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Remembered Today:

Blue and red light establishments in France


Marco

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Being one part of a two-men co-authorship of a website (with my main interest being cemeteries) I also need to cater for the interest of the 2nd party. I was therefore thinking of setting two days aside on my next trip for ww1 prostitution and perhaps a story on our website. Does anyone know of an existing list of blue and red light establishments in France & Flanders?

TIA!

Regards,

Marco

(yes I am serious!)

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Hello Nigel,

Red for other ranks and blue for officers. Or is it the other way around? (Haven't started my research yet). As you see I would probably have been arrested then for queuing in the wrong line.... :rolleyes:

I certainly hope we all can keep this one on-topic! Please! :D

Regards,

Marco

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No queueing round the block for officers, no doubt. Higher prices as well. Interesting subject , but were not such official brothels eventually outlawed in the British army areas due to morale outrage at home. The abstemious Haig agreed they were a necessary evil though, I think.

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Robert Graves wrote about this. 'Prostitution, Bethune, France' is quoted in 'The Mammoth Book of How It Happened: World War I' (ISBN 1 84119 803 X). It is a reminder of what many of the women who were prostitutes had to endure.

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Thanks so far chaps. Perhaps I should have explained better that what I am looking for are some addresses so I can photograph these houses/hotels as they are today.

Regards,

Marco

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Poperinghe, Grote Markt, was La Poupee, blue light or demi-official officers' bordello, famous whore "ginger". More if needed. Became a restaurant, was up for sale last year. Jacques of Toc H knows all about it.

[why was I a bit gingery before I went grey?]

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Thanks Langley. There should be something about that in Paul Chapman's 'In the shadow of Hell - behind the lines in Poperinghe' which I have. I knew the restaurant was populair, I had no idea it served, euh, 'sea food' as well.

Regards,

Marco

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I have a day pass issued to a RE man, It was the subject of a thread some time ago.

Spr Quarry was given a long list of establishments he was forbidden to visit.

With full addresses in Trouville and surrounds.

The previous thread was before we could add pictures so I will scan it and post later. Here is the previous post. Quarry

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Ginger was a schoolgirl during the war!! One of the daughters of

the proprietor of La Poupee (The Doll)

Not a prostitute.

She married a British officer after the war but the marriage

didn't last and she settled back home.

Ron

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Being one part of a two-men co-authorship of a website (with my main interest being cemeteries) I also need to cater for the interest of the 2nd party. I was therefore thinking of setting two days aside on my next trip for ww1 prostitution and perhaps a story on our website. Does anyone know of an existing list of blue and red light establishments in France & Flanders?

TIA!

Regards,

Marco

(yes I am serious!)

Being the '2nd party' pls. don't take my opinion about cows being the only pretty living things in that area not too serious. On the other hand it's a subject never discussed before.

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There was a brothel in Hesdin "at the back of the barracks" but that's the only description I have. You'll have to go there and knock on a few doors :lol:

Tom

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re. Ginger, I stand corrected, having been back to my source, 'In the shadow of hell' by Chapman and Smith.

As to La Poupee being a knocking shop ..........

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Careful....I've a postcard home from a POW saying how he enjoyed Amsterdam and how this was a great place...I looked for the actual place pictured on the card and it turned out to be a outlet working girl..seems it always was!

Just on that matter if your doing research in Amsterdam...red lights=all woman and blue lights don't mean officers but he-shes...a lady with a little extra :o:D

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As promised, more knocking shops than you can wave a stick at! :D

The front.

post-4-1076928468.jpg

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The back.

post-4-1076928623.jpg

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