The Interview | From watching the Tommies' arrival at the Pomme d'Or to playing music in Liberation 80 celebrations

David Perchard was five when his mother took him to watch the arrival of the 'Tommies' in front of the Pomme d'Or Hotel on 8 May 1945. 80 years later, he has become a part of La Ronde Concert Band, who play as part of the celebrations.

He sat down with Express to talk about what it was like to grow up under the Occupation and in the following years, how he started to understand the horrors of the Second World War, and what it was like to pick up the clarinet as an adult.

May 8, 2025