Gen. de Gaulle,Edinburgh, 23rd June 1942: "I do not think a Frenchman could come to Scotland at any time without being sensible of a special emotion. Scarcely can he set foot in this ancient & glorious land before he finds countless natural affinities between your country& ours"

"awareness of the thousand links, still living & cherished, of the Franco-Scottish Alliance, the oldest alliance in the world, leaps to his mind...firstly, that close political and military entente which, in the Middle Ages, was established between our ancient monarch & yours."DG

"I'm thinking of the Scottish blood which flowed in the veins of our kings, & the French blood which flowed in the veins of your kings, of glory shared on past battlefields, from the siege of Orleans, raised by Joan of Arc, to Valmy, where Goethe recognised a new age was dawning"

"In every combat where for five centuries the destiny of France was at stake, there were always men of Scotland to fight side by side with men of France, & what Frenchmen feel, is that no people has ever been more generous than yours with its friendship."
De Gaulle

"Yet in our old alliance there was more than a common policy, more than marriages & fighting deeds. There were not only Stuarts, Queens of France & Scotland, Kennedy, Berwick, Macdonald, & the glorious Garde écossaise. There were also a thousand ties of spirit and soul."De Gaulle

"How could we forget the mutual inspiration of French & Scottish poets, or the influence of men like Locke & Hume on our philosophy? How could we fail to recognise what is common to the Presbyterian Church of Scotland & the doctrines of Jean Calvin?" De Gaulle

"How could we hide the influence which the great Walter Scott(& Stevenson) exercised over the receptive mind of French youth? How could we ignore all the exchanges of ideas, feelings, customs, & even words so frequent between two peoples joined by a natural friendship..?"De G

"This friendship & understanding which Frenchmen have found in Scotland throughout history, are to-day more precious than ever. Undoubtedly, mingled at the present time with the joint aims, efforts, & ideals which go to make up the alliance between France & Great Britain"De G.

"..the soil of France enfolds lovingly thousands & thousands of Scots whose blood was shed with that of our own soldiers during the last war, I can affirm. Buzancy monument to their memory has never been more frequently bedecked with flowers than since the new invasion." De G

De Gaulle in Edinburgh in 1942 :" If the roses of France are bloodstained to-day, they still cluster round the thistle of Scotland."

"the comradeship of arms, sealed on Abbeville battlefield in May-June, 1940, between the French armoured division I had the honour to command, & the gallant 51st Scottish Division under General Fortune, played its part in decision I made to continue the fight at side of Allies"

"That which you extend to us in difficult task my comrades & I have undertaken, affords comforting proof that, like your forefathers, you (Scots) know where the real France stands, & you have kept your faith in her future. We, like our forefathers, will know how to repay."De G

De Gaulle in Edinburgh, 23 July 1942: " We, like our forefathers, will know how to repay. And that is why, in thanking you for the truly touching reception which you have given me here, I close by quoting the old motto of the Compagnie écossaise: Omni modo fidelis."