Mendinghem Dozinghem and Bandaghem

[welshdoc]

I spent 10 minutes this morning trying to find the town of Dozinghem near Ypres, then looked at the CWGC site to see it was a casualty clearing station which with Mendinghem and Bandaghem became cemetries. Now I get the "mending them and bandage them" jokes but cant decide what the Dozinghem joke was. Dozing as in sleeping?. Any ideas?

Also how about other humourous names of CWGC cemetries? were these unique ? Gareth

[Dobrobbichop]

Dosing them.

If memory serves, it was the CCSs that were given the humerous names, not the cemeteries as such.

[welshdoc]

Ah I see what an innocent mind i have. Strange though they used the names for the cemetries.

[spoons]

I think that is as in 'dosing them' with medicine (and I thought my puns were bad. Not a cemetery, but isn't there a military police post on Letsbe Avenue somewhere (Falklands?)

[welshdoc]

So that sort of dosing I do have a dirty mind . But it is a CWGC cemetry has about 3000 casualties .

[Aurel Sercu]

I had always thought that in Dozinghem it was "to doze" = sleep. Until a while ago I saw that someone interpreted it as "dose" in the medical sense. (Which indeed is nearer to "bandage" and "mend".)

Also this ... Reading in Spoons' posting "dosing them" I realize that "them" played a part with regard to the last element in Bandaghem and Dozinghem and Mendinghem. I myself so far had thought that it was nothing but an allusion to the suffix g(h)em so many dozens of Flemish village names end on. But of course, it can be both.

Aurel

[Le_Treport]

I think that is as in 'dosing them' with medicine (and I thought my puns were bad. Not a cemetery, but isn't there a military police post on Letsbe Avenue somewhere (Falklands?)

................. There's a Letsbie Avenue at the RAF base near Upavon IIRC.

[stevem49]

I spent 10 minutes this morning trying to find the town of Dozinghem near Ypres, then looked at the CWGC site to see it was a casualty clearing station which with Mendinghem and Bandaghem became cemetries. Now I get the "mending them and bandage them" jokes but cant decide what the Dozinghem joke was. Dozing as in sleeping?. Any ideas?

Also how about other humourous names of CWGC cemetries? were these unique ? Gareth

The three were set up for The Battles of Ypres 1917. They had differant specialties. As has been said Dozinghem from Dosing and Hem for village. mendinghem - mending and Bandagehem - bandage.

Dozinghem comes under Westvleteren and is at the end of a muddy track. Nice cafe nearby and of course the monastery where the best beer in the world is brewed. The CWGC gardener is a pleasant chap and well worth taking too. Nice place for a picnic as well.

Mendinghem at Proven

Bandagehem at Haringhe - off the main road through the village.

If you do visit you should have little problem Findinghem.

stevem

[welshdoc]

"If you do visit you should have little problem Findinghem."

thanks Steve

"I had always thought that in Dozinghem it was "to doze" = sleep. Until a while ago I saw that someone interpreted it as "dose" in the medical sense. (Which indeed is nearer to "bandage" and "mend".)

Also this ... Reading in Spoons' posting "dosing them" I realize that "them" played a part with regard to the last element in Bandaghem and Dozinghem and Mendinghem. I myself so far had thought that it was nothing but an allusion to the suffix g(h)em so many dozens of Flemish village names end on. But of course, it can be both."

Thanks Aurel, its a clever play on words both in English and clearly Flemish?. I think it must have been thought up by someone very bright.

gareth

[bruce]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the famous American surgeon, Harvey Cushing, who worked in the area, even suggested that if a fourth such CCS was created, it should be called Buringhem!

Thankfully his suggestion was not taken up!

Bruce

[welshdoc]

Good to see there were some with a wry scence of humour during Ypres 3.

[Jacksmum]

I spent 10 minutes this morning trying to find the town of Dozinghem near Ypres, then looked at the CWGC site to see it was a casualty clearing station which with Mendinghem and Bandaghem became cemetries. Now I get the "mending them and bandage them" jokes but cant decide what the Dozinghem joke was. Dozing as in sleeping?. Any ideas?

Also how about other humourous names of CWGC cemetries? were these unique ? Gareth

"Mending" them broken bones?

"Bandaging" them wounds

"Dosing" them fevers.

ATB Jacksmum

[Owen D]

Cor, I thought everyone knew that.

I think Lyn MacDonald expalined the names in her "Roses Of No-Man's Land."

Read it 20 years ago so memory is faded abit.

CWGC goes into bit of detail.

Westvleteren was outside the front held by Commonwealth forces in Belgium during the First World War, but in July 1917, in readiness for the forthcoming offensive, groups of casualty clearing stations were placed at three positions called by the troops Mendinghem, Dozinghem and Bandaghem. The 4th, 47th and 61st Casualty Clearing Stations were posted at Dozinghem and the military cemetery was used by them until early in 1918.

Mendinghem, like Dozinghem and Bandaghem, were the popular names given by the troops to groups of casualty clearing stations posted to this area during the First World War. In July 1916, the 46th (1st/1st Wessex) Casualty Clearing Station was opened at Proven and this site was chosen for its cemetery. The first burials took place in August 1916. In July 1917, four further clearing stations arrived at Proven in readiness for the forthcoming Allied offensive on this front and three of them, the 46th, 12th and 64th, stayed until 1918.

Bandaghem, like Dozinghem and Mendinghem, were the popular names given by the troops to groups of casualty clearing stations posted to this area during the First World War. The cemetery site was chosen in July 1917 for the 62nd and 63rd Casualty Clearing Stations and burials from these and other hospitals (notably the 36th Casualty Clearing Station in 1918) continued until October 1918.

[ali_Dug]

Hi All,

Does anyone know if there are any records surviving for any of these clearing stations?

cheers

alison

ps does anyone know also, how close cemetaries were from hospitals?

[tootrock]

According to The Long Long Trail there was also a CCS near Proven called Needinghem.

Martin

[Peter Bennett]

I think that is as in 'dosing them' with medicine (and I thought my puns were bad. Not a cemetery, but isn't there a military police post on Letsbe Avenue somewhere (Falklands?)

I thought Letsbe Avenue was where Norwich City play, after Delia Smith's half-time pep talk to the crowd

[ali_Dug]

Thank you Martin

[Skipman]

Just reading an article from the British Newspaper Archive,  Littlehampton Gazette - Friday 20 August 1926

 

"Last week's visit to Worthing of a hundred disabled ex-Service men, brought here for a few hours from hospitals in the London district by an Association which could have no finer or more appropriate title than 'Lest We Forget.' revived for me memories of long months spent in bed at Millbank and Sidcup and, before that, at whimsically-named "Mendinghem" and Wimereux. "Mendinghem" as some of my readers may remember, was one of a trio of important casualty-clearing stations in Flanders, its two companions being respectively "Healinghem" and "Dosinghem."

 

Don't see any ref at all for "Bandagehem/Bandaghem"

 

Mike

Edited 24 June , 2018 by Skipman

[hazelclark]

On 11/01/2007 at 11:17, bruce said:

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the famous American surgeon, Harvey Cushing, who worked in the area, even suggested that if a fourth such CCS was created, it should be called Buringhem!

Thankfully his suggestion was not taken up!

Bruce

He also mentioned “Clippenhem” as a suggested name which also thankfully was not adopted. ( I think it was based on the name of one of the M.O.s)

Hazel C.