CROONAERT Posted 3 November , 2016 Share Posted 3 November , 2016 Can anyone decipher the acronym 'H.C.I.T.' please? It originates from the papers of a Belgian soldier (a fortress infantryman taken prisoner at Liege in August 1914) and I cannot for the life of me think what it is and it doesn't appear in any of my listings of French Army acronyms but, perhaps, some Belgian acronyms differed from the French (actually, there's no 'perhaps' about it.... some certainly did!). Any suggestions appreciated. Cheers. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 3 November , 2016 Share Posted 3 November , 2016 Hi Dave, A very long shot but did he participate in the occupation of Germany following his release from captivity ? If it refers to his service post 1918, some of the "commandments" might fit. If so HCIT(R) - there seems to be the start of a fifth letter - could be "Haute commission interalliée des territoires rhénans" Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 3 November , 2016 Author Share Posted 3 November , 2016 Thanks Steve. It's certainly a possibility. He was repatriated on 31st December 1918, but he was a career soldier and continued serving full time until 1927 (he enlisted in June 1907), then as a reservist (last 'stamp' being 1939, though he received a service award as late as 1963!!!). There's nothing in his paperwork regarding being part of the occupying force, but it's certainly highly likely that he would have been at some point. And, yes, I see your point regarding the '10 commandments'... they certainly would fit (I'd presumed that they might have been a code of conduct whilst in Germany as a PoW, but a set of rules for a post-war occupying force would fit better). Hard to tell whether there would have been a 5th letter on the original (it appears to be a full stop following the acronym, but it's a bit 'chewed' at this point, so is difficult to see... I'm not sure if there was enough room on the paper for it anyway (he may have purposely left it out for this reason?), but , being an unofficial note, I don't suppose it mattered at the time. Thanks again, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 3 November , 2016 Author Share Posted 3 November , 2016 Just for interest, here're two images (pre and post war) of the same man (one from October 1907 after his promotion to corporal and the other from circa 1919 after his return to service following repatriation (looks like he borrowed something from the Kaiser while he was in Germany!!! ) Dave ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 3 November , 2016 Share Posted 3 November , 2016 Thanks for posting, Dave; where in Belgium was he from ? Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 3 November , 2016 Author Share Posted 3 November , 2016 He was born at Vliermael, Limbourg (Vliermaal, Limburg), but was a resident of Liege (city) at the time of his enlistment. His residence later was at Glain (now a suburb of Liege?)... rue du Centre No.12. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 4 November , 2016 Share Posted 4 November , 2016 Thanks, Dave. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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