Fedelmar Posted 16 March , 2008 Share Posted 16 March , 2008 I brought a few photographs off Ebay ... all have writing on the back but this one is a real hard one All it has written on the back is 'yours truly' and yes ... all the photos are in the same handwriting although I can't read some of the writing. I am not good with fiddling with photograph images to improve the quality and this, like a couple of the others is poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedelmar Posted 16 March , 2008 Author Share Posted 16 March , 2008 2) On the back of this one is 'captured fritz guns'. My question is where and when???? 1) This one is of 'fritz long range guns'. My question is where and when and what rail and were they captured too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedelmar Posted 16 March , 2008 Author Share Posted 16 March , 2008 4) 'Platoon comp in Mauh???? Square' Who are these soldiers and what is the name of the square? 3) there is nothing on the back of this one so what can you tell me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedelmar Posted 16 March , 2008 Author Share Posted 16 March , 2008 5) this one says "ruins at Abbey D'Auluc (Aulue)". What can you tell me about the battle that caused the ruins and who was involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 16 March , 2008 Share Posted 16 March , 2008 The 'things' stacked in one photo look very like pavanes used for mine sweeping. Normally towed they 'stream out' at an angle to the towing minesweeper and the connecting steel hawser cuts the mine moorings so that a following sweeper can spot them when they float to the surface and destroy by gun fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedelmar Posted 16 March , 2008 Author Share Posted 16 March , 2008 OK Thanks that explains that ... I better go google now Bright Blessings Sandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eviltaxman Posted 16 March , 2008 Share Posted 16 March , 2008 I've tinkered with the first one, but I suspect there are others here that can do better. Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedelmar Posted 16 March , 2008 Author Share Posted 16 March , 2008 Interesting ... you boys a great ... if it is any help I can send across a larger file by email ... I scanned it at a fairly high resolution. I still can't work out if he is Australian or English. It looks like he is an Officer ... and has spurs which most officers wore ... but I can't quite make out the patch. Bright Blessings Sandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eviltaxman Posted 16 March , 2008 Share Posted 16 March , 2008 Sandra, PM on it's way. No promises, but I'll have a go Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eviltaxman Posted 16 March , 2008 Share Posted 16 March , 2008 Sandra, Here is what I've managed to do. It ain't great, but on the full size version (which I'll e-mail back to you) you can definately see that this officer has a Sam Browne (look at his back), an upside down triangular patch on top of left arm and what appears to be either a crown or pip on the left shoulder. Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Doneley Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 Looks like a crown - therefore a major. The colour patch is actually a diamond, making this a 2nd Australian Division major. He could be in the 5th, 6th, or 7th Brigades. He may also have an MC ribbon? The photo of the men drawn up in a hollow square shows slouch hats galore - again indicating Australians. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedelmar Posted 17 March , 2008 Author Share Posted 17 March , 2008 Wow... we are moving along in leaps and bounds already ... Once a few more come along we will have them all done and then I will know what to do with them. Thanks heaps ... Annnnddd a BIG THANK YOU to Les Bright Blessings Sandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eviltaxman Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 My pleasure. It's a pity the pic is so faded and of a fairly low quality, as this makes photo correction a "bit of fun". Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillgorilla Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 I would say definately an Australian, due to his battle patch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedelmar Posted 17 March , 2008 Author Share Posted 17 March , 2008 Okay ... so we have an Australian Major with an MC? http://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/~rmallett/ Now tell me what you think Bright Blessings Sandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eviltaxman Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 After a little more tinkering......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 I don't recognise the ruined abbey or the name and offer this only as a long shot. One that I do know of is the Abbaye de Vaucelles, not far from Masnieres and Cambrai. The ruins still stand. They look different to the photo but I guess there may be a different vantage point to the one I know. The ruins of Abbaye de Vauclair (Aisne) are even less like the pic. One other thought: could it say "Abbaye du lac"? I can't find any obvious place with that name, either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 The town where the troops are drawn up in a square does not appear to be damaged. Again, it's not somewhere I recognise. There is something big, probably a church or cathedral tower, top right. There are a few slouch hats bottom left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 The picture of the troops in the square has the look of something official about to happen - a medal presentation by some senior personage perhaps? three sides of the 'square' are effectively formed by men standing in order whilst the fourth is just spectators. One would expect such an event to be reasonably back from the front hence the lack of damage to the town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedelmar Posted 17 March , 2008 Author Share Posted 17 March , 2008 Thanks Chris I should have added these before ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedelmar Posted 17 March , 2008 Author Share Posted 17 March , 2008 Crikey that's a big gun!!! Thanks Les ... it looks heaps different there than in the little photograph I have. Bright Blessings Sandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolann Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 Hi do not know if this helps any, perhaps this Abbey was not destroyed in the 1ww but long before then. Aulne Abbey (Alna). A former Cistercian monastery near Landelies on the Sambre in the Diocese of Liège. Originally it was a Benedictine monastery, founded by Saint Landelinus about 656. Before 974 the Benedictines were replaced by secular clerics leading a common life, who, however, embraced the Rule of St. Augustine in 1144. At the instance of Bishop Henry de Leyen of Liège it came into the hands of Cistercian monks from Clairvaux in 1147 with Franco de Morvaux as its first Cistercian abbot. Henceforth it flourished as a Cistercian monastery until the French burned it at the end of the eighteenth century, only a short time after it had been rebuilt in larger dimensions. The library, which contained 40,000 books and 5000 manuscripts, was also destroyed. Cheers Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auimfo Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 I'd have to agree with Carolann for a similar reason. We are all assuming the photo is taken during or very soon after the war and that the damage was caused by the war. But surely the grounds and trees surrounding the Abbey would also have been destroyed and there's no chance they'd recuperated to the extent they have in such a short time. There's no doubt that the ruins existed before the war and were not caused by it. Cheers, Tim L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedelmar Posted 17 March , 2008 Author Share Posted 17 March , 2008 Okay ... then they would have been written on at the same time as it is the same pencil. The only thing that doesn't fit is the name of the Abbey. Bright Blessings Sandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eviltaxman Posted 17 March , 2008 Share Posted 17 March , 2008 I'm not convinced the pic of the "abbey" is an abbey. The inscription says "ruins at..." not "ruins of...". Another theory behind my crazy idea is that this ruin look too much like a chateau - note the first floor windows and the bay window. My guess is that the abbey is just out of shot. I've tried searching for variations of the spelling but nothing comes up. Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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