Description:

C. de Gaulle TLS to Churchill's Bodyguard 1 Week After "Day of the Jackal" - Algerian Independence-Related Assassination Attempt

A 1p typed letter in French signed by Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), President of France, as "C. de Gaulle" in the lower right corner. August 30, 1962, Paris, France. On custom stationery paper with "Le Général de Gaulle" embossed at the letterhead. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds, with a few extra wrinkles and smudges, else near fine. 8.25" x 10.625." Accompanied by the original transmittal envelope with a "Président de la République" stamp to the left of the postmark, and "RF" [République Française] symbol embossed verso. Neatly letter-opened and with scattered foxing and loss, else very good. 5.75" x 4.5."

De Gaulle wrote this letter to Roy Astley Richards, a Scotland Yard inspector who had served as Winston Churchill's bodyguard from June 1945 to April 1946. Richards had also been assigned to protect Général de Gaulle in France in the days after D-Day.

De Gaulle wrote, translated in part:

"Dear Monsieur,

It is quite sincerely that I thank you for your thoughts, and for the expression of your faithful memory.

I was, I assure you, profoundly sensitive to it.

Believe, dear Monsieur, in my most distinguished and best sentiments…"

Just eight days earlier, on August 22, 1962, De Gaulle and his wife Yvonne had narrowly avoided assassination by French and Hungarian political dissidents. Jean Bastien-Thiry (1927-1963), a French Air Force officer and missile designer, had become involved with the OAS, or Organisation Armée Secrète, a far-right, anti-Algerian independence paramilitary organization. Angered by De Gaulle's receptiveness towards granting Algeria its independence in the wake of the grueling Algerian War of 1954-1962, Bastien-Thiry and about a dozen other conspirators planned Operation Charlotte Corday, a plot to kill the president.

The President and First Lady had been passengers in their chauffeured Citroën DS in the Parisian suburb of Petit-Clamart when it was machine-gunned with over 150 rounds of ammunition fired by assailants concealed in parked cars. Between 8-14 bullets struck the presidential car alone, with several just missing De Gaulle's head, and civilians milling around nearby shops had also been endangered by stray fire. Bastien-Thiry had served as lookout during the shooting. The unflappable De Gaulle mocked the assassins' performance, calling them poor shots, but also admitted that it had been a "close shave." Bastien-Thiry was quickly apprehended, tried, and executed by firing squad seven months later, on March 11, 1963.

We cannot be positively sure, but It seems logical that Astley Richards had written De Gaulle a note of concern regarding the latter's recent brush with death. Certainly, Astley Richards's experience guarding Churchill, De Gaulle, and Eamon de Valera would have given him special insights into the dangers facing modern European heads of state. Astley Richards went on to serve as a special consultant in the Diversified Corporate Services, part of MI6, from 1972-1977.

De Gaulle's military and political career had made him enured to such risks, and he was made of stern stuff. From 1940-1944, De Gaulle commanded Free France and served as Chairman of France's Provisional Government from 1944-1946. He served as President of France from January 1959 through April 1969.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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