ackimzey Posted 4 September , 2005 Share Posted 4 September , 2005 Another diary puzzle......my great uncle (a doctor) writes: April 9, 1918 – School dismissed at noon. Ordered to Strozule to attend French civilians who were evacuating. No train from Steenwerck. Met a Canadian, Capt. Kendall, who had charge of RR. Came to Strozule c[with] two orderlies in his car. Spent night in his hut. April 10, l918 – Reported to concentration camp. Many “civies” but none sick. Later was called to RR station. Found a woman in labor. Could find no room for her in houses. So put her on bell tent bags and delivered her before many onlookers. Did not have time to wait for soap and water before delivery. All done under very septic conditions. Blanche Francois, baby boy, born 2:15 p.m. Very little hemorrhage, placenta delivered 2:30 in tact. I thought at first that he wrote "full tent bags" but the longer I work on the transcription, the more the word looks like "bell" so it's "over to y'all" for help. I wish I had a scanner, but I don't. All ideas and suggestions appreciated. Thanks, Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhill Posted 4 September , 2005 Share Posted 4 September , 2005 Yes, there was such a thing as a bell tent. I remember a discussion about it here . Perhaps this is such a structure. I pinched it from the Canadian Archives site here . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Coulson Posted 4 September , 2005 Share Posted 4 September , 2005 Presumably the baby was delivered with the mother laying on a mattress of Bell tents still wrapped in their bags. Bob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Evans Posted 4 September , 2005 Share Posted 4 September , 2005 Yes, there was such a thing as a bell tent. [ Yes, the picture is as I remember them when I was in the Boy Scouts, (yes I am that old!) Sleeping arrangements were in radial fashion, feet towards the centre pole and heads towards the outside. Anyone who needed to go outside during the night invariably made themselves unpopular by trampling over several of the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horace Bachelor Posted 4 September , 2005 Share Posted 4 September , 2005 That is what I would call a bell tent. I too remember camping in them with the scouts. The sleeping arrangements being as described by Roy. Come to think of it, they were probably ex-army. Rich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthergw Posted 4 September , 2005 Share Posted 4 September , 2005 Yes, there was such a thing as a bell tent. I remember a discussion about it here . Perhaps this is such a structure. I pinched it from the Canadian Archives site here . <{POST_SNAPBACK}> They were also favoured by The Boys Brigade and other youth organisations. The wall of the tent could be raised during the day to allow air to circulate. Very keen on air in these days. I remember that the centre pole was as heavy as hell. We slept on palliasses.( Hessian sacks full of hay.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick H Posted 4 September , 2005 Share Posted 4 September , 2005 Camping with the BB as a boy in the sixties, we would go raidiing another BB site with Bell Tents. If you loosened all the guy ropes you could take out the central pole whilst the inhabitants slept on. The aim was to get clean away with the pole and "parade" it back to the site the following day with our band leading. Unfortunately ? camp raiding is now banned Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 4 September , 2005 Share Posted 4 September , 2005 I think the author means the bags that the tents came in. He was near a concentration camp which was almost certainly tented. Terry Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horace Bachelor Posted 4 September , 2005 Share Posted 4 September , 2005 Unfortunately ? camp raiding is now banned Patrick <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Like many other things in life Patrick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Evans Posted 4 September , 2005 Share Posted 4 September , 2005 We slept on palliasses.( Hessian sacks full of hay.) Damn, I should have joined the B. B., in the scouts we just had groundsheets. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ackimzey Posted 4 September , 2005 Author Share Posted 4 September , 2005 Presumably the baby was delivered with the mother laying on a mattress of Bell tents still wrapped in their bags. Bob. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm sure that's what he meant. That's why my first interpretation was "full tent bags" instead of "bell tent bags". I should have included this part of the next's days entry as well: April 11, 1918 - Above lady & child doing well. Sent to Hazebrouck to hospital.... Thank you all for the posts and detailed information. Never before have I been able to ask a question one day and have the answer appear like magic the next day.... I really appreciate it. Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnreed Posted 4 September , 2005 Share Posted 4 September , 2005 From my days in the Scouts we used to call the palliasses friendly donkeys. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankeegrunt Posted 4 April , 2007 Share Posted 4 April , 2007 sibley tents and stoves, the pic. remindes me of a sibley tent, does anyone know if the u.s. army was still using the cival war sibley tent? from what I can gather the army used the stove up untill 1941, when the m-1941 barel stove came out. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 5 April , 2007 Share Posted 5 April , 2007 The Bell Tent is mentioned in the 1914 Infantry Manual. IIRC the "allocation" for occupying them was as follows: One Senior Officer or Two Junior Officers or Two Sergeant Majors or Four sergeants or Twelve other ranks There is a description of o/r's sharing these tents in the book "Combed Out" by Fritz August Voight. Crowded and uncomfortable; prone to leaking rain and airless when fully occupied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete L Posted 5 April , 2007 Share Posted 5 April , 2007 Live the dream http://www.armytents.co.uk/index.php?act=v...mp;productId=24 pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggers Posted 5 April , 2007 Share Posted 5 April , 2007 Tents, bell: if twelve slept in, with kit, very crowded... At a cadet camp in 1948 we were six to a tent, on a slope, which meant that the proper 'feet in, heads out' did not work, as blood rushed to the heads of those on the downhill side. Not recommended but they look pretty in the old photos. Daggers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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