1 R IRISH (Rangers) march past President de Gaulle.

President of France, General Charles de Gaulle.

A detachment from the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Rangers marched past the President of France, General de Gaulle, to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
The following is an account of the day taken from 'Blackthorn' journal of The Royal |Irish Rangers, Vol 1 No. 1 Spring 1969 by Capt N J Lefroy, Adjutant, 1 R IRISH
'At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 the Great War officially came to an end,
November 11, 1968, was the 50th Anniversary of the momentous event and the French, whose feelings for these events are much longer lasting and more sorrowful than our own, decided to commemorate suitably the day. Not for them the convenience o the nearest Sunday and a revised and les powerful service of remembrance
They have always marked November 11 with a military parade, usually before their President, and taking place from the 'Cours d'Vincennes' to the 'Place de la Bastille'.
Casting aside all political differences, or almost so, they invited all the Allied countries from the 1914-18 War to be represented. This generous gesture was certainly much appreciated by all the non-Frenchmen on parade, and was a most worthwhile exercise in international co-operation for those of us in the 'military business'.
Representing Great Britain were the Scots Guards, with their Regimental Band from London and the 2nd Battalion's Pipes and Drums from B.A.O.R., and the 1st Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers and 1st Battalion Royal Irish Rangers form the U.K. A| first class tribal cocktail which represented on Great Britain's part the role of each and every corner of our country during the Great War.
We travelled by rail from Worcester to Paris on Friday, November 8. A 12-hour journey enlivened only by the 90-minute Channel Crossing which was as calm as a mill pond.
On arrival at the Gare du Nord in Paris we were met by a member of the British Military Delegation, who despatched the soldiers from both the Royal Welch Fusiliers and ourselves to a French barracks at Vincennes, and the Officers to a small hotel on the Left Bank.
The Sunday and Saturday were taken up with rehearsals for the Parade which was to be on the Monday afternoon. The problem was first to get four parties drilling together and then to rehearse as a unified Company, our part in the parade, together with with the other allied detachments. We rehearsed to begin with in the barracks in Vincennes and then went out into the Bois de Vincennes. There we were able to use a road to simulate the place of the parade, and on Sunday morning all the Allied contingents carried out a final rehearsal.
The parade was basically to consist of lining the route whilst the President drove past to his saluting base, and then forming column of route and marching past. We were the third allied contingent to march past - the Yugoslavs led, as they had been the first country to enter the war, and were followed by the Belgians.
The actual parade on the afternoon of Monday, November 11, was a great success and no mean feat of international co-operation! We were in position by 1300 hrs. along our share of the route. The Band, Pipes and Drums of The Scots Guards resplendent in Tunic order on the left, the Royal Scots detachment with the Queen's detachment next to them. In the middle there was the Queen's Colour of the old 2nd Battalion Royal Scots. As the union flag this symbolised the United Kingdom. The Regimental Sergeant Major, W.O. I J. Lattimore, who had come with the party, was detailed off as part of the Escort to the Colour. On the Right of the Colour Party was the Royal Welch Fusiliers and then ourselves. The Adjutant, Captain N. J. Lefroy, who other than honeymooning in Italy had missed out on an overseas tour this year, was in charge of the detachment and was ably assisted by C/Sgt. A. McMullan and Sgts. R. Kelly and E. Dixon. Each detachment was divided into two, and faced inwards across the road, which was about 20 yards wide.
The wait was long and tedious, only enlivened by all the national bands playing short interludes and the continuous coming and going of worried French officials. At last at about five minutes to three the President arrived proceeded by a mounted escort and Band of 'La Garde Republicaine'. This was a most colourful and noisy sight and in the middle was General de Gaulle standing up in a large open car. As he passed we presented arms and the Colour was dipped.
No sooner was he past than we moved out from lining the route into our positions for the march past.
After a short pause we were off and within four hundred yards had reached the saluting base where the President was standing. By Regimental Detachments we gave our eyes left and set off on our mammoth walk! Little did we realise that we would be marching along packed streets, filled with cheering, shouting Frenchmen and women for over three quarters of an hour. The Band and Pipes and Drums kept up a constant beat and never faltered though the going was hard - cobbles and badly surfaced tarmac - and the afternoon was certainly not cold with a watery autumnal sun shining,
The crowd were magnificent and loved the pipes especially. But we got numerous appreciative shouts for our Piper Green trousers which were being worn for the first time in public by the soldiers. At one stage there was even a great shout of 'vive l'Irish Whiskey' - a great compliment.
The parade over we returned to the Barracks at Vincennes and prepared to return home the following morning.
Throughout our short stay in Paris we experienced nothing but goodwill and kindness from our French hosts, who were obviously delighted to see us They had gone to great pains to make the soldiers comfortable and they fed us like kings - Oh for wine and beer for breakfast in Catterick! Nothing was too much trouble and they laid on the equivalent of our 'Men's Christmas Dinner' on Sunday which must have been the party to beat all parties. Starting at 1200 hrs. shar the really fit were still going strong at 1700 hrs. having consumed a terrifying amount of 'Vin ordinaire' - white, red and rose - champagne, cognac and liqueurs! (Quartermaster to note for our next Christmas Dinner). Friendliness and goodwill were enormous and all detachments got on famously together, especially when the pipes were produced, and a mixture of a 'Highland gathering' and a 'Celeidh' took place. No sooner was this mammoth feast over than the majority of the soldiers departed on a conducted bus tour of Paris - when seen passing around the 'Place de la Concorde' all were nodding gently off to sleep except for a mere handful! The Adjutant departed up the Eifel tower where the air was thinner and easier on his head!
Everyone agreed that it had been a most worthwhile trip, not the least because it was such a great honour to take part in such a parade, but also because in our small way we commemorated the thousands of Irishmen who gave their lives for the Allies cause during the Great War 1914-18.

In May 1969, two weeks after he resigned as President, de Gaulle and his wife landed at Cork and travelled to Sneem in County Kerry where they spent six weeks on a 'quiet holiday'. Eighteen months after returning to France, General Charles de Gaulle died on 9 November 1970.