This post starts a new series on this website: Foreign Legion cards. These are invitation cards made by French Foreign Legion units for special occasions, such as Camerone Day, Bastille Day (July 14), Armistice Day (November 11), and Christmas. This first part focuses on formal dinner invitations – menu cards.
The menu cards were sent as invitations to a formal meal. They were often intended for senior guests, such as officers from higher Legion command, leaders from nearby garrisons, or local civilian authorities.
What makes these cards interesting is not only the food and the ceremony. Many were handmade and illustrated by legionnaires. They show skill, creativity, and a strong visual tradition inside the Legion. They also preserve the names of units and places that no longer exist in the same form today.
There is no single reliable study that fully maps the history of this tradition. However, illustrated invitations began to appear in the late 19th century in Algeria, then the Legion’s long-time home. Early examples often announced concerts by Legion bands and other important events linked to the social and cultural life of a garrison town.
After World War I, illustrated invitations became a well-established part of Legion life. In many units, creating them was a point of pride. Over time, there was even a quiet rivalry about who could produce the best-looking card. This period lasted for decades, until the end of the Algerian War and the Legion’s move to France. Later, modern printing and office tools gradually replaced hand-drawn artwork. With computers and digital design of the 21st century, handmade invitations became extremely rare. Today, it is very unusual to come across a well-executed hand-drawn card.
The goal of this series is simple: to show what these original cards looked like. The early posts will present selected dinner invitations. Later parts will feature cards made for Camerone Day (the Legion’s most important day, commemorating the 1863 Battle of Camerone in Mexico), Christmas (Noël) – the Legion’s second most important day – and other occasions.
The following gallery presents a selection of French Foreign Legion menu cards produced by Legion units for special occasions. The examples below span from 1916 to 1994 and highlight both the Legion’s traditions and the creativity of the legionnaires who made them.
Click on the images to enlarge them:
Menu card for a Christmas (Noël) meal, issued in December 1916 by the 26th Company, 1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE), in Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria. At the time, this company – led by Captain Saunier – served as a training unit for new recruits. This is the oldest menu card in the collection.December 1916 Christmas menu card. Inside view showing the menu. Lunch included roast pork with fries, and dinner included stir-fried beef with stewed potatoes.Menu card issued in 1933 for the anniversary of the Battle of Messifré (September 17, 1925). It was issued by the 14th Company of the 4th Battalion, 1st Foreign Regiment. The battalion – led by Major Théraube – was stationed in Syria at the time.Hand-painted menu card from 1948 for Armistice Day, issued by the Cadre & Specialist Training Battalion (BICS) of the Foreign Legion Joint Depot (DCRE), in Sidi Bel Abbès. The card has been published with the kind permission of Krzysztof Schramm, historian of Poland’s Foreign Legion veteran association (A.A.A.L.E. de Pologne) and author of Zygmunt Jatczak: I Regret Nothing.Inside of the BICS 1948 menu card.Another handmade menu card for 1948 Armistice Day, this time issued by the DCRE’s Armored Instruction Group (GIM). Collection of Krzysztof Schramm.A third menu card for the same occasion, issued by the DCRE’s infirmary (medical clinic). This infirmary was also stationed in Sidi Bel Abbès and served the entire Foreign Legion headquarters. Collection of Krzysztof Schramm.Inside of the 1948 infirmary menu card.Back of the 1948 infirmary menu card, featuring an illustration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.Menu card for a Christmas meal, issued in December 1948 by the 2nd Machine-Gun Company, 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE), in French Indochina. Collection of Krzysztof Schramm.Inside of the Machine-Gun Company 1948 menu card.Menu card from 1951 for Christmas, issued by the Rear base of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI), in Indochina. Published here with the kind permission of a private collector, who wished to remain anonymous.Part 1 of the 2e REI 1951 menu card (Christmas Eve late-night supper).Part 2 of the 2e REI 1951 menu card (Christmas meal).Menu card from 1955 for Camerone Day, issued by the 39th Riverine Craft Engineer Company (39e CEFG) in Indochina.1955 Christmas menu card, issued by Quartier Prudon in Sidi Bel Abbès. These barracks were the second main part of the Foreign Legion headquarters in the town and were home mainly to the Legion’s cavalry and motorized units. Collection of Krzysztof Schramm.Inside of the Quartier Prudon 1955 menu card.1956 Armistice Day menu card, issued by the 1er RE Officers’ Mess and Club in Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria. Private collection.Inside of the 1956 Armistice Day menu card.1957 Christmas menu card, issued by Quartier Vienot, the Foreign Legion’s historic headquarters in Sidi Bel Abbès, named after Colonel Vienot. Private collection.1957 menu card – Part 2.1957 Christmas menu card – Part 3.1957 Christmas menu card – Part 4.1958 Camerone Day menu card, issued by Quartier Prudon in Sidi Bel Abbès. Private collection.Inside of the 1958 Camerone Day menu card.1963 menu card for the 100th anniversary of the 1863 Battle of Camerone, issued by the Foreign Legion headquarters in Aubagne, southern France. Private collection.Inside of the 1963 Camerone menu card.Menu card issued for the unveiling of a memorial to Corporal Maine at his gravesite on June 20, 1965. Maine was a hero of the 1863 Camerone battle, one of the last three able-bodied defenders of the hacienda. Private collection.Inside of the 1965 menu card.Back of the 1965 menu card.1994 menu card issued by the 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment (6e REG) for the regiment’s 10th anniversary. Private collection.Inside the 6e REG menu.
