History

The Lyon branch of the Association France - Grande Bretagne was originally established about 50 years ago. In the early 1960s the president was M. Isnard le Francé, a banker, whose wife was British. He was succeeded in the late 1960s by M. Hugues Morel-Journel, a silk merchant and one-time president of the Lyon Chamber of Commerce and president of the International Silk Association.

An AFGB ciné club was set up, showing a film in English every month, at first in a hall in the rue Sully, then in a professional cinema, Ciné-Caluire. The ciné club had a regular following of members for a good many years, but declined and finally ceased to operate when English-language (v.o.) films came to be shown regularly in the cinemas in Lyon.

During this time the Lyon AFGB was the principal organizer, together with the Mairie de Saint Germain au Mont d'Or, the British Consulate-General and the 5e Région Militaire, of the annual Franco-British Armistice Remembrance ceremony at the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at Saint Germain. The ceremony still takes place each year, now organized by the Mairie of Saint Germain, the RAFA and the British Legion.

The Lyon AFGB was closely involved in the Lyon - Birmingham town twinning, and took part in many twinning events over the years. There was also a full programme of public lectures by visiting speakers, arranged through the British Council, the British Tourist Authority or the British Consulate-General, there was an active English conversation group, ski outings were organized for members during the winter season and there were various other activities of a franco-british nature.

In the mid-1970s M. Jean Perrachon, PDG of the firm Keller-Dorian, became president. Brian Page became president in 1980, then Keith Gordon took over in the mid-1980s. There was practically no activity during the 1990s.

The Lyon & Rhône branch of the AFGB was re-launched by Margaret Marret in 2001, with a programme that includes the association's traditional activities like public lectures, cultural and academic activities like the reading group, and events of a more social nature like a monthly lunch in a restaurant.