01 Nazdar Company Flag (Replica), 1930s

Fotogalerie

Rota „Nazdar“ přijímá na přísaze z rukou starosty v Bayonnu praporec, 12. říjen 1914

Sokol members based in Paris spontaneously joined the ranks of the French Foreign Legion after the outbreak of WW I and formed the famous Nazdar Company within Battalion C, 1st Regiment. The company, composed almost entirely of Czechs, was given a company flag bearing the national symbol, following the example of Polish volunteers. Volunteer Jan Stafl designed the motif of a lion with a St. Wenceslas crown, and the banner was embroidered by Mrs. Penchenier a teacher based in a Bayonne. The banner was officially handed over on 12 October 1914 at the Camp Saint-Léon training ground with the participation of representatives of the town and the command of Battalion C.

Sergeant Stafl then handed over the new banner to volunteer Karel Bezdicek, who was supposed to look after it. Ensign Bezdicek also carried the flag during the Battle of Arras. Bezdicek was killed in the attack and his body was never found. Unfortunately, one of the first symbols of the Czechoslovak foreign resistance was lost. The surviving members of Nazdar Company then used a different flag, which had little in common with the original. In the interwar period, a copy of the original flag was made for the needs of the Liberation Monument.