The flag of the Free French with the Cross of Lorraine
(used as the website "favicon")

    The Cross of Lorraine takes various forms (one of which is shown below in red on the white background) and it is part of the heraldic arms of Lorraine in eastern France. It was originally the symbol of Joan of Arc and after 1940, superimposed on a standard flag of France, it was adopted by General Charles de Gaulle as the symbol of the Free French. During the period of 1940 - 1945 the cross served as a rallying point for French ambitions to recover its lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. The significance for Oradour is that 44 of those who died on 10 June 1944 originally came from Charly in Lorraine, now renamed Charly-Oradour: see The Oradours of France.

    I have chosen this flag to be the "favicon" for the website and it should appear next to http://www.oradour.info in the address bar of your browser and in the "Favourites" list of Internet Explorer, or "Bookmarks" of Netscape Navigator if you save the address.

    If the "favicon" is not displayed and you are using Internet Explorer 7, try opening: Tools - Internet Options and on the General tab click on Delete in the Browsing history section, then on the Temporary Internet Files section of the next box, click on Delete files, next click on Delete history. This action should clear your computer's cash of temporary files and allow the favicon to be displayed.

The flag of the Free French Forces under the leadership of General Charles de Gaulle and showing the
Cross of Lorraine in red.

The standard flag of France (le tricolore), known to English speakers as the French Tricolour.

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© Michael Williams revised January 2008