Can anyone identify these cemeteries?

[Poppy Mercier]

My first post, so please be kind! 

I purchased a group of very nice photographs from eBay; all taken by a soldier of the Wehrmacht in a trip around the Western Front in 1941-ish. However, out of all the photos I can't seem to ID either of these two. Does anybody recognise them?

The first image, seems to have quite a few Royal Naval casualties, plus double-headstones.

Thank you! 

[Poppy Mercier]

So it now turns out photo No1 is Varennes Military Cemetery 

no2 still remains very much a mystery 

[Michelle Young]

Yes I can see it’s Varennes now! 

Could #2 be the Portuguese cemetery at La Bombe? 

[Poppy Mercier]

6 minutes ago, Michelle Young said:

Yes I can see it’s Varennes now! 

Could #2 be the Portuguese cemetery at La Bombe? 

I’ve just checked the Portuguese cemetery - the headstones are similar to the German pointed top, the ones above are definitely rounded 

[Michelle Young]

It doesn’t look like any IWGC designed walls or entrance. Is it a communal cemetery ? 

[Poppy Mercier]

1 hour ago, Michelle Young said:

It doesn’t look like any IWGC designed walls or entrance. Is it a communal cemetery ? 

I've narrowed it down to a cemetery somewhere in Poland...sadly it may be one that was later destroyed during the Blitzkrieg

[JWK]

4 hours ago, Poppy Mercier said:

a cemetery somewhere in Poland.

Why do you think it's in Poland? (Welcome by the way!)

The only CWGC cemetery in Poland in 1941 was Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery (If I read the blurb on the CWGC website correctly, that is!), and it doesn't look like that (too flat)

Also I spot some broken headstones on the left, and bottom right. And there's a gate to the right side of the arch (with the photographer's buddy waiting 'till he has done photographing?)

I've searched Google and Yandex high and low for "CWGC cemetery arches", but I can find one that resembles the one in the picture, other than in Middle Eastern cemeteries.

 

 

Edited 10 July , 2022 by JWK

[Poppy Mercier]

Just now, JWK said:

Why do you think it's in Poland? (Welcome by the way!)

The only CWGC cemetery in Poland in 1941 was Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery (If I read the blurb on the CWGC website correctly, that is!), and it doesn't look like that (too flat)

Also I spot some broken headstones on the left, and bottom right.

 

 

Hi! 
So I went back and checked the original eBay listings - it came from a private scrapbook that was split up and sold individually. This photo was 1 of 18 taken in Poland (according to the scrapbooks original captions) but no location is given. The next photo in the series was marked up as “taken in Ciepielów“, where the horrendous massacre in 1939 took place. I have a feeling now, that this Cemetery is not CWGC but possibly a Jewish or Polish Military Cemetery that was later destroyed - hence the broken up headstones? 

[JWK]

Ah, that explains it.

It's not Jewish I think: all headstones look the same, and on a civilian cemetery there's usually a big variety in headstones.

Polish soldier's headstones are pointy, I think (Not quite sure how they looked like before WW2!)

Hmmm, a bit of a mystery, this photo. Unless ofcourse someone comes up with the answer, and then it suddenly is all sóóó obvious!

Hope the eBay listing reveals the photo previous to this one? We might then track the photographer's movement?

 

 

Edited 10 July , 2022 by JWK
spelling

[KGB]

Doesn't Ciepielow have crosses? Portuguese ones have the coat of arms on the gate. 

[le ulhan]

I do not understand this post, what the events of 40 come to do here, for the Russians I can understand, there were Russian regiments in France in 1915 until 1918, some returned home because of the revolution of 17 but several remained in France. 

[AOK4]

12 hours ago, le ulhan said:

I do not understand this post, what the events of 40 come to do here, for the Russians I can understand, there were Russian regiments in France in 1915 until 1918, some returned home because of the revolution of 17 but several remained in France. 

The pictures show cemeteries of the First World War (at least one, the other is uncertain, but may very well be), so it definitely belongs here.

[Poppy Mercier]

17 hours ago, le ulhan said:

I do not understand this post, what the events of 40 come to do here, for the Russians I can understand, there were Russian regiments in France in 1915 until 1918, some returned home because of the revolution of 17 but several remained in France. 

Because the second photo is potentially a WW1 CWGC Cemetery in Poland. Quite a few of the cemeteries and memorials from WW1 sustained damage in WW2. It’s a valid discussion. 

[le ulhan]

I suppose that the city or the village has kept archives, a cemetery does not go incognito, there are traces "" witnesses, date on the debris of steles, plans of town planning etc etc .."" all serves to identify .