Astier de Villatte

Astier de Villatte is a commander in the Free French air force whose brief appearances connect the narrator’s training, service in Africa, and return to operational duty. He leads the Lorraine Squadron as it prepares to leave for Africa and later uses his authority to bring the narrator back to the unit after a disciplinary punishment.

Command of the Lorraine Squadron

After completing training at Andover, the narrator is posted to the Free French Lorraine Squadron, which is preparing to depart for Africa under Astier de Villatte’s command. The narrator’s account places the squadron’s preparations against the Battle of Britain: while British pilots repeatedly take off in damaged aircraft, he watches from the countryside and describes his own contribution as little more than wearing a colorful scarf. Astier de Villatte is thus introduced as the commander of a unit bound for active service, while the narrator remains frustrated by his distance from the fighting.

Service in Africa

The narrator later serves with the squadron in Africa, where routine flights and inactivity fuel the airmen’s exasperation. In Bangui, he and other pilots express their frustration through reckless and disruptive behavior. After a dangerous flight ends in a crash and the narrator receives fifteen days’ close arrest, he spends the punishment clearing the garden at his bungalow. The episode shows the distance between the squadron’s stated military purpose and the idle, strained conditions in which the narrator finds himself.

Intervention and Return to Duty

Astier de Villatte reappears as a source of practical help: the narrator says that the colonel’s friendly intervention finally gets him out of his period of arrest. He then rejoins the squadron, which is operating on the Abyssinian front. The account gives no further detail about the intervention, but its consequence is clear: Astier de Villatte helps restore the narrator to his unit and to a setting closer to the fighting he had wanted to reach.