egbert Posted 11 November , 2004 Share Posted 11 November , 2004 Please find below pictures of the burial of German soldiers at the German military cemetery at Langemark on Wednesday, November 10th, 2004. Click this link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbie Posted 11 November , 2004 Share Posted 11 November , 2004 Wonderful, thanks Egbert. A very moving day, no doubt. Robbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Trench Boezinge Posted 12 November , 2004 Share Posted 12 November , 2004 I was there, I went to my work untill on the radio they mentioned the burial was just started and I was just passing Langemark. So I pulled over and I was just on time for the ceremony to begin, it's great to see people getting a proper burial after all these years, sad to know those were and remains unknown soldiers for eternity. I guess if you fell in No Man's land ... the name speeks for itself. Taking care of frontiers was and still is more important than human lives. I started a topic about 3 german bodies laying in an unknown grave somewhere around Ypres ... and my wish is to give them a proper burial, since I have no archeological experience, I contacted the Volksbund to give them everything I know about them... (I won't give more details about the case because a few not everyone would go there and ...) After the action taking by the Volksbund, I'll give all the details. Also I read a book once who mentioned : 'As we were in our trenches freezing to death, our luitenant gave us the order to pull out the wooden crosses of a little french cemetary. We did as ordered and lighted a fire with the crosses to keep us warm. As our fingers almost froze off, noone took care of writing down the names and emplacement of those fallen soldiers it was somewhere around Ypres.' Some unknown soldiers have been burried and reburried more than a few times. With respect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 12 November , 2004 Share Posted 12 November , 2004 Thanks Egbert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurel Sercu Posted 12 November , 2004 Share Posted 12 November , 2004 It must have been a thread in another section of the Forum, but someone there asked me if any of the 25 German soldiers had been identified. (I think it was Ralph W.). A question to which I replied no. However, I had had some hopes with regard to the man we had found near Wijtschate (14 Feb 2004). For inside the lid of his cartidge poach there was a handwritten (in pencil) name : F.H. HELLDOBLER. I have put some time and energy in trying to find more about this man, but to no avail. His name in combination with 16 J.R. and 1900 90 1900 (also visible on the photo) turned out to be puzzling. So I gave up. Seeing that his remains were buried unidentified leads me to the conclusion that the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge has not been able to identify the man either. Aurel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 12 November , 2004 Author Share Posted 12 November , 2004 Aurel, I had the Verlustliste of IR 16 checked: there is no such name mentioned. It surely is a mystery!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurel Sercu Posted 13 November , 2004 Share Posted 13 November , 2004 Egbert, It was an absolute puzzle. Should you be interested, this is what was found. (Not by me I must say, but by a contact.) Bavarian 16 I.R. never fought near Wijtschate. But 10th, 11th and 12th Kompanie of the new Bavarian 17. Reserve Infanterie Regiment came from the Ersatz Bataillon of Bav. 16. I.R. (Passau). So F. Helldobler may have got his pouch in Passau in the barracks of the Ersatz Bataillon 16. I.R., and then was attached to the 17. R.I.R. This unit fought near Wijtschate until 23 Nov. 1914. In the Bavarian Verlustliste No. 123 of 18 Dec. 1914, IIIrd Bn. of Bav. 17. R.I.R. (Wijtschate 21 Oct - 23 Nov.), in 11th Kompanie there is a Franz Holldobler, born Pocking, Niederbayern, vermisst. (See attachment below) Yes, Holldobler, not Helldobler, but this incorrection may be acceptable ? However ... Bayerische Verlustlisten No. 180, corrections 3 May 1915 : 17. Bayerisches R.I.R., 11. Kompanie : Infanterist Franz Holldobler bei der Truppe. So F. Helldobler / Holldobler cannot possibly have been killed near Wijtschate. Possible conclusion : the cartidge pouch with the name Helldobler belonged to Franz Helldobler from Pocking, but the bones probably did not. And so I gave up. Disappointed. and not for the first time I can say. Later I have never received any info from the DVK (not that I expected them to give any), and I do not know if they followed the same path, which did not lead to a conclusion. Anyway, the soldier's remains was added to the Kameradengrab in Langemark, unidentified. End of the story. Aurel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 21 December , 2004 Author Share Posted 21 December , 2004 Aurel, I received information that a certain Infanterist Johann Hölldobler, born 25.07.1887 in Steinbach Ndb, member of 7th Kompanie, Bavarian IR 16, was reported missing on 25.09.1914 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyHollinger Posted 22 December , 2004 Share Posted 22 December , 2004 Again, I am deeply impressed ... so much care and interest ... Thank you all ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOMMESOLDIER Posted 29 December , 2004 Share Posted 29 December , 2004 Hi There, Very interesting. Many Thanks. Cheers Tim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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