
The Mechanised Transport Corps (MTC), sometimes erroneously called the Motor Transport Corps, was a British women's organisation that initially provided its own transport and uniforms and operated during the Second World War. It was a civilian uniformed organisation that provided drivers for government departments and other agencies. Among other roles, members drove staff cars, including for foreign dignitaries whose drivers were not accustomed to driving on British roads, and ambulances in the Blitz. History The Mechanised Transport Training Corps (MTTC) was founded in 1939 by Mrs G. M. Cooke CBE as a women's voluntary civilian organisation. It was recognised by the Ministry of War Transport in 1940 and renamed the MTC, and its members were conscripted and received pay. Various women who served with the MTC were awarded one MBE, two BEMs, nine Croix de Guerre, ten Colonial Medals, a Certificate for Gallantry, and mentions in dispatches. Some of the best-known members were th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronald Hugh Campbell
Sir Ronald Hugh Campbell (27 September 1883 – 15 November 1953) was a British diplomat who held several important positions including that of British ambassador to France from July 1939 to 22 June 1940, when the armistice between Germany and France was signed at Compiègne. He was appointed British ambassador in Paris from the post of British envoy to Yugoslavia, a considerable jump in promotion that was extremely rare in the diplomatic service. Such an important position is normally reserved for diplomats who have passed through several legations and other embassies. However, it was long recognized that Campbell possessed outstanding abilities. Following the fall of France in June 1940, he was evacuated through Saint-Jean-de-Luz on on 24 June and returned to London. In November of the same year he was transferred to Lisbon to act as British ambassador. He retired from the Foreign Office at the end of his period of service as British ambassador to Portugal Portugal, off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Jean De Luz
Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune es, San Juan de Luz, oc, Sent Joan de Lus, ) is a in the , southwestern France. Saint-Jean-de-Luz is part of the |
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing. While working for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units, 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. He drew from his wartime service and his career as a journalist for much of the background, detail, and depth of his James Bond novels. Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, '' Casino Royale'', in 1952. It was a success, with three print runs being commissio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brives, Indre
Brives () is a commune in the Indre department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Indre department The following is a list of the 241 communes of the Indre department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020): [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called ''"Bordelais"'' (masculine) or ''"Bordelaises"'' (feminine). The term "Bordelais" may also refer to the city and its surrounding region. The city of Bordeaux proper had a population of 260,958 in 2019 within its small municipal territory of , With its 27 suburban municipalities it forms the Bordeaux Metropolis, in charge of metropolitan issues. With a population of 814,049 at the Jan. 2019 census. it is the fifth most populated in France, after Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille and ahead of Toulouse. Together with its suburbs and exurbs, except satellite cities of Arcachon and Libourne, the Bordeaux metropolitan area had a population of 1,363,711 that same year (Jan. 2019 census), ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arcachon20050318Blorg
Arcachon ( ; ) is a commune in the southwestern French department of Gironde. It is a popular seaside resort on the Atlantic coast southwest of Bordeaux, in the Landes forest. It has a sandy beach and a mild climate said to be favourable for invalids suffering from pulmonary complaints. Arcachon is twinned with five cities. History On 2 May 1857, Emperor Napoleon III signed an imperial decree declaring that Arcachon was now an autonomous municipality; coincidentally, the railway line extension from Bordeaux to Arcachon had been completed that same year. At that time, Arcachon was scarcely more than a forest of pine trees, oaks and strawberry trees (arbutus), with no road links and few real houses, with a population fewer than 400 people, mostly fishermen and peasants. In earlier years, when some hygienists began to recommend sea bathing, three sea establishments were laid out by investors to attract the Bordeaux bourgeoisie and other wealthy people. This was the beginning of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World War I, during which he became known as The Lion of Verdun (french: le lion de Verdun). From 1940 to 1944, during World War II, he served as head of the collaborationist regime of Vichy France. Pétain, who was 84 years old in 1940, remains the oldest person to become the head of state of France. During World War I, Pétain led the French Army to victory at the nine-month-long Battle of Verdun. After the failed Nivelle Offensive and subsequent mutinies he was appointed Commander-in-Chief and succeeded in repairing the army's confidence. Pétain remained in command for the rest of the war and emerged as a national hero. During the interwar period he was head of the peacetime French Army, commanded joint Franco-Spanish operations during the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attraction'') had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 census.Comparateur de territoire: Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Clermont-Ferrand (022), Unité urbaine 2020 de Clermont-Ferrand (63701), Commune de Clermont-Ferrand (63113) INSEE It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture (capital) of the Puy-de-Dôme departments of France, department. Olivier Bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moulins, Allier
Moulins (; oc, Molins) is a Communes of France, commune in central France, capital of the Allier Departments of France, department. It is located on the river Allier (river), Allier. Among its many tourist attractions are the Maison Mantin, the Anne de Beaujeu Museum and The National Center of Costume and Scenography. Geography Moulins is located on the banks of the river Allier. History Before the French Revolution, Moulins was the capital of the provinces of France, province of Bourbonnais and the seat of the Duc de Bourbon, Dukes of Bourbon. It appears in documented records at least as far back as the year 990. In 1232, Archambaud VIII, Sire de Bourbon granted a franchise to the village's inhabitants. The town achieved greater prominence in 1327, when Charles IV of France, Charles IV elevated Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, Louis I de Clermont to Duke of Bourbon. Either Louis or the later Peter II, Duke of Bourbon and Duke of Auvergne, of Auvergne moved the capital of the provi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gannat
Gannat (; Auvergnat: ''Gatnat'') is a commune in the Allier department in central France. Gannat was a sub-prefecture until 1926, with a population of around 5,800 inhabitants. There is a castle (the Château de Gannat), two churches of which one (Saint-Étienne) is partly Romanesque with a 9th-century Gospel Book. The ''Cultures du Monde'' Festival is held every July. The patron saint of Gannat is Saint Procule. History The most ancient discoveries in Gannat, ancestors of the rhinoceros from the end of the Oligocene and start of the Miocene, date back 23 million years. Gannat seems to have been a veritable cemetery for these creatures, so many of their remains have been discovered. Also found are fossils of fish, reptiles, tortoises, crocodiles, galliform birds, mammals, marsupials, insectivores, rodents and carnivores. The site is particularly rich in rhinoceros. From 1854, Duvernoy has even described a specimen as ''Acerotherium gannatense'' (the official name is ''Diace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
