Bergues, 275 POW Coy - mysterious box

[Haudullis]

Please help place this mysterious box.  It says Bergues on one side and P.o.W. Coy. 275 on the other.  The lettering on the lid says JSM.

I do not know if it came from the Great War, yet the style indicates so.  It measures 29cm long, 18cm wide, 16cm high.  I cannot find anything online about 275 Coy or Bergues POW camp.

[FROGSMILE]

275 Prisoner of War Company was a unit of German prisoners formed between September and October 1918.  It was composed of around 425 prisoners of which 400 did labouring and 25 administration and translation.  The supervisory and escort staff came from medically downgraded men and officers of the Labour Corps along with some ASC wagon drivers.  Work undertaken included road maintenance, railhead labour, quarries, railway construction and above all, forestry.

There are known examples where Germans who were craftsmen prewar made souvenirs, keepsakes and gifts for their captors in recognition of kind and humane treatment (and no doubt favours).  I suspect that your hand carved box is an example in case.  The companies were often mobile and sent by the Directorate of Labour wherever they were needed (as ‘Army (later Area) Troops’), but usually returning to relatively comfortable accommodation often in huts on proper beds.  The companies were repatriated during the second half of 1919, with most men returned home by the October.

Edited 23 September , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[charlie2]

Its a lovely little box, a cigar box maybe ? Whoever made it was a skilled joiner or cabinetmaker.

Charlie

[Haudullis]

Dear Frogsmile,

This is most helpful.  I would be interested to learn where you discovered this information.  I wonder whether it would ever be possible to identify who the JSM inscription on the lid was?

[FROGSMILE]

35 minutes ago, Haudullis said:

Dear Frogsmile,

This is most helpful.  I would be interested to learn where you discovered this information.  I wonder whether it would ever be possible to identify who the JSM inscription on the lid was?

I don’t think it will be possible to determine who JSM was as the establishment records have not been retained.

The details of role and employment are generic and taken from the book on the Labour Corps : “No Labour, no Battle” by John Starling (my former colleague and boss) and Ivor Lee.

The date of formation was worked out via a process of elimination.  Companies were numbered sequentially, as they were formed and did not reach the 200s series until September-October, with many more added in November of 1918.

As for the artefact you might find this account of a carved walking stick of interest and relevance: https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=651816.0

NB.  Records for the individual POW companies have not survived.  They were controversial while they existed for both sides as they danced on the head of a pin with regards to their legality when viewed against the convention on the treatment of POW, but were an outcome of the manpower crisis for both sides.

Edited 18 September , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[FROGSMILE]

23 minutes ago, charlie2 said:

Its a lovely little box, a cigar box maybe ? Whoever made it was a skilled joiner or cabinetmaker.

Charlie

A cigar box, or for tobacco/cigarettes, or even tea, I’m not really sure Charlie.

Edited 18 September , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[Haudullis]

Inside the box where you see the split in the base, there would have been a dividing partition, as the light coloured patch, which is on either side internally, still has a metal staple indicating something is missing.  I wondered whether it would have been a games' set such as chess.  If it were cigars, the narrower compartment could have been for say, matches.  Even though it is over 100 years old, if it had contained tobacco it might have retained a whiff, which it does not.

[FROGSMILE]

3 minutes ago, Haudullis said:

Inside the box where you see the split in the base, there would have been a dividing partition, as the light coloured patch, which is on either side internally, still has a metal staple indicating something is missing.  I wondered whether it would have been a games' set such as chess.  If it were cigars, the narrower compartment could have been for say, matches.  Even though it is over 100 years old, if it had contained tobacco it might have retained a whiff, which it does not.

Yes a games box sounds very likely.  Perhaps cards or a chess set then.  Playing such games was an international language, especially between prisoner and captor once trust had been established. 

Edited 18 September , 2022 by FROGSMILE