A flag of French Mandate Lebanon, signed by 21 Australian soldiers on the occasion of the entry of General Charles de Gaulle into Beirut in July 1941
A red, white and blue tricolour (approximately 630 × 1110 mm, in three panels, sewn) with a cedar of Lebanon painted in green and brown on the white central stripe .
Material a little tanned and faded, with a few tiny holes; a striking piece in good condition overall.
Allied forces, spearheaded by two brigades of the Australian 7th Division, took Beirut from the Vichy French on 12 July 1941, and Syria and Lebanon were placed under British control two days later at the Armistice of Saint Jean d'Acre, on terms that sidelined the Free French. De Gaulle insisted on concessions and secured ongoing Free French administration of Lebanon under General Georges Catroux. Newspaper reports give the date of the entry of de Gaulle and Catroux into Beirut as 26 July, although a United States State Department cable dated 25 July gives it as 'noon today' (740.0011 European War 1939/13488). The Australian War Memorial holds newsreel footage of the event (F01119, dated 'c July 1941'), showing their motorcade processing past throngs of excited Australian and allied troops. The relatively crudely-painted cedar of Lebanon on this flag suggests that it was created from a plain French tricolour. It has been signed by 21 soldiers, most with their service numbers, with the signatures and inscriptions embroidered-over by hand in red and blue thread. It is inscribed near the top edge 'De Gaulle Victory March', and two of the signatures are dated 24 July 1941 (suggesting that the flag was prepared in the days prior to the event). Most of the service numbers are South Australian, and several of the signatories were members of the 9th Division Cavalry Regiment, at that time attached to the 21st Brigade. Amongst them is the future Liberal Senator for South Australia Keith Alexander Laught (1907-1969). In addition to being an interesting artefact of Australian military forces in the Levant, this flag also stands at a turning point in the history of Lebanon. Catroux would proclaim Lebanese independence on 26 November 1941, while maintaining French administrative control; a Lebanese government unilaterally declared full independence in November 1943 (abolishing this flag); and the French Mandate finally concluded in 1946.
Item #145940
Price (AUD):
$2,500.00