"Vos voeux d'anniversaire m'ont vivement touché. Je vous en remercie de tout coeur."

Dated and signed autograph letter from Charles de Gaulle, addressed to his cook Augustine Bastide, who served him from 1940 to 1958. 9 lines in blue ink on his headed paper.
Trace of folding inherent to envelope insertion.
"Vos voeux d'anniversaire m'ont vivement touché. Je vous en remercie de tout coeur." (Your birthday wishes moved me deeply. I thank you with all my heart.)
The de Gaulles had taken in the recipient of this letter, Augustine Bastide, upon their arrival in London. Of Provençal origin, she served the family from 1940 to 1958, first in Great Britain then in France. At the de Gaulle couple's table in an England severely affected by rationing, one could then find rabbits, periwinkles, and other frogs. The "outspoken Southerner" would remain in the general's service for nearly twenty years, sometimes arousing the hilarity of the stoic head of state:


In 1946, when he had just voluntarily left power, he said to her: "Vous voyez Augustine, la politique c'est plus décevant que le travail aux fourneaux" (You see Augustine, politics is more disappointing than kitchen work). Then, hands on hips, she retorted: "Mais général, pourquoi ne vous décidez-vous donc pas à rendre définitvement votre tablier ?" (But general, why don't you decide to hang up your apron for good?) My father could not help but laugh
(Philippe de Gaulle, De Gaulle mon père)