cockney tone Posted 9 November , 2007 Share Posted 9 November , 2007 Ladies & Gents, Pal's, bit of a long shot this one but somebody may know? I am researching the movements of a Great Uncle attatched to the 1st Btn Royal Berks Regiment, I am using a copy of their war diary and on the 20th October 1914 they are shown outside and West of Ypres, then into billets at a Diamond Cutting Factory, does anybody know where this factory was/is please? Regards and best wishes, Scottie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabine72 Posted 9 November , 2007 Share Posted 9 November , 2007 Hello, all I know is that the owners were Vanacker and Blom and a name of the guy who worked there: Gilles but now location maybe an other member living in ieper can help you. kind regards sabine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockney tone Posted 9 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 9 November , 2007 Sabine, thank you for this info, i am very grateful, Regards, Scottie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabine72 Posted 10 November , 2007 Share Posted 10 November , 2007 hello, This is what I found in newspapers of 1910 A guy from antwerp bought land that belonged to the town of ieper outside the menin gate that land was used as dump before 1908. ( newspaper april 1910) In the newspaper of october 1910 they talk about the water-works that now end at the diamond factory and they mention hoornwerk and kruisstraat. Hoornwerk is just outside the menin gate kruisstraat I don't find back in the streetnames of today, probably changed now. I did make a mistake yesterday it is vandenacker and not vanacker. kind regards sabine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockney tone Posted 10 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 10 November , 2007 Sabine, thank you for taking the time and trouble to look this up for me, on re reading the diary it states they were West of Ypres, does your description put them east of it? They were on the march a lot at this stage so its possible they recorded it wrong? Regards and thanks again, Scottie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabine72 Posted 10 November , 2007 Share Posted 10 November , 2007 Hello, with directions I'm still not verry good, I guess I better buy a compass, because now I orientate with the sun,( no sun today ) and I'm trying to imagine were they where walking, or were that factory was at hoornwerk the exact location. and your date is 10/1914. so they must have left ieper passing by the menin gate and then turned right walking next to the water of the ramparts and at ther left side that is hoornwerk, or they came the other way trying to get in town. so that could be coming from the menin road or coming by the side of lille gate( using roads outside town) A 1914 map of ieper would help a lot and I cann't remember if I have one. maybe you could contact jackie plateeuw or aurel sercu I'm pretty sure they can help you out with this kind regards sabine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockney tone Posted 10 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 10 November , 2007 Sabine, thank you for your continued interest, apparently the night off 19/10/14 was spent in billets at Godewaersvelde then on the 20th they marched 16 miles to Ypres. They halted to the West of town as there was heavy shelling on the East of Ypres. it states that they then went into the factory so could have walked through or around the town. 05.30 next morning they continued their march through St Jean to Wieltje. As you suggest it might be worth pm ing Jackie or Aurel! Just to let you know the sun did not shine on my little bit of the world today either Regards and thanks again, Regards, Scottie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabine72 Posted 13 November , 2007 Share Posted 13 November , 2007 Scottie, just wondering if you found somthing new about the diamond factory. i'll have a look in some books, you never know what you can find. The factory is something I would like to know more about.Diamonds in ieper. ( diamonds are a woman's best friend ) kind regards sabine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockney tone Posted 15 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 15 November , 2007 Sabine, still searching! not found anything in any of my books/maps and I have only just pm'd Jacky and Aurel to see if they know. Sadly if any of my family spent the night in a diamond factory there would not be any left for the ladies of Ypres by the morning! thanks for your continued interest, Regards, Scottie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurel Sercu Posted 15 November , 2007 Share Posted 15 November , 2007 Scottie, Sorry, I'm afraid I can't help you. I had never heard of a diamond cutting factory pre war in or near Ypres, and I have just gone through some maps, and cannot find any mention of it. Aurel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacky Platteeuw Posted 15 November , 2007 Share Posted 15 November , 2007 Scottie, Very sorry but to my knowledge I never heard of a diamonf factory in Ypres pre war. Jacky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockney tone Posted 15 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 15 November , 2007 Aurel & Jackie, Gents, thank you for checking, seems if both of you and Sabine do not know the location I may have to give up on it. I was just hoping to identify the building to add something a bit more tangible to my Great Uncle's story for when I visit you beautiful town again! Regards and thanks for your interest. Scottie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurel Sercu Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 Scottie, I am about to give up... Too much confusion. Sabine mentioned Hoornwerk en Kruisstraat. I too am inclined to situate this near the Menin Gate (Hoornwerk = street just outside Menin Gate and Ramparts, parallel). But I am not 100% sure that there were no other 'hoornwerks' at the time somewhere else oustide of town. Kruisstraat ? This means Cross Street, and could be any street leading to crossroads. (At first sight I associated it with Kruiskalsijdestraat, but that's too far away : Where Hell Fire Corner is.) On war time maps there is Kruisstraat on the other side of town : southwest, more specifically the T-junction of Dikkebusseweg and (now) Capucienenstraat. (And to make it puzzling, and appealing : there was a 'Centre Commercial' nearby. Could there have been a diamond cutting factory ? Also : if troops came from Hazebroek to Ypres and in order to move on to Wieltje and St. Jean, then in my opinion, and especially if there was enemy firing on the east side of town, then they would take the west and northwest side of town to go there, not the east side. But I promise : if ever I find mention of a diamond cutting factory, I'll contact you again. Aurel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frie Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 Hello, I thought Kruisstraat is the same as the Capucienenstraat (I often heard : They are living at the "Kruisstraat") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurel Sercu Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 Hi Frie (J.), Thanks for joining us... En als je ooit ergens een diamantslijperij (that's what is meant by "diamond cutting factory" ?) aantreft in Ypres, let us know. Aurel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frie Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 Aurel, In the paper 'Het Yperse from 16 februar 1924 is said : Re-opening of the diamant factory.... Owners Van Acker and Schmidt. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frie Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 And there was a "Kruisstraathoek" (café Français) cross-roads Ieper -Dikkebus and Voormezele - Vlamertinge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurel Sercu Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 Aurel, In the paper 'Het Yperse from 16 februar 1924 is said : Re-opening of the diamant factory.... Owners Van Acker and Schmidt. ... J., And does it say where that was ? And if it was on the same location as pre-war ? Aurel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frie Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 Just "re-opening" of the factory... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frie Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 Aurel; Ik vind in de oude kranten het volgende : de gemeenteraad verkoopt op 09-04-1910 grond voor de diamantslijperij. Het zou op de voormalige "stads mesthoop" geweest zijn. Het is volgens aanwijzingen te situeren op de Sint jacobsparochie (buiten) -- omgeving Basculestraat en 3 Zottenstraat(Nu jan Ypermanstraat) -- Er wordt ook melding gemaakt van een wijk rond de herberg "De 3 gebroeders" geseid de "katotjes" De Kruistraat die ze bedoelen moet daar ergens liggen. Verder aanwijzing : de tramlijn van Geluwe naar Ieper zal van de kalsijde (Menen) langs de Bascule rijden--dan voorbij de stadsmesthoop naar het zwembad.... Er was vroeger in de Basculestraat een herberg " De diamantmijn".... Yes there was a factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurel Sercu Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 J., I'll continue in English, though it's a little weird, two people from the Ypres area, both Flemish pure bred, conversing in English. But we don't want to deter our English speaking Forum pals, do we ? You wrote : "Omgeving Basculestraat en 3 Zottenstraat (nu Jan Ypermanstraat)". And that hit me like a flash of lightning. I mean : I had heard a bell ring before but didn't know where the 'clapper hung'. ;-) You wrote that in the Basculestraat there used to be a bar (pub) 'De Diamantmijn'. Well, I had always wondered : why is that dead end street (actually a small residential area of a few dozen houses), the first on the left in the Basculestraat called ... "Diamantstraat" ? Now I know the answer : that must have been named after the (close ?) location of the former Diamond Cutting Factory ! Well, now at least when we see old (pre) war maps of Ypres we know where we have to look. (And realizing that there may have been more than one Diamond Cutting Factory in town ...) Scottie, we are getting close ! Aurel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurel Sercu Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 Just found (in a book "Four centuries of pubs in Ypres" (Staf Verheye) that the pub De Diamantmijn indeed was there in the Basculestraat in the early 1920s. Until mid 1970s. (From then on a normal house, number 28). This "staminee" (estaminet) got its name from the diamond cutting factory that was close by, Van den Acker, destroyed in the Great War, and started up again in 1926 (as mentioned by Frie.) In the same buildings there was also a "Menuiserie" (cabinetmaker). In 1928 it went up in flames. Now there is a wholesale wine merchant. This topic is leading us to unexpected (but welcome) destinations. ;-) Aurel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabine72 Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 aurel, Thanks, I knew you would find it, It is been on my mind the whole week when I drove by bascule, frenchlaan and de drie zottenstraat.thinking about people living in that area that I could ask about the diamond factory close to hoornwerk. dus de fabriek was gesitueerd ergens aan de overkant van de begrafenisondernemer in de basculestraat. leefde mijn opa nu nog maar. en had ik maar alles opgeschreven wat hij mij vertelde. kind regards sabine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurel Sercu Posted 16 November , 2007 Share Posted 16 November , 2007 dus de fabriek was gesitueerd ergens aan de overkant van de begrafenisondernemer in de basculestraat. Sabine, Correct. Opposite the undertaker. What attracted me was the fact that there had been a diamond cutting factory in Ypres before (and shortly after) the war. Of course, that's is not so special, but yet somehow it came as a surprise to me. Aurel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockney tone Posted 16 November , 2007 Author Share Posted 16 November , 2007 Sabine, Aurel & Frie, thanks for your work and continued interest on my behalf, thank you. If you ask me you could start a Detective Agency between you! Regards, Scottie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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