grantmal Posted 15 January , 2023 Share Posted 15 January , 2023 Hope this is the right forum for this request: recently bought this postcard and would greatly appreciate a translation, please, kindly French speaker. (Assuming it's French...) My g-grandfather spent 3 days under treatment at the Gare Maritime before evacuation to England in late November 1914, and while following his trail I came across these postcards and wondered when the photo was taken. Thankfully, Alice Martin helps to narrow down the date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 15 January , 2023 Share Posted 15 January , 2023 (edited) Here's my first draft of the French. There are grammatical errors in the original let alone my draft! 18/10/14 (postmarked 19/10/14) Depuis longtemps je me méfie de vous écrire pour vous demander si mon cousin Abel est parti chez vous. Florentin est parti depuis deux mois. Jusqu'à présent il était à Angers mais il part ces jours-ci, il part à Bruges pour conduire des chevaux, c'est à dire pour faire du ravitaillement, il conduit du matériel du génie, tous cela c'est bien triste de voir une chose pareille, tous ces pauvres malheureux qui ne sont plus déjà et ce n'est pas fini. Enfin il faut prendre courage et espérons qu'il en reviendra encore car je serai bien malheureux que tout y resterez. Enfin je pense que vous ne donnerez de vos nouvelles ainsi que cela d'Abel et de la cousine ainsi que du bébé qui doit déjà être grand. Je pense que le cousin Colline? ne doit pas être parti. Tout la famille se joindre à moi pour vous embrasser de tout leur coeur. Edited 15 January , 2023 by charlie962 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 15 January , 2023 Share Posted 15 January , 2023 This is how I read the sense of the card but I'm open to correction. I've avoided being too literal with translation. "For some time I've hesitated to ask you if my cousin Abel has left. Florentin went 2 months ago. Up till now he's been at Angers but he's leaving now for Bruges to drive horses that is to say for rations and also supply of engineering equipment. It's sad to see such a thing, all those poor unfortunates already gone and it's not finished yet. Let's hope he comes back as it will be too sad if he doesn't. Anyway I hope you will give me your news and that of Abel and the cousin and the baby, who must be quite big by now. I don't think cousin Colline has gone yet. The whole family join me in sending you a heartfelt hug." Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
margaretdufay Posted 15 January , 2023 Share Posted 15 January , 2023 (edited) Sorry was reading the French too quickly Edited 15 January , 2023 by margaretdufay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWK Posted 15 January , 2023 Share Posted 15 January , 2023 5 hours ago, charlie962 said: but he's leaving now for Bruges I *think* it says Troyes (or perhaps Broyes but both Broyes' in France are tiny villages) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battle of loos Posted 15 January , 2023 Share Posted 15 January , 2023 Good evening I'll do that to you tomorrow. michel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantmal Posted 16 January , 2023 Author Share Posted 16 January , 2023 17 hours ago, charlie962 said: This is how I read the sense of the card but I'm open to correction. I've avoided being too literal with translation. "For some time I've hesitated to ask you if my cousin Abel has left. Florentin went 2 months ago. Up till now he's been at Angers but he's leaving now for Bruges to drive horses that is to say for rations and also supply of engineering equipment. It's sad to see such a thing, all those poor unfortunates already gone and it's not finished yet. Let's hope he comes back as it will be too sad if he doesn't. Anyway I hope you will give me your news and that of Abel and the cousin and the baby, who must be quite big by now. I don't think cousin Colline has gone yet. The whole family join me in sending you a heartfelt hug." Charlie Charlie - fantastic, thank you! 12 hours ago, JWK said: I *think* it says Troyes (or perhaps Broyes but both Broyes' in France are tiny villages) Yes, it does seem to be a 'y' rather than 'g' when compared with other examples... 12 hours ago, battle of loos said: Good evening I'll do that to you tomorrow. michel Yes please, the more the merrier. One question, though: why no addressee details, given it is stamped and postmarked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healdav Posted 16 January , 2023 Share Posted 16 January , 2023 7 hours ago, grantmal said: One question, though: why no addressee details, given it is stamped and postmarked? The address was often, bizarrely, written across the picture, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 16 January , 2023 Share Posted 16 January , 2023 Note the postmark is Tours, which is not so far from Angers where Florentin, perhaps the husband of Alice Martin, was first sent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWK Posted 16 January , 2023 Share Posted 16 January , 2023 Card was written in Berthenay (some 10 kms west of Tours). It had some 300 inhabitants at the time of WW1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berthenay Florentin Raoul Martin married Alice Marie Augustine Villeret there on 22 april 1901. https://archives.touraine.fr/ark:/37621/2v1hwmbtd548/8ebc6dae-7b61-450c-93b1-2d0fabc737b3 Surely they must be the Florentin and Alice on the card? Florentin’s birth was recorded in Berthenay on 1st February 1877, and Alice's birth was recorded there on 2nd September 1880. https://archives.touraine.fr/ark:/37621/7zt0bm8nl24d/7d180b74-d896-4524-95e9-ecaee27dae86 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 16 January , 2023 Share Posted 16 January , 2023 10 minutes ago, JWK said: Surely they must be the Florentin and Alice on the card? Agreed. He, Florentin, would appear to have survived the war because he is not one of the two Florentin Martin's listed on Mémoire des Hommes as Mort pour la France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantmal Posted 17 January , 2023 Author Share Posted 17 January , 2023 Alice and Florentin are with us again, after all these years. Thanks so much, JWK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battle of loos Posted 17 January , 2023 Share Posted 17 January , 2023 good morning, Here is the translation "Dear Cousin For a long time I have been writing to you to ask you if my cousin Abel has gone to us. Florentine has been gone for 2 months. Until now he was always in Angers, but he is leaving these days. He went to Troyes to drive horses. that is, to make supplies. He conducts engineering equipment. All this is very sad to see such a thing. all those poor unfortunates who are no longer present. And it's not over, finally we must take courage and hope that he comes back again because I will be very unhappy that everyone will stay there. Finally I think you will give me news of you as well as that of Abel and the cousin as well as the baby who must already be grown. I think that cousin Colline(t) should not be gone. The whole family joins me in embracing you with all my heart. your cousin who embroiders you. Aline Martin" in 1914 : Angers : 6ème Régiment du Génie regards michel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWK Posted 17 January , 2023 Share Posted 17 January , 2023 Is this the "Abel" they are talking about on the card? St. Aignan lies to the east of Tours. date of birth seems to tally with Florentin's. Unless ofcourse Alice was talking about a Villeret cousin!? But anyway: here's Abel Martin, a French soldier in WW1: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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