Free France Free France Free France and its Free French Forces (French: "France Libre" and "Forces françaises libres") were the government-in-exile led by Charles de Gaulle during the Second World War and its military forces, that continued to fight against the Axis powers as one of the Allies after the fall of France. Set up in London in June 1940, it organised and supported the Resistance in occupied France. Charles de Gaulle, a French government minister who rejected the armistice concluded by Marshal Philippe Pétain and who had escaped to Britain, exhorted the French to resist in his BBC broadcast "Appeal of
Brian Lane (RAF officer) 1940, Lane married famous racing driver Eileen Ellison in Cambridge. During the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940 Lane was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his bravery, and his official rating as a fighter pilot classed "exceptional". He became acting squadron commander on 25 May 1940 when the incumbent commanding officer was shot down over Dunkirk. By September 1940, during the peak of the Battle of Britain, Lane's abilities as a fighter pilot and leader were duly recognised and he was promoted to squadron leader. Lane's No. 19 Squadron RAF often operated with No. 242 Squadron RAF, and led