highest honour after serving as its representative on the Island for more than 30 years.

Mr. Frith, French Honorary Consul, has been granted the Order of the Legion of Honour, rank Chevalier, by President M. Francois Mitterrand. The award will be presented in Bermuda by M. Benoit d`Aboville, French Consul General in New York.

"I'm very thrilled indeed,'' Mr. Frith, 56, said yesterday. "I'm delighted to have such a high honour.'' Mr. Frith served as consular agent from 1961 until 1976, when he became full Honorary Consul. His business premises on Front Street double as the consulate. This is the third honour he has received from France -- in 1968 his services to the wine trade earned him the National Award of Merit for Agriculture, and in 1976 he was granted the National Award of Merit of France.

"My mother is French and I was raised in Bermuda speaking French,'' he said.

"I used to spend summers in France as a child and I have visited the country on a regular basis ever since.

"In 1959 the Consul General in New York, who was a friend of my mother and her family, was visiting Bermuda and looking for a new consular agent. He asked me if I would take it on. I felt strongly at the time that it would be an opportunity to maintain my connection with France and to continue using what French I had.'' Mr. Frith's duties include updating the documents of French citizens, assisting them in dealing with the Bermudian authorities, and issuing visas to Bermudians wishing to visit France. He has received 40 French naval ships, and in the late 1970s he entertained then French President M. Valery Giscard d'Estaing.

"Over the years the French have proved to be very good citizens indeed,'' he said. The only exception had been a boy many years ago who had stolen his friend's passport and ended up in prison.

Mr. Frith is closely involved with three French societies in Bermuda -- the Alliance Francaise; the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, an exclusive wine appreciation group; and the Chaine des Rotisseurs, which is devoted to gourmet food.

MR. William Frith.