A wonderful day celebrated in wonderful French style at East Fort  -  Hout Bay The Ceremony 14 July 2004

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The SA Navy Band set the scene for the ceremonial event to the delight of all the local guests and their friends. The perfect weather added to the stunning view of Hout Bay which was once the anchorage of sheltering East Indiamen on their passage from Europe to the East.

Wednesday the 14th of July was undoubtedly Hout Bay’s greatest Bastille Day celebration yet. The close association between the République Français and the Republic of Hout Bay reached new heights when officers and crew of the visiting French Naval Vessel “La Marne” attended a special medal parade at East Fort where the ceremony was conducted by Capitaine de vaisseau Thierry Soudet, (head of Staff of Admiral Rolin, Commander of French maritime zone of the Indian Ocean). The event was accompanied by the SA Naval Band which created a wonderful atmosphere for the event and representatives of the SA Army, Navy and Air Force were present to pay tribute to the recipients of the prestigious decorations. Following the medal ceremony, which included a guard of honour, Hout Bay’s famous 18 pounder gun was fired by Capitaine Boy in a salute to ‘La République’ on France’s special day and a second salute was fired in honour of the Republic of South Africa (and Hout Bay) by Capitaine Soudet. For the first time, the c1752 gun was ‘run out’ on its new platform by sailors from ‘La Marne’, who rapidly hauled the ropes which moved the 2.5 ton gun into position in fine style, thus re-enacting the drill which would have been the order of the day more than 200 years ago when East Fort was on the equivalent of a ‘Red Alert’ during the Napoleonic Wars. The special connection of the site with France is the fact that the fort was built by soldiers of the French Pondicherry Regiment. Pondicherry is a familiar name to Hout Bay residents but not all South Africans know that Pondicherry was actually a French enclave in India (South of Madras) for more than 280 years. It is likely therefore that most of the soldiers were in fact Indian. The event was organised by the French Consul to Cape Town, Bruno Clerc, and the Hout Bay Heritage Trust would like to thank their French guests for making July 14th such a memorable event for the whole community and helping the community to enjoy the rich and diverse cultural heritage of their beautiful valley.

	It is was the first time that the SA Navy Band has performed at East Fort and in fact probably the first time we have seen them perform in Hout Bay. Those present were delighted with their performance which added something really special to the wonderful day.
Members of the Hout Bay Heritage Trust were delighted to attend the event and welcomed our French guests with applause. The historic site was established by the French Pondicherry Regiment in 1781 and thus this heritage site was a fitting venue for another historic occasion associated with France. The many officers and crew, from the visiting French ship "La Marne" who  attended the presentation gave Hout Bay's Bastille Day a wonderful French atmosphere absent for more than 200 years.
	Capitaine de frégate Hervé Boy (2nd Left) (Commanding Officer of "La Marne") and a fellow officer were presented with the “Legion d’Honeur” the highest military decoration bestowed by la République Français.
The immaculate Guard of Honour made up of officers from "La Marne" accompanied the medal ceremony led by the Capitaine's pennant. which included the presentation of the "Legion d'Honeur", France's highest military decoration,  to two of the Senior Naval officers.   Pictures by Dave Cowley & Matt Mercer

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