If you happen to be travelling south on the motorway from Calais to Dijon, I can recommend a visit to the de Gaulle Memorial at Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises. For a start, it is set in the middle of beautiful, open country within easy reach of the motorway. Secondly, it doesn't attract hordes of visitors outside the month of June. I can't help thinking that this is deliberate as there are no huge car parks and in fact everything is very spartan and subdued. De Gaulle must have been an infuriating man to deal with. Did not Churchill once remark: "Of all the crosses I have to bear, the heaviest is the Cross of Lorraine"? Incidentally, it is very much to the credit of the de Gaulle family and of France as a whole that this remark is displayed prominently in the entrance of the Memorial!
At the same time, he was a man of complete and utter integrity.
In an affront to the French and world political establishments and protocol, de Gaulle's will specifically stated that he was to be buried at Colombey-les-deux-Églises, and that no presidents or ministers attend his funeral, only his Compagnons de la Libération. The heads of State attended a simultaneous service held at Notre-Dame Cathedral. His will also specified that his tombstone bear the simple inscription "Charles de Gaulle, 1890-1970". He was nearly destitute when he died, and his family had to sell their residence, which was purchased by a foundation and is currently the Charles de Gaulle Museum.
He is buried in the little churchyard in the same grave as his wife and his beloved daughter Anne, who suffered from Down's syndrome and died in 1948 at the age of 20.
At the same time, he was a man of complete and utter integrity.
In an affront to the French and world political establishments and protocol, de Gaulle's will specifically stated that he was to be buried at Colombey-les-deux-Églises, and that no presidents or ministers attend his funeral, only his Compagnons de la Libération. The heads of State attended a simultaneous service held at Notre-Dame Cathedral. His will also specified that his tombstone bear the simple inscription "Charles de Gaulle, 1890-1970". He was nearly destitute when he died, and his family had to sell their residence, which was purchased by a foundation and is currently the Charles de Gaulle Museum.
He is buried in the little churchyard in the same grave as his wife and his beloved daughter Anne, who suffered from Down's syndrome and died in 1948 at the age of 20.
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