The Prussian Posted 9 April , 2017 Share Posted 9 April , 2017 (edited) Hello! With the permission of a member of the german forum, I´d like to ask, if someone knows, what we see here. Facts: 1) A funeral (probably not for a simple soldier!) 2) The pic was taken in Belgium (date unknown) 3) The names Raveschot and Meesseman are known in this composition in Roeselare (french: Roulers) 4) we see two coffins 5) There is one sign, "Ypern" 6) another sign "Divisionsstab" (staff of division) Question: Which persons were buried in the area of Roselaere during the great war? Thanks a lot in advance!!! Edited 9 April , 2017 by The Prussian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 9 April , 2017 Share Posted 9 April , 2017 Hello, The picture shows a funeral in Menen (Menin, on the Belgian-French border), not in Roeselare. Without further information (back) it is impossible to say which funeral this was exactly. The procession is heading towards the city cemetery (still present near the railway station) where more than 600 Germans (and some 25 British and 1 Frenchman) were buried from late 1914 till July 1917. Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 9 April , 2017 Author Share Posted 9 April , 2017 Hello Jan! Thanks a lot!!! What makes you sure, it´s Menen? The houses? Unfortunately the reverse of the card is blank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 9 April , 2017 Share Posted 9 April , 2017 I have written a book about German cemeteries in Flanders so I know quite a bit of views. I have a similar picture of a funeral in Menen and of course I can identify the city because of the cafés in the background. Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 9 April , 2017 Author Share Posted 9 April , 2017 Ah,ok. So it's Menen I'm not sure about the persons. High officers or noble cilivilians. I don't believe in simple soldiers lower than a colonel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 9 April , 2017 Share Posted 9 April , 2017 It may also be two airmen (one airplane crew, I see two hurses) who are taken to the railway station to be buried in Germany as there seem to be some higher ranks and a navy man in the beginning of the procession (the navy man may have been from Marine-Landflieger-Abteilung stationed in Moorsele). The procession is going in the picture from the St. Vedastus church (where the church services were held) to the direction of the railway station/cemetery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 9 April , 2017 Author Share Posted 9 April , 2017 Pilots may be possible too, of course. The soldiers wear spiked helmets, but doesn't count. In that area only were Landsturm and occupy-troops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 9 April , 2017 Share Posted 9 April , 2017 Probably not worth much but there are umbrellas around which might hint at a funeral outside of a summer month. Also, for Jan, is it known when the building on the corner became the 'Deutsches Offizierheim' and also - possibly - a Staff HQ? The first sign at least, the 'Offizierheim', suggests to me that the year is 1915 or later, when the garrison had settled in as occupiers... I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the officer chappie in navy uniform - just the one, which suggests to me that he is there as a 'courtesy'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 10 April , 2017 Author Share Posted 10 April , 2017 (edited) Hello Julian! I don´t think, it´s summer. Note theofficers with the coats and one with the fur-collar. So I´d say, it´s one of the cold periods 15/16 or 16/17. But note the sign "Ypres". If there is an arrow to the right, they walk in direction church, not to the railway station Edited 10 April , 2017 by The Prussian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 10 April , 2017 Share Posted 10 April , 2017 3 hours ago, The Prussian said: Hello Julian! I don´t think, it´s summer. Note theofficers with the coats and one with the fur-collar. So I´d say, it´s one of the cold periods 15/16 or 16/17. But note the sign "Ypres". If there is an arrow to the right, they walk in direction church, not to the railway station Believe me, they are walking towards the station (and the direction of Ypres) as I know where this picture was taken! What the sign says is not relevant (although I seem to see it is pointed towards the left, the same direction as the procession), the Germans directed the trafic as is done today: trafic had to avoid city centers and was diverted towards roads around the cities. If I would have to pick a time, I would say the first half of 1916. The tall guy with the czapka is probably Wilhelm Herzog von Urach, commander of the 26. Infanterie-Division (which had its headquarters in Menen in the Bruggestraat, although later divisional HQs were also based there). It can be chilly and rainy at any time in Flanders, but the funeral is not during the winter otherwise the wreath bearers would have been dressed with their overcoats. Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 10 April , 2017 Author Share Posted 10 April , 2017 Hello Jan! Brilliant infos. I didn't know about the 26.Inf.Div. My infos until 1916 were the XV.Korps with divisions 30 and 39. But there changed a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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