"cl" dates on French Memorials ?

[Brian Curragh]

Does anyone know the meaning of dates against casualties names on French memorials - when they are shown as "cl" ?

An example is as follows:

BRUNEL, Henri cl 1904, decede en Allemagne 29 Sept'bre 1914

On 4 entries on this memorial - Lafare memorial, Vaucluse - the "cl" date precedes the date of death - but on the last, it's after:

GONTARD, Adonis cl 1920, decede a Toulon (Var) 3 Sept'bre 1918

Is this a "typo" or does the "cl" have a more complicated meaning than (say) sign-up date?

Thanks

Brian

[apwright]

AIUI, it denotes the conscription classe or draft, i.e. the year the man was liable was liable for conscription, which in France was traditionally the calendar year of birth plus 20 years. The classe of 1904 were thus the men born in 1884.

Your example of classe 1920 shows a man born in 1900 who was conscripted 2 years early, and died aged 18-ish.

The huge losses suffered by the French army forced them to call up future classes early. Napoleon did the same in 1813, I think.

Adonis Gontard's fiche at Memoires des Hommes LINK shows he was born on 7 April 1900.

Adrian

[CROONAERT]

Your example of classe 1920 shows a man born in 1900 who was conscripted 2 years early,

Classe of 1920 didn't recieve call up (last conscription by class year was the classe of 1919 who were called on 15th April 1918) during wartime. He would have been a volunteer and would most likely to have been officially re-classified as Classe EV/1918 (or 1918/20 depending on the paperwork) - assuming ,of course, that he volunteered in 1918.

Dave

Below is a manipulated image of an identity disc of an 18 year old 1916 volunteer who would have been conscripted (if he had waited) in 1917 due to the lowering of the age of call up in Dec 1914...

[janecavell]

Hello Brian

I'm only guessing here, but I see from looking at some entries on the Les Morts Pour La France site that there are many references to matriculation numbers followed by "Classe xxxx" where xxxx is a date. I would guess that this was the equivalent of "the Class of 1910" i.e. those leaving school that year? So perhaps that is what your "Cl" means. But if this theory is correct, then we have a problem with Adonis Gontard with his class date being after he died! Perhaps the 1920 is a typo for 1902?

There's no sign of anything likely on this list of abbreviations used in French genealogy.

I look forward to finding out what the answer is!

Edited later: Oops, I see other more knowledgeable people got in before me, while I was typing, so please ignore my post.

[Brian Curragh]

Adrian/Dave/Poppy

Thank you all for your replies - which have been both informative & helpful! It's always interesting to step outside the B.E.F. and see the war from another angle.

Trouble is I now feel the need to read about the effects of the war on the French nation (any suggestions gratefully received...!)

Thanks again

Brian