Shayne Posted 24 August , 2023 Share Posted 24 August , 2023 These were all together in a box of pictures my family has, and I do not even know that they are tied together but I find it strange they were kept. Any thoughts? No speculation will seem too strange! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 24 August , 2023 Share Posted 24 August , 2023 (edited) They have the slightly startled look of newly arrived immigrants to America to me. The Austro-Hungarians are known to have carried out quite a lot of summary hangings like that. The crashed car has US number plates I think? Edited 24 August , 2023 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayne Posted 24 August , 2023 Author Share Posted 24 August , 2023 The car does have a US plate. If it has a US plate does that mean the picture could have only been taken in the US or were there autos taken overseas during the war? With the photo of the 3 men being found with the photo of the hangings I wondered if the man in the middle was possibly prisoner and one of those hung? Note the way it looks like he is being held by the other two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner 87 Posted 24 August , 2023 Share Posted 24 August , 2023 (edited) 7 hours ago, Shayne said: The car does have a US plate. Hi Shayne. I have sought advice from a number of American guys and the general consensus is the licence plate is military or government. There is also a Facebook group dedicated to US licence plates so I have asked for their opinion. If the vehicle is post Great War then you can eliminate the hanging involvement. Regards Gunner 87 Edited 25 August , 2023 by Gunner 87 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 24 August , 2023 Share Posted 24 August , 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, Shayne said: The car does have a US plate. If it has a US plate does that mean the picture could have only been taken in the US or were there autos taken overseas during the war? With the photo of the 3 men being found with the photo of the hangings I wondered if the man in the middle was possibly prisoner and one of those hung? Note the way it looks like he is being held by the other two. The car with US plate might be in the occupation zone and perhaps photographed because it was involved in an accident that probably included the photographer. That might possibly be the reason it was kept, along the lines of…look at what I survived. So hence its retention in family memorabilia. I’m fairly sure that the photo of the three men doesn’t relate to the hangings. If you look at the central man he has what is most likely a friendly hand on his shoulder from the man left as we look. A hand on shoulder is universally considered a friendly and benign gesture other than when deep cynicism is involved, and I don’t think that appears to be the case. Of course I don’t know, but I imagine that the photo of the executions was obtained from someone else (given the two protagonists), but again probably retained to show the folks back home how tough and ruthless the war was. Edited 24 August , 2023 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner 87 Posted 24 August , 2023 Share Posted 24 August , 2023 5 hours ago, Shayne said: The car does have a US plate. This image of a 1918 Ford Model T in the service of the US Army has a the same format as the licence plate on the photograph, US, series of numbers, then a letter. Licence plates were not used by every state until 1918. I think it could be the case that the plate in the photograph is an early US Army licence plate bearing the same format as had previously been painted on the side of the vehicle. If the is the case then the vehicle in the photograph is post Great War. One of the members of the US Licence Plate group has also suggested it is an early s military plate. If I receive any further responses I will update the thread. Gunner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 24 August , 2023 Share Posted 24 August , 2023 Just now, Gunner 87 said: This image of a 1918 Ford Model T in the service of the US Army has a the same format as the licence plate on the photograph, US, series of numbers, then a letter. Licence plates were not used by every state until 1918. I think it could be the case that the plate in the photograph is an early US Army licence plate bearing the same format as had previously been painted on the side of the vehicle. If the is the case then the vehicle in the photograph is post Great War. One of the members of the US Licence Plate group has also suggested it is an early s military plate. If I receive any further responses I will update the thread. Gunner The occupation force was set up post war and continued until 1930, so along with the rest of Shayne’s photos, that fits perfectly with your findings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRC Posted 24 August , 2023 Share Posted 24 August , 2023 From some of the other threads the box also included images via Shaynes' great grandmother that are to do with two German soldiers, one simply kmown as Theo and the other as Hans Vogel. The picture of the Polish spies being executed may therefore come from that source rather than one of the American soldiers. Cheers, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 25 August , 2023 Share Posted 25 August , 2023 1 hour ago, PRC said: From some of the other threads the box also included images via Shaynes' great grandmother that are to do with two German soldiers, one simply kmown as Theo and the other as Hans Vogel. The picture of the Polish spies being executed may therefore come from that source rather than one of the American soldiers. Cheers, Peter Yes that seems far more likely, especially if we can confirm that the German soldiers concerned had served on the Eastern Front and come into contact with their co-belligerents, the Austro-Hungarians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayne Posted 25 August , 2023 Author Share Posted 25 August , 2023 (edited) I cannot say for sure if this photo belonged to my Ggrandmother, a German citizen, or my Ggrandfather, a US soldier. My grandmother asked that the box be burned so I am sure she did not care to share what photos belonged to who! Due to everyone's input and knowledge these photos are now being logged as belonging to her (along with a copy of the comments for reference) Also, I thought the man in the middle could have been a prisoner because of the way the man on the right was holding him - I agree the one on the left looks more like a friendly gesture. Does the man on the left look like he is in a uniform where the other two are civilians? The one on the left definitely looks more comfortable with the photo being taken. THANK YOU - Shayne Edited 25 August , 2023 by Shayne Added paragraph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils d Posted 31 August , 2023 Share Posted 31 August , 2023 I think that the guy on the left is the brother of the middle man.Mmmm lm not 100% on that but it's possible. Both of the outside fellows have their arms around the middle chap. As to the lack of geniality in the photo bear in mind that these are different times and not everyone was used to having their picture taken . A lot of folk would freeze when a camera was pulled out.And smiling at the camera wasnt a universal norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayne Posted 28 September , 2023 Author Share Posted 28 September , 2023 After scanning in the originals I think these 3 are some of the American soldiers in civilian dress that I posted in other chats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 28 September , 2023 Share Posted 28 September , 2023 (edited) 4 hours ago, Shayne said: After scanning in the originals I think these 3 are some of the American soldiers in civilian dress that I posted in other chats That certainly seems likely. With the better scan I think it’s possible that the man far left either has puttees (leg wrappings) or long stockings (socks) to the knee. It’s even clearer that the central man has a hand from the fellow on each side resting on his opposing shoulders. That’s usually considered a friendly gesture, but another hand on the elbow appears strange and almost looks like captivity. The serious facial expressions remind me of Town Sheriffs in the Old West showing off captured felons. Edited 28 September , 2023 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayne Posted 30 September , 2023 Author Share Posted 30 September , 2023 On 28/09/2023 at 00:45, FROGSMILE said: The serious facial expressions remind me of Town Sheriffs in the Old West showing off captured felons. Me too! I have also posted a picture of Polish spies hung by Austrians and wondered if he might have been one of those men when he was caught. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 30 September , 2023 Share Posted 30 September , 2023 What's the band round the middle man's right elbow? Perhaps similar hidden by hand on left elbow. Surely not elastics to hold sleeves that are too long? Could they be a restraint? Odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 30 September , 2023 Share Posted 30 September , 2023 (edited) 15 minutes ago, charlie962 said: What's the band round the middle man's right elbow? Perhaps similar hidden by hand on left elbow. Surely not elastics to hold sleeves that are too long? Could they be a restraint? Odd. I think they are sleeve bands Charlie, I can see signs of the opposite one. They were popular in the 1930s. Edited 30 September , 2023 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 30 September , 2023 Share Posted 30 September , 2023 On 28/09/2023 at 09:45, FROGSMILE said: The serious facial expressions remind me of Town Sheriffs in the Old West showing off captured felons. That might be the deliberate pose for 3 chums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 30 September , 2023 Share Posted 30 September , 2023 (edited) 5 minutes ago, charlie962 said: That might be the deliberate pose for 3 chums. Yes it could be, but if so they’re remarkably good at deadpan expressions! It doesn’t seem like acting when looked at in the round… Edited 30 September , 2023 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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