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WFA member David Empson sends us this salutary warning by way of a letter to his Euro MP and others:

11 Aug 2010
Stowmarket
Suffolk

Dear Sir,

We wish to advise ..... about an event which occured at the Loon Plage Ferry Terminal, Port of Dunkerque at 2.30pm on 9 August 2010. It concerns thousands of people, not only French and British citizens, but visitors to France from all over the EU and the world on a regular and perhaps daily basis who visit the battlefields of WW1 and WW2. Many of these visitors will buy souvenirs of their visit and often these may include old bayonets amongst other items.

These items are for sale at hundreds of locations in France (shops, museums, antique markets and military fairs to name a few ) and are offered for sale (including at First World War museums in France) to thousands of visitors, many of whom come from Britain, Australia, Canada and the rest of the world and of course also from France to remember the sacrifices of those terrible wars. France has suffered greatly in the two World Wars and these events should not be forgotten, France itself now benefits from hundreds of thousands of visitors every year making pilgrimages to the battlefields.

We were stopped in a routine Customs enquiry whilst returning from visiting Ypres in Belgium. On our trip out and returning journey we had spent no more than 45 minutes each way in France, without stopping.

Whilst in Belgium we had purchased, perfectly legally, some military items as we are both collectors of long experience (40 years each). During the inspection we were asked quite rightly what we had on board with us to which we replied some old military items including a few bayonets. During the search we showed one of these items, an American M3 personnel knife from WW2 quite possibly last used in the Liberation of France in 1944. At this point we were asked to go to their premises for a more in-depth search. I had no problem with this of course until after 15 minutes of following one of their vehicles away from the port (ensuring we would miss our booked ferry) when I stopped in a layby to enquire from the occupants of the car following us (five armed Customs men in two cars were deemed essential for our journey) why we were being taken so far away from our Ferry terminal, when a search could have been conducted there.

The reply was, of course, "Do as you are instructed". I had no other say in this, the journey conducted at my own expense must have been a 45 minute return trip.

When we eventually arrived at their premises we were advised they have no search facility at Dunkerque port but neither did they really have any at their premises, our vehicle was emptied outside. What they do when it rains we have no idea.

Various items were taken inside, including some German 1939-45 items, (some with swastikas covered but all in bags and boxes nothing on view to the public and bought perfectly legally this way in Belgium). Four bayonets were removed (we owned two each) plus a commemorative Christmas 1914 Princess Mary Tin with its original bullet style writing pencil (obviously returned when we showed them what it was) and two WW1 Gasmasks.

We had to wait obviously whilst all this took place and had no objection to a thorough search taking place only that the 45 minute journey had been totally unnecessary in my view as we informed the Officers of what was on board and the additional search could have been done at the terminal. Four hours were to pass whilst enquiries were made as to what offences we had apparently or possibly unknowingly committed and, eventually, all items except the four bayonets were duly returned.

At no time during the four hours this took were we offered a drink or even somewhere to sit until I went into the building to enquire if toilets were available.

We were finally told that the bayonets were to be confiscated from us and just to add insult to this we were to be fined 100 Euro each for their possesion. The bayonets we were told were to be destroyed, an act I described as a criminal act since they had in all probablity helped liberate France 65 years earlier and were true museum or collector items. I insisted they be offered to the military museum in Dunkerque but was told, "No, they will be destroyed". Copious amounts of paperwork were duly filled in, copies of passports and vehicle documents taken, names of our fathers and mothers including mothers' maiden names, even though I lost my father aged 5.

We were truly made to feel like criminals during these four hours. The Customs Officers we have no complaint about, they were doing their job as they saw it with the limitation that the law made upon them, apparently with no ability though of advising us that this was technically an offence and we should not do it again which of course would have had a much better ending to the whole affair.

The lack of facilities for them at a port the size of Dunkerque was truly staggering and this ought to be addressed urgently so other visitors to France are not delayed in their legal travels. Those who are knowingly commiting an offence we have of course no sympathy for.

After four hours of delay and having missed two ferries we decided we had little option then but to pay and argue our case later on. So much for free, unrestricted trade in the EU.

So what is my reason for writing to you? This concerns many thousands of people who visit France or travel through it and in their belief perfectly legally buying a souvenir of their visit or for their collection somewhere in France or the EU but apparently when this is taken out of the shop or fair and put in the boot of a car when in France you are commiting a criminal offence. When was the last offence carried out by a WW1 or WW2 weapon? The kitchens of the world are full of sharper knives.

We fully appreciate there are thousands of souvenirs of WW1 and 2 available and some of these we would agree totally should not be allowed to be exported without enquiries, such as live firearms or ordnance. But when bayonets are openly being sold to visitors to France in France itself, as well as to French citizens, we think a change in the law is necessary. We have visited many countries in Europe with our interest in battlefields and there are no laws we have encountered as crazy as this one.

Either all bayonet sales in France must be outlawed or a change in the law to restrict them being openly carried uncovered needs to urgently replace this ridiculous law. But surely all EEC countries need to come into line with laws involving military items. The militaria markets selling these items happen all across the EU, as well as shops and antique markets.

But we demand to know exactly what is permissable for visitors to buy legally and this information should be made available at ports, on boats, shops at military fairs and anywhere visitors are likely to be offered items. I would estimate a minimum of 250,000 British visitors alone come to France every year to visit their relatives' graves or battlefields they fought on to liberate France.

As visitors many times to France we want to know if we now have a criminal record as so much paperwork was copied and filled in.

If as we believe a very heavy hand was taken in this we expect the return of our property or compensation and an apology for destroying such history as they represented, also the Euro fine and the return or destruction of the paperwork made at the time.

Compensation would also be desirable for the loss of time, it made us very late in returning to the UK and the cost of the unnecessary 45 minute journey.

As for the time lost it can never be returned of course but for the 250,000 visitors next year we hope this law can be clarified immediately. We hope you can assist us in correcting this absurd situation by checking the specific details of this law and by advising visitors to France by publishing this letter anywhere it can be read by visitors until this law is clarified and updated.

We look forward to your response and thankyou for your kind attention in this matter.

Yours sincerely

Rodney Beckett & David Empson

There's a discussion about this subject on The Western Front Association's Front Forum.

My grandfather's older brother (Rifleman Charles Durrant, 2/Rifle Brigade) was killed on 9th May 1915 at Hill 60 on the Ypres Salient, or at least, that's what his family were told. With no reason to question the facts, Charlie remained "missing at Hill 60" for another eighty-five years, but a chance glimpse, in May 2000, of a memorial card to another missing 2/Rifle Brigade man highlighted the error of our ways. We had discovered Fromelles and the Battle of Aubers Ridge.

The research moved quite quickly from the men of 2/Rifle Brigade to all those serving with the 7th and 8th Divisions and then onto Fromelles 1916, the 61st (South Midland) Division and the 5th Division, Australian Imperial Force. The similarities between the 1915 battle and the 1916 attack (fought over the same ground and with the same devastating results) were enough to convince me that further and more in-depth research was required. Prior to the discovery of the mass graves at Pheasant Wood, Fromelles had been known only for being the place where the AIF had experienced its first, and disastrous, taste of action on the Western Front.

In February 2008 (and in an attempt to help raise the British profile in Fromelles), I became the British Historian and Representative for the Association Fromelles-Weppes Terre de Mémoire - 14/18, with Lambis Englezos becoming my Australian counterpart. In June 2008, following GUARD's success in proving the existence of the mass graves, the research went into overdrive. By July, I had an accurate list of missing British and Australian men from the 1916 action and in the August I received a telephone call from Peter Barton who had heard of my work and who wished to share his German research with me. Between us, we would attempt to put names to the men who would be recovered from Pheasant Wood.

Peter's first visit to the Red Cross Archives in Geneva in December 2008 netted something in the region of 160 lists of names, lists which included the names of some of our missing Australian and British men. Peter made a first sweep of the lists before sending them to me for further scrutiny. We eventually extracted the names of 185 Australian and 46 British men, men whose names had appeared on German lists of English dead.

Our research was made available to teams in both Australia and Britain (via the Australian Army and the British Ministry of Defence) and the search began for the families of these men as the first of the 250 British and Australian men were recovered from Pheasant Wood. Meetings at Whitehall followed in order to discuss and resolve omissions from the British Working List and in January this year, I was at Fromelles to see the first of "my boys" buried with full military honours.

I could so easily say that my Fromelles-related research began with Uncle Charlie and ended on Monday, 19 July 2010 at the new Pheasant Wood Military Cemetery, but hundreds of my men from both 1915 and 1916 (British and Australian) remain "missing" with no known grave and the search for them continues. Who knows? There may yet be more mass graves to find ............

Victoria Burbidge, British Historian and Representative for the Association Fromelles-Weppes Terre de Mémoire - 14/18

Photographs (supplied by Victoria):

Above is Rfn. Charles Durrant (2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade), my grandfather's big brother. Killed in action at Fromelles on 9 May 1915, he remains one of the 1,300 plus men from that day's action (out of more than 1,500 killed in action) to have no known grave.

Private Robert “Bertie” Scott (32nd Battalion, AIF), killed in action 20th July 1916. Bertie had a “known grave” at Rue Petillon Military Cemetery for nearly 94 years. I added his name on the Australian Working List as I felt that there was more than enough doubt regarding the identity of the man buried at Rue Petillon. Bertie’s remains were recovered from Pheasant Wood, which was a great relief to me.

The third image is of me, Martial Delebarre and Lambis Englezos, taken after one of my 9th May services. Martial is the President of the Fromelles-Weppes - Terre de Mémoire 14-18 and has worked tirelessly for the relatives of the Australian men.

Taken on 9 May 2009, at the reception and exhibition which I arrange each anniversary in Fromelles, following a battlefield service. In this image, Peter Barton has just presented framed copies of German maps to Hubert Huchette (the Mayor of Fromelles) and David Symons (then CWGC Director for France). Lord Faulkner is also present as the Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary War Heritage Group.

Editor's footnote: this article, generously supplied by Victoria, came about as a result of a reminder by Martin Willoughby (WFA Dorset and S Wilts Branch Chairman) that Victoria, a Branch member, was also at the Fromelles ceremony. Thank you to both.