joerookery Posted 12 September , 2005 Share Posted 12 September , 2005 May I beg your help in determining where/what this is? Please? Nothing at all on the back. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joerookery Posted 12 September , 2005 Author Share Posted 12 September , 2005 Closeup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob lembke Posted 12 September , 2005 Share Posted 12 September , 2005 Closeup <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Joe; Is that "The best lodgements are to be prepared for you at all parts of Souzerocourt ???. Best welcome!"" ? Looks like the happy locals prepared a sign for the UK forces. Have you Googled on the probable place name? Bob Lembke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 12 September , 2005 Share Posted 12 September , 2005 Gouzeaucourt? The "English" does not appear to have been written by a British soldier. Some how the buildings don't look terribly French either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob lembke Posted 12 September , 2005 Share Posted 12 September , 2005 Gouzeaucourt? The "English" does not appear to have been written by a British soldier. Some how the buildings don't look terribly French either! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Chris; It is hard to imagine that the first letter is not a "S". And the seventh letter probably is not a "u". Sure is an odd place-name. Clearly the twisted English is from some variety of "furrin" local. The buildings look like that they might be that extreme northern sort of style, like where my cousin is in Germany very near the Dutch border. The roof with two pitches is interesting and probably would be a clue, if I wasn't clueless. I suspect that this is Flemish; the sign put up by the Phlem Estamint Association. Bob Lembke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malte Znaniecki Posted 12 September , 2005 Share Posted 12 September , 2005 I think we have to search at R o c o u r t, south of Armentières. The pic was taken in French Flanders or northern Artois, regarding the buildings. I suppose it is a small village close to it. And I am not convinced that the 3rd word above is "Logements". Blown up, the first letter seems to be an "M" , "N" or "H". I suggest the pic was taken during the time from Nov. 1914 until Febr. 1915. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernardmcilwaine Posted 12 September , 2005 Share Posted 12 September , 2005 could they be internees,there are no signs of weapons,ammo pouches,packs etc,they all seem to be carrying nothing more harmful than a stick,the village is undamaged and the dirt track is not churned up,which you would expect in a war zone,they all seem to be a mixture of different units,and some dont even look german,also,how long would that sign last if it were in an occupied area,the word is lodgements,is it holland,bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malte Znaniecki Posted 12 September , 2005 Share Posted 12 September , 2005 could they be internees,there are no signs of weapons,ammo pouches,packs etc,they all seem to be carrying nothing more harmful than a stick,the village is undamaged and the dirt track is not churned up,which you would expect in a war zone,they all seem to be a mixture of different units,and some dont even look german,also,how long would that sign last if it were in an occupied area,the word is lodgements,is it holland,bernard <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No, they're no internees. The german soldier in the middle is carrying his rifle. Others keep their ammunition. They're behind the front line. Malte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 12 September , 2005 Share Posted 12 September , 2005 My first "take" on the photo is that the Germans have made the sign to welcome the Brits before vacating the village. If, before they left, they wrecked the place, the joke would be a bit more obvious. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombadier Posted 12 September , 2005 Share Posted 12 September , 2005 I think we have to search at R o c o u r t, south of Armentières. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree with this. If you take into account the French/ French influence pronunciation of South, you can arrive at Souze. There is reference here http://freespace.virgin.net/howard.anderson/aisne1914.htm to troops having been billeted at Rocourt. The locals welcomed them when they arrived, the Germans were there after them and the photo was taken before the sign was removed. That's my theory anyway. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcwilson Posted 13 September , 2005 Share Posted 13 September , 2005 Interesting photograph. In regard to the sign what is being missed here is irony. The lettering, orthography and the attached bunting suggest a German source. The very un-English term 'Best Welcome' appears to be a literal translation of 'Gutes Willkommen'. The sign is supposedly directed at English speakers and the 'lodgements' referred to is internment or the grave. Can't help with the town though. Graham W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob lembke Posted 13 September , 2005 Share Posted 13 September , 2005 I vote that Graham is correct about the origin/purpose of the sign, and Malte (and myself) about the Flemish/Dutch/Frisian/north German location based on architecture. The few men bearing ammo or arms rules out both the immediate front and internment. How many Germans were interned in Holland in 1914? Not many, I think. I think about 3500 men of Churchill's command were chased there from Antwerp. The hypothesis that this is a satirical sign put up by Germans to jeer British POWs is a good and probably accurate guess. Probably some intermediate Lager before being sent to Germany proper. Bob Lembke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joerookery Posted 13 September , 2005 Author Share Posted 13 September , 2005 I am so sorry it took so long to respond. Here are some morew closeups. Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joerookery Posted 13 September , 2005 Author Share Posted 13 September , 2005 soldiersleft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joerookery Posted 13 September , 2005 Author Share Posted 13 September , 2005 soldiersright Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joerookery Posted 13 September , 2005 Author Share Posted 13 September , 2005 house left Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joerookery Posted 13 September , 2005 Author Share Posted 13 September , 2005 houseright Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnock Posted 13 September , 2005 Share Posted 13 September , 2005 Hello, Pic propably taken beginning of 1915 : spikes removed from helmets. The soldier at extreme left is a Lancer. Regards, Cnock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob lembke Posted 13 September , 2005 Share Posted 13 September , 2005 The better pics more clearly show the architectural details that are Dutch. Have not been in Flanders, but of course there are close links. Where my cousins live (in Germany) near the Dutch border you see the same architectural details. Also more men are armed, but not "heavily". Finally, clearly seems "Souzeaucourt". No hit on the Internet, and I must say that "Souz" is not a French root. Also tried Souseaucourt, thinking the Hun mispelled, ("Sous" is a French root) and no hit either. Could be a little village, or someone's fantasy. Bob Lembke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 13 September , 2005 Share Posted 13 September , 2005 It must be Gouzeaucourt, I think. The capital "G" is shaped like a figure 6 and something is obscuring part of it, the same as is happeneing to the small "a" in the same word. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkristof Posted 13 September , 2005 Share Posted 13 September , 2005 I think it is a German joke (a bad one) "Sous" in French means under... under the ground? So in Shelters? A nickname for the German dug outs? Souzeaucourt? Just an idea... I am thinking this is in the village of Eaucourt in the somme or Gouzeaucourt in the Somme, Close to the Butte de Warlemcourt. Were VC's are won, tanks fought... this is a picture of the old mill of Eaucourt, the houses look simular. see also: http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/somme_steinacker.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnock Posted 13 September , 2005 Share Posted 13 September , 2005 Hello, I also think it must be GOUZEAUCOURT, a village in Northern France (Pas de Calais) Regards, Cnock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkristof Posted 13 September , 2005 Share Posted 13 September , 2005 i don't find matching houses... http://perso.wanadoo.fr/contescourt/gouzea...villagegouz.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 13 September , 2005 Share Posted 13 September , 2005 i don't find matching houses... http://perso.wanadoo.fr/contescourt/gouzea...villagegouz.htm <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's not surprising, Kristof. The website you link to tells us that the Germans destroyed the village in 1917:- Dès la fin du départ des derniers habitants (le 21-02-1917), les Allemands font sauter tous les édifices et maisons minées, c'est la destruction du village de Gouzeaucourt. There is also a German aerial photo of the village from March 24, 1917, showing the destruction of the houses of Gouzeaucourt, with the caption mentioning that all that remains are sections of walls. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest British Sapper Posted 14 September , 2005 Share Posted 14 September , 2005 Looks like a 'joke' to me. Is lodgements a french word for 'lodgings', which was a widely used word by folk at that time,for example ; lodging at Blackpool for their 'wakes' holidays. The guy in the middle wearing the pickelstaube looks like awfully like a young Adolf Hitler ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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