French Naval Officer Recounts Experiences

Sitting quietly in Lowell House Common Room last evening and speaking French always in a soft even voice, Capitaine de Covette Blaison of the Free-French submarine Surcouf told his listeners of the evacuation of Dunkirk and of training farmers and mechanics to man his submarine, and expressed the opinion that 90 percent of the Frenchmen in Occupied France are behind De Gaulle.

Speaking to the Cercle Francaise and their guests, the commander of the largest submarine in the world said that he was solidly behind the principles back of the recent Roosevelt-Churchill declaration as being the only basis for a real peace.

Fishing Boats at Dunkirk

At the time of Dunkirk, Blaisen whose career has been the navy since he was sixteen years of age, received orders from the French Admiralty to requisition as many fishing smacks as he could find. He found 40, settled them back and forth across the channel, and finished up with 20.

After the Free-French navy was organized by three men in a room in the Dorchester Hotel in London, Blatson was made second in command of the Surcouf. He had never served in a and before and only 35 percent of the enlisted personell were men who had scan service in submarines.