rtju277 Posted 12 January , 2010 Share Posted 12 January , 2010 My Grandfather served in the German Army from 1917-1918. He was from Karlsruhe. He was susequenly captured and I have 2 picture postcards of him from a POW camp. One has a postmark on it from Du Mans. Does anyone know anything about this camp or how I might find out more information about it or him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 13 January , 2010 Share Posted 13 January , 2010 Welcome to the forum rtju277. Is there another word in the postmark ahead of Du Mans? Du is the French masculine possessive form, and I suspect this is the placename Le Mans (the town famous for its 24 hour motor race) in the possessive form - just as the race is called in French the '24 heures du Mans'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Johnson Posted 13 January , 2010 Share Posted 13 January , 2010 Cecile's web site is probably the best source of camp locations (except those in the UK) and she has no reference to a camp at Du Mans, Mans, or Le Mans in France or Belgium. However the list is probably not perfect (I have a card from Castres to Germany stamped "Depot Principal Des Prisonniers de Guerre, Castres; Le Commandant" and Castres is not on her list) and it is possible for PoWs to be working almost anywhere even if there is no camp there. The cards are picture cards so what are they of and when are they dated? Any chance of posting an image of the back of the one with the postmark? Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest powwwi Posted 15 January , 2010 Share Posted 15 January , 2010 I am quite sure that the camp must be the french camp at Le Mans. Mail from the camp somtimes show a post mark "LE MANS - SARTHE". One type of censor mark has the text "Camp de Prisonniers de Guerre - DU MANS". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtju277 Posted 20 January , 2010 Author Share Posted 20 January , 2010 Welcome to the forum rtju277. Is there another word in the postmark ahead of Du Mans? Du is the French masculine possessive form, and I suspect this is the placename Le Mans (the town famous for its 24 hour motor race) in the possessive form - just as the race is called in French the '24 heures du Mans'. When I get home tonight I'll look at the postcard. I also have scanned it, so I'll try to post a picture of it. I'm new to this site, so bear with me as I learn how to use it properly. I am quite sure that the camp must be the french camp at Le Mans. Mail from the camp somtimes show a post mark "LE MANS - SARTHE". One type of censor mark has the text "Camp de Prisonniers de Guerre - DU MANS". When I get home tonight I'll look at the postcard. I also have scanned it, so I'll try to post a picture of it. I'm new to this site, so bear with me as I learn how to use it properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtju277 Posted 20 January , 2010 Author Share Posted 20 January , 2010 I am quite sure that the camp must be the french camp at Le Mans. Mail from the camp somtimes show a post mark "LE MANS - SARTHE". One type of censor mark has the text "Camp de Prisonniers de Guerre - DU MANS". Yes, the postcard has that exact censor mark. I have scanned it, so I'll try to post a picture of it. I'm new to this site, so bear with me as I learn how to use it properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtju277 Posted 21 January , 2010 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2010 The pictures I mentioned have been attached. The picture named POW1 is the back of the postcard and the one named POW2 is the front. You can see the writing PG on some of the "uniforms" they are wearing. I've also included 2 other photos. One is from Easter 1917 in Gengenbach. Thanks for any information you can provide. I've run out of places to look for info on anything relating to his service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtju277 Posted 21 January , 2010 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2010 Welcome to the forum rtju277. Is there another word in the postmark ahead of Du Mans? Du is the French masculine possessive form, and I suspect this is the placename Le Mans (the town famous for its 24 hour motor race) in the possessive form - just as the race is called in French the '24 heures du Mans'. The pictures I mentioned have been attached. The picture named POW1 is the back of the postcard and the one named POW2 is the front. You can see the writing PG on some of the "uniforms" they are wearing. I've also included 2 other photos. One is from Easter 1917 in Gengenbach. Thanks for any information you can provide. I've run out of places to look for info on anything relating to his service. Attached image(s) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtju277 Posted 28 January , 2010 Author Share Posted 28 January , 2010 Doug, \I have posted the picture of the card Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svenja Posted 8 October , 2014 Share Posted 8 October , 2014 I have a card from Castres to Germany stamped "Depot Principal Des Prisonniers de Guerre, Castres; Le Commandant" and Castres is not on her list. Doug Hi Doug There was a camp de prisonniers de guerre in Castres which belongs to the Département Tarn. http://digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/werkansicht/?PPN=PPN768628105&PHYSID=PHYS_0001 I'm searching for information about the camps de prisonniers in Croisset/Rouen and Castres. I found three towns or villages with the name Castres, in the Départements Aisne, Tarn and Gironde. But only for the one in Tarn I found out that there really was a camp de prisonniers de guerre. For Croisset/Rouen I found this cemetery info: http://rouen-histoire.com/14-18/Cimetieres.htm Regards Svenja Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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