MP URGES FRENCH PRESIDENT TO ACKNOWLEDGE WELSH SOLDIERS

MONMOUTH MP David Davies has written to Nicholas Sarkozy to express his disappointment after the French President missed Wales off a tribute to Britain's contribution to the First World War.

During France's main remembrance service at Verdun, President Sarkozy told various dignitaries, including Prince Charles, "France will never forget the English, Scottish and Irish soldiers who fought on our soil as if it was their own".

Mr Davies, a former member of the Territorial Army Royal Artillery and former Assembly Government representative to the Reserve Forces Cadet Association, described the omission as ‘very disappointing and surprising'.

"You would have thought he would have remembered the Welsh, especially as the Prince of Wales was visiting and the French Prime Minister is married to a Welsh woman from Abergavenny," he said.

"I presume it was an accidental oversight and not a deliberate snub and I have sent a polite letter to President Sarkozy offering to publish a short statement from his office recording the French Government's acknowledgement of the important role played by Welsh regiments during both world wars.

"Wales has a glorious military tradition that goes back many centuries, including to 1415 when Welsh archers played a key role in defeating the French at the Battle of Agincourt.

"I was tempted to mention this to the President, but I thought it might not be very diplomatic. It would, however, be nice to see members of the Welsh armed forces getting the recognition they deserve".