Adjt Pierre VILLEY GC2/4

[Brian]

One for our French experts!

I note that the above pilot was awarded a British DFC on 6 June 1940. Does anyone know why?

Cheers
Brian

[Laurent Rizzotti]

No idea why he had a DFC. At least during the France campain, he did nothing i know related to RAF or British troops.

He claimed 1/2 Ju 86 and a Bf 110 probable on 16 May, and 1/2 Bf 109 on 25 May but was killed in the same fight when his Curtiss H-75 n°121 collided with the Curtiss H-75 n°220 of Sgt François Dietrich of the same unit during the attack.
"18 Curtiss of GC II/4 tasked with escorting a Potez 63.11 on a reconaissance mission from Berry-au-Bac to Rethel met 5 Bf109s, and lost two pilots. Villey's Curtiss H-75 n°121 broke in two in the air and he was thrown out but his parachute opened too late and he was killed by hitting the ground atCauroy (Ardennes)."

[Lucien]

On June 6th 1940, a bunch of French pilots were awarded British awards and, most probably, a similar number of French "Croix de guerre" were bestowed to some RAF pilots. This kind of "courteous exchanges" was not uncommon during both WW. As far as I know, the French so awarded were :

Adjudant pilote Antoine MERCY, GR II/52,
Adjudant pilote Pierre, René, James VILLEY, GC II/4,
Adjudant pilote Camille PLUBEAU, GC II/4,
Adjudant-chef pilote Jean-Baptiste LE BAIL, GR II/22,
Lieutenant pilote Maurice AMARRE, GR II/52,
Lieutenant pilote Pierre, Georges HOUZE, GC II/5,
Lieutenant pilote Robert, Jean HUVET, GC II/5,
Lieutenant pilote Jean, Isidore ISRAEL, GR II/33,
Lieutenant pilote René, Louis JOSSELIN, GC II/5,
Lieutenant pilote Jean BERNARD, unit unknow

Two remarks :

- In the French services, adjudant and adjudant-chef (with a d) are NCOs, wether Warrant officers, their roughly equivalent in the RAF, have officers privileges. This explain why the DFC, which is an officer award, has been bestowed to them.
- For the same reasons, it is most probable that a bunch of DFMs have also been awarded at the same time to French sergents & sergents-chefs pilotes. Would be intersting to do some checking in whatever records is available in the UK.

The killing question !

Those French flyers were mostly regulars and I wonder if, after July 3rd, the survivors were allowed and/or willling to wear their British awards...

[Brian]

Hi Lucien

As far as I am aware, Villey was the only French pilot/aircrew to receive the DFC at this time, and I have no record of DFMs going to French NCOs, so what were the awards made by the RAF?

Cheers
Brian

[Lucien]

They certainely were. Those names were found in a book about DFCs recently published in the UK. l believe a similar book will cover DFMs.

All together 215 DFCs were awarded to French Air Force airmen. Of which, 10 awarded in 1940, the rest from 1941 to 1949. This number includes 4 bars.

This total does not includes French nationals directlly enlisted in the RAF.