Discovering Commandant René Mouchotte RAF, DFC. CdG 1914 – 1943

René G. Mouchotte, one of the most famous and admired French fighter pilots of World War Two. A gifted tactician and charismatic pilot, but most of all, a man with a clear vision of right and wrong, at a time of great uncertainty within his homeland. This clarity plus a formidable determination made him an exceptional leader, at a time when France, Britain and the free world most need men like him. His loss in August 1943 was a bitter blow to the men under his command. In 2012 the Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial was contacted by the former BBC Television newsreader, Jan Leeming. Jan is a keen supporter of the Battle of Britain Memorial at Chapel le Firth near Dover and had sponsored some of the names on the memorial there. One of the names was Rene Mouchotte, and she began a 5 year search for his story. She had come to a stop in her research and contacted YAM for help. Jan had earlier found his tomb in Paris and left a message for his family and was surprised to be contacted some months later by Mouchotte’s 101 year old sister, Jacqueline. Whilst filming Jacqueline, Jan joined Ian Reed from YAM when he represented the French Embassy at the state funeral at Les Invalides in Paris, of Henry Lafont – the last French RAF Battle of Britain pilot. From that meeting began detailed research; the creation of two television films and the discovery of erstwhile unknown film footage of Rene. Read the full story of Rene Mouchotte's wartime life as a Free French fighter pilot, flying with the RAF from Britain, on our website. http://wp.me/p6ZWQ3-To