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Remembered Today:

Germany : Fritz Limbach - letters from the front - 1915


JWK

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Wow! Thank you Martin!

Never knew this Ring of Remembrance existed.

600.000 names, in this region alone, and for what? Three cousins who didn't get along with eachother. Happens in the best of families. Trouble was this time these three ruled a country each, and subsequently sent their subjects to be slaughtered for their own glory.....

 

On a completely different board I'm on there's an American family who are enjoying their "European Vacation" ( No long-lost German relatives in sight, so they're safe there.... ;)  ), and they land in Lille this week. I'll try and steer them towards this monument. 

 

Edited by JWK
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What is also worthy of note is that during 2014 and ground working to prepare the site the bodies of 7 French soldiers were found. Two of them identified by dog tag discs. Those discs and a great number of other exhibits are on show in an excellent free museum Lens 1914-1918 which is on the road into the memorial. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I am slowly working my way through the 1/5th South Staffordshire regiment war diary and came across this map ( trenches correct for January 1918)

I have cropped it to show the area where Fritz was some three years earlier.

 

As we can see the line hardly ever moved.

 

1918.thumb.jpg.24bde68a7f6ba4865bc160e99a4e3f3f.jpg

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I am also reading through the 2nd South Staffs war diary - which does not include 25th September 1915.

HOWEVER

Here is the entry for 26th October 

" For king and Fatherland. in memory of Lieut KING and Lieut HALL and 8 men of the South Staffordshire Regiment who died like heroes"

Erected (? Buried ) by 6. S. P. A. R "

 

Clearly some confusion over the names - KILBY could be misread KING.

 

They only ever recovered the Bodies of KILBY and one unknown other from that site - and that was in 1929 so a good time after.  I am sure the raiding party is still at that site !!

so who could 6 S P A R be ?

 

 

 

400771103_kingandhall.jpg.106453b6d9fff7be790de8ca4639b432.jpg

 

 

Edited by Martin Feledziak
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I remember reading about this cross somewhere, but the author of the article concluded that it was hearsay. (* Found it : "VC's of the First World War", in the entry for AFG Kilby: "the existence of this cross has not been verified" )

Kilby was already a Captain by that time.

 

"near the Embankment on the extreme left of the line held by the Bataillon" = the Prellbock Stellung.

"6 S.P.A.R."  Fritz Limbach was killed at the Prellbock Stellung, and was 6th company.

The Regiment was named after Freiherr von Sparr.

So maybe the cross was erected by 6th Company, IR16 Freiherr von Sparr?

Pure speculation on my part though.

 

The company did a more or less similar (but certainly not in the same category!) thing a month or so before: they erected a flag mast in front of their trenches flying the German flag "which annoyed the English to no extent". ( I think it's called "Flagstaff point" on trenchmaps. Never found out why it was called that)

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1 hour ago, JWK said:

6th Company, IR16 Freiherr von Sparr?

 

WOW ....That is a very good conclusion- and I am sure you are completely correct. That fits exactly with the circumstances.

Now I am even more convinced.

 

I have looked at the losses of the 2nd Battalion South Staffs for 25th September 1915 and there were several Lieutenants lost. Including those called KING, WILLIAMS and HALL.

There are several eye witness accounts that a raiding party of at least 13 went down along that canal tow path. We know KILBY was one of them because he and one other were later discovered at that location in 1929 and reburied at Arras Road. I would suggest that KING and HALL were in that group too.

 

According to the entry in the war diary the German memorial indicates that they buried 10 soldiers at that location. So at least 8 are STILL there.

 

We know that Fritz was stationed at that very point at the most extreme right position by the canal with the canal on his right side.

 

 

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On 03/09/2018 at 23:38, Martin Feledziak said:

 

WOW ....That is a very good conclusion- and I am sure you are completely correct. That fits exactly with the circumstances.

Now I am even more convinced.

 

As said it's just pure speculation on my side, but until someone comes up with a more suitable explanation we'll just stick to this one .

 

Curiously enough 1st KRR does not mention the cross at all in their war-diary:

October 24th : housekeeping. Finding accomodation for all those platoons.

October 25th:  renovation work. Weather not so good.

October 26th:  all available working all-out.

1krr.jpg.7dc3cd459bf2be43e30d49f12c609364.jpg

 

 

As for the missing R in Sparr : I'm sure the 1/KRR were not out on a butterfly-finding-mission with binoculars at the ready in full daylight, but were under severe duress, in the dark, with them Germans sensing they're there and ready to shoot them at the moment they'd let themselves known by lighting a flashlight eg , so they had to go by the light of the moon (if there was any), or it could just be a mistake in transcribing (e.g. This "VC's of the First World War" book has the inscription down as "Erected by OSPAR" The writers of that book clearly never saw the original)

Edited by JWK
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  • 4 weeks later...

It is that time of the year again when were remember Fritz and those at Loos.

Edited by Martin Feledziak
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  • 8 months later...

Here I am in Koblenz and I see a reminder. I know it is not the family but sure to be related. Or even if not remembered 2DE88CBA-A3C7-4021-B58E-B346D29F96B4.jpeg.1aeabebdde8a9853be6f23c1faa3825b.jpeg

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Yes, there are quite a few Limbachs in that area.

Most probably no direct family. In Fritz’s letters there’s never any mention of a Limbach cousin, aunt or uncle.

There’s also a place called Limbach in that area. Don’t know whether the surname is named after the town, or the town after the surname though.

limbach.jpg.4b0041eea2ca03fa942c08fa7d388ae1.jpg

 

Anyway, after much soul-searching I have decided to donate Fritz’s complete archive (letters, photos, negatives and documentation) to the In Flanders Fields Knowledge Centre in Ypres.

Granted, Fritz was just over the border (40 kms from Ieper) and not on Flanders Fields, but they are very interested in the complete correspondence of a German soldier from their (sort of) area of expertise.

Now all I have to do is pick a date for the hand over, and drive down to Ypres.

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Wow great. Yes do it.

like you Fritz Limbach has become a part of us.

 

never forgotten.

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On ‎10‎/‎03‎/‎2015 at 16:43, egbert said:

Hi Jan, you cannot say that the good people of Wuppertal city have no interest. You might remember that the Wuppertal city chief archivist had indeed interest. I arranged the contact between you and him some time ago, but obviously it did not work out?

 

 

On ‎12‎/‎03‎/‎2015 at 01:05, JWK said:

Egbert/Martin

Yes, you’re right, there was some interest from the city of Wuppertal, but Herr Archivist did not strike as someone who was overjoyed by the prospect of getting Fritz’s letters.

But I had (and have) the feeling they’d be stored somewhere deep in the archives, mentioned in a listing of archived stuff, and available for any researcher to browse through (but only if that researcher is lucky enough to find that particular entry in the archives-listing!).

 

JW

 

 

Oh dear , so you are absolute sure that the collection will NOT disappear in the Flanders Field Museum archive?

 

Imho this collection does not belong into the archives of an out of area/context Flanders museum but in that of his hometown or his state museum (Nordrhein-Westphalen, Northrhine Westphalia), a museum or research center where his letters are easily read in native language.

Obviously you picked your choice and for coming German generations the collection is lost.

 

P.S. I hope as least common denominator you could provide the full digital collection to all European citizen in

https://www.europeana.eu/portal/de

Edited by egbert
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I am happy to have had the privilege to see the letters sent by Fritz. The pages are now immortal because they are available here on the Forum and on the blog.

so they will be forever be searchable.

 

i will always remember him as a budding photographer who liked life, Browning revolvers, flowers and his family.

when next in Lens I will pay him a visit.

 

it is just funny that as I got on the cable car here in Koblenz his family name appeared on the power supply.

 

 

 

 

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Jwk, I hope you don't mind me posting some of fritz's photos that I colourised. (some need some adjustments)

fritz.jpg

023 IMG_20140702_0005 (3c).jpg

 

 

022 IMG_20140702_00w06.jpg

028 IMG_20140702_0008c.jpg

Edited by Jools mckenna
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Wonderful work @Jools mckenna. Always humbling to see images like these be brought to life through the power of color.

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This one has to be one of my Favorites of Fritz's photos.

 

 

041 IMG_20140702_0009c.jpg

Edited by Jools mckenna
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Jools, just sent you a PM.

 

Yes, this is indeed a beautiful portrait.

 

Fritz writes about this picture: "The soldier on photograph nr 41 is not an actor, but, if you allow me to introduce him to you, Willy Homann from Düsseldorf, businessmann by profession, at present tired warrior."

 

He dóes look like an actor, doesn't he? Reading the script for his next performance....

And he looks tired indeed.....

Edited by JWK
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It is amazing but Willy is wearing Corduroy trousers. 

 

I understand some were brown.

they are epic quality photographs.

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Today I am in Charleville-Mézières which was a German staging area. Hopefully I can get my wife to agree to me taking the camper into the Argonne. 

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5 minutes ago, Martin Feledziak said:

It is amazing but Willy is wearing Corduroy trousers

I understand some were brown.

 

041 IMG_20140702_0009bc.jpg

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  • 1 month later...
12 hours ago, Martin Feledziak said:

There is an article in the on-line Daily Mail.

It is centred on KILBY, BUT is most interesting.

 

Interesting indeed!

Did not know this story.

 

DailyMail talks about "more than 50 letters", Cheltenham remembers talks about "a collection of about ten letters"?

No clue whatsoever who this "Mrs Reins van de Wetering" is. Is she "an ancestor" or "a relative" of Irene van de Wetering?

What's their/his source for the text on "the cross"?

Lord Ashcroft stands on the La Bassée side of the canal, where indeed there's a (hardly "narrow") towpath. It all happened on the other side of the canal.

 

Anyway, maybe I'll send Lord Ashcroft a message to alert him to the existence of Fritz's letters.

 

 

Edited by JWK
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Already on the case.

 

I tweeted him and two other info alerts sent. 

He is a keen historian and all round good guy.

 

Collects medal too.

He also walked down that path as you did.

To be fair I watched his video so he knows the incident was on the other side.

 

 

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My Great-Aunt and -Uncle lived just around the corner from where Mrs van de Wetering lived at Surinamestraat! (Paramaribostraat)

They moved there in 1917. Who knows? They may have known her.

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