Hadfield-Spears Ambulance Unit
The Hadfield-Spears Ambulance Unit was an Anglo-French volunteer medical unit which served initially with the 4th French army in Lorraine, eastern France, during the Second World War from February 1940 until it was forced to retreat on 9 June ahead of the German advance. Its official French designation at that time was Ambulance Chirurgical Légère de Corps d’Armée 282. The unit made its way across France via Bordeaux to Arcachon from where it was evacuated back to Britain, arriving at Plymouth on 26 June. The unit re-grouped and re-equipped in Britain before sailing on 20 March 1941 for the Middle East, landing at Suez on 2 May. Under the designation of HCM 3 Ambulance Hadfield-Spears, it was attached to the Free French forces in the Middle East, North Africa, Italy and France before being dissolved in Paris in June 1945 on the order of General Charles de Gaulle.
The river Sarre at Sarreguemines – the front line. The town had been abandoned by its French inhabitants. Girls of the Hadfield-Spears unit went for crockery from the china factory. They peered across to the German bank. ‘We could see what appeared to be a deserted café. The windows were wide open, the deep grass in front had grown up through the iron tables and chairs.’
The beach at Arcachon in southwestern France. After their arduous trek ahead of the German advance, girls of the Hadfield-Spears unit relaxed among French holidaymakers on these sands before transferring to a British warship. Their evacuation from Arcachon was supervised by Lieutenant Ian Fleming of the Royal Navy.
Lady Spears (centre) with Sir Edward Spears (left) in December 1942 in Lebanon on the steps of their residence – that of the First British Minister to the Levant. To the right of Sir Edward stands Henry Hopkinson, private secretary to the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Alexander Cadogan; Richard Casey, Minister Resident in the Middle East, is to the right of Lady Spears, with Mrs Ethel Casey to her left.
The 1st Free French Division was one of the principal units of the Free French Forces (FFL) during World War II, renowned for having fought the Battle of Bir Hakeim.
Badge of the 1st Free French Division. The divisional badge features the Cross of Lorraine
Free French Foreign Legionnaires assaulting an enemy strong point at the Battle of Bir Hakeim
