A fascinating story about a French master at Ermysted's Grammar School and his connections with the First World War appeared 50 years ago in the Craven Herald. Monsieur Colombain, a graduate of Oxford University, taught French at Ermysted's from 1911 to 1914, when he went on holiday and did not return. The war broke out, he enlisted and was commissioned in the French Army. He was wounded twice and after the war, worked for the League of Nations and then the International Labour Office, where he was a high ranking official in the Co-operative Division until his retirement. Some 50 years later, he shared his memories of Skipton with the Yorkshire Peer, Lord Peddie at a conference they both attended in La Baule, France. M Colombain told Lord Peddie, then chairman of the Co-operative Party, how he would be delighted to hear from any of his old pupils. Then 74, he recalled how the school had come to his assistance during the war when he had wanted to get his French soldiers to play rugby behind the lines. He wrote to the headmaster, Mr Powell, and back from the boys came a ball which the French soldiers put to good use. Meanwhile, one of the former French master's pupils, William Hardacre of Skipton remembered him well.Not only did he teach French, but he also took PT, in which he issued all instructions in French. He was also a keen rugby player and played for the school's XV in matches against sides including Leeds Rifles.