Zwarts and All: Place Names in Flanders

[Guest]

I am working on some Cavalry diaries that mention Zwartelen and Zwarteten  - in the area SW of Ypres. I know Zwartelen is mentioned in many diaries, however I suspect Zwarteten is a mistake by a tired diarist. Can anyone confirm what is the correct spelling in 1914. To add to the confusion I have a 1917 map that has "Zwarteleen"

 

Similarly I am looking for the 1914 spelling (as per contemporary maps) and the modern spellings for the following places mentioned in the diaries. The list below is how they are spelled in the diaries however they are possibly misspelled as the same diaries make some basic errors on quite common place names. If anyone can provide guidance on the correct form of the following I would be grateful... many thanks

 

1. VERLORINHOEK

2. CHATEAU DE MUNCKEN

3. RUDDERVOORDE.

4. BOSCHMOLENS

5. GROOTE VIERSTAAT

6. WESTROOSEBEKE

7. LICHTERVEDE

8. MOORSEELE

9. OOSTNIEUWKERKE - appears to be correct according to a 1917 map

10. VERBRANDEN MOLEN - 1917 map has this as one word rather than two...

11. SWEEVEZEELE

12. WYNGHENE 

13. LICHTERVEDE

14. EEGHEM

15. ISEGHEM

16. OUCHENE

17. RUMBEKE

18. VOSSEMBLEN

19. LENDERLEDE

20. KLOFKAPPERIE

21. WATERDAMHOEK,

22. KRUISSTRAATHOEK

23. HOOGLEDE - appears to be correct according to a 1917 map

24. KORTEWILDE

Edited 7 July , 2017 by Guest

[CROONAERT]

Zwarteleen depicted on various early British and French maps...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, CROONAERT said:

Zwarteleen depicted on various early British and French maps...

 Thank you, ...particularly for the provenence as well. Interestingly three Cavalry regiments in the same Brigade spelled Zwarteleen three different ways. I will run with Zwarteleen. 

 

MG

Edited 7 July , 2017 by Guest

[David_Underdown]

I think I may have posted this link before https://www.jstor.org/stable/622594 (I found it while researching Sir Coote Hedley), but it fits with some of the questions here, the article says that there was no index/gazetteer of place names in France and Belgium available to the army before the war (and only a limited number of maps to start with).  One was hurriedly compiled under the auspices of the Geographical Section General Staff (MI4) by the Royal Geographical Society (with assistance from girls of Cheltenham Ladies College and the colleges of London University). Not surprisingly variation in spelling names followed.

Edited 11 July , 2017 by David_Underdown
typos

[seaJane]

1. Verloren Hoek 

3. Ruddervoorde near Oostkamp.

4. Boschmolens

5. Groote Vinnestraat, Sint Truiden?

6. Westrozebeke Kazernen [barracks], Langemark-Poelkapelle, Belgium

7. Lichtervelde

 

8. Moorsele, Wevelgem

[seaJane]

9. Confirming Oostnieuwkerke (East Newchurch)

10. Verbrandenmolen

11. Swevezeele

12. Wingene

13 - see 7.

14. Eeghem, Pittem

15. Izegem

16. Oekene, Roeselaere

17. Rumbeke, also Roeselaere

18. Vossemolen

[seaJane]

19. Lendelede

20. -- guessing somewhere-kapelle

21. Waterdam, Roeselaere?

22. Kruisstraathoek near Ypres or Kruisstraat, Roeselaere?

23. Confirming Hooglede

24. Kortewilde.

 

All these confirmed by typing into the search box in https://www.google.co.uk/maps/

 

 

[AOK4]

There was no official Flemish spelling in WW1. An official spelling (Dutch) was only decreed after WW2.

 

Nowadays:

1. Verlorenhoek (part of Ieper)

2. This mansion was destroyed during WW1. Its name has been written in many different forms, the name would be derived from something like Munks' castle. There is no topnym today. It's the ccorner of the Pottestraat/Houthulstseweg in Langemark-Poelkapelle.

3. Ruddervoorde (part of Oostkamp)

4. Bosmolens (part of Izegem)

5. Grote Vierstraat was a pub on the Vierstraat crossroads (border of Ieper and Heuvelland)

6. Westrozebeke (part of Staden)

7. Lichtervelde

8. Moorsele (part of Wevelgem)

9. Oostnieuwkerke (part of Staden)

10. Verbrande Molen (part of Ieper)

11. Zwevezele (part of Wingene)

12. Wingene

13. see 7

14. Egem (part of Pittem)

15. Izegem

16. Oekene (part of Roeselare)

17. Rumbeke (part of Roeselare)

18. Vossemolen (part of Roeselare)

19. Lendelede

20. Kloefkapperie - you'll have to give me trench map coordinate, I've seen it before, but I can't find it right now.

21. Waterdamhoek (part of Moorslede)

22. Kruisstraathoek - you'll have to say which one, there are several in the area.

23. Hooglede (part of Hooglede-Gits)

24. Kortewilde (on the border of Ieper and Comines-Warneton), also written Cortewilde nowadays (in French as Comines-Warneton has language facilities)

 

Jan

[Guest]

Many thanks to david, Sea Jane and Jan

 

Would I be right in saying that some places had two spellings depending on the language used in Belgium. 

 

My default is to use the British Official History as the benchmark, however some of these places didnt get a mention. SO I am left with the mangled remains of a few diarists' phoenetic attempts to replicate. Only today I was reading the 10th Hussars diary which called Zandvoorde 'Zamvoorde'

 

I will revert with some diary examples, map examples against the list above.... maybe in a day or two as I am editing Cavalry diaries at present - the source of much confusion in place names given their role in exploring the countryside. 

 

Thanks again  MG