French teens, British vets form bond during lockdown
French student Marion Nivard starting writing last year to a World War II veteran in Britain, thanking him for taking part in the Normandy invasion that freed her country from the Nazis.
As VE Day approached, Nivard and her classmates in the Normandy region thought of 94-year-old Bill Ridgewell and other vets living in isolation because of the Covid-19 pandemic — just as they were. The teens decided to swap stories with the men about their lives under lockdown.
“I think we need to be with them even if we’re not with them — if that makes sense!” said Nivard,
15. “It’s already something to be there in thoughts and sending them messages. I’m sure it makes them happy, and it makes us happy too.”
The veterans, most of whom are now in their 90s, had been looking forward to a grand party on Friday marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe.
But the festivities have been scaled back to mostly broadcast events, including a two-minute moment of silence. The Queen will deliver a televised message, and there will be a national singalong of We’ll Meet Again, led by 103-year-old Vera Lynn, who made the song famous during the war.
Writing to the veterans brought home to the teens that they are living through a unique moment in time that will be remembered by future generations, said Mayeul Mac, a history teacher at Saint-Louis Middle School in Cabourg. President Emmanuel Macron’s address announcing the lockdown set the stage.
“The President’s use of the term ‘at war’ really left its mark on the pupils,” he said. “I have students who wonder what history really is, and they realised that they were experiencing something historic.”
The relationships with the vets began in 2017, when a group spoke at the school. The teens gave the guests vials of sand or soil, depending on whether they stormed the Normandy beaches or dropped from planes. The students later visited the Imperial War Museum in London, and the veterans came too. Ties formed, and letters were exchanged, said Ian Parsons, chairman of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, which arranged the school visit.
Veterans like hearing the kids talk about lockdown in all its banality. Snapshots of lunch, happy dogs on walks and bedrooms tidied briefly for photos are standard fare. Content is secondary.
Just ask Ridgewell.
A former school headmaster, Ridgewell was in a trench on the outskirts of Caen on July 5, 1944, when he watched Allied planes bomb the city. He was horrified and feared the French would never forgive the Allies for laying waste to their communities, even though the bombing was part of the effort to crush the Nazis. For years he did not want to visit Normandy. But he finally returned last year as part of celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day. What he found surprised him: The French treated him like a hero.
Ridgewell’s pen pal and another girl from a nearby school travelled to England last year to watch him receive the Legion D’Honneur. He’s quick to show off a cherished snapshot of the event.
Now the man who was reluctant to go to France can’t wait to go back and catch up with the teens. And he has taken up studying French so he can talk to “mes amis”.