2. MOMENTS FROM THE PAST

1914: The Great War and Beyond.

I have a number of postcards from the Great War, some of soldiers in the line and some patriotic, some used, some censored, some fieldpost, from several of the combatant nations. I have thought for some time how best to display these cards and have not found it at all easy to resolve. So here is the result of my pondering. Please excuse mine and Google Translate's appalling translations. These pictures are published for pleasure/information/research purposes only and are not for sale or copy under any circumstances. Information in captions has been researched as thoroughly as possible but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
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BELGIUM - RAMSCAPELLE STATION AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT - THE FLOODED TERRAIN - It was here in October 1914 that the German race to the sea was halted by the French and Belgian Armies and the German Army forced to retire beyond the River Ijzer, much hampered by the opening of the sluices and the inundation of the area by the North Sea.
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BELGIUM - RAMSCAPELLE STATION AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT - THE FLOODED TERRAIN - It was here in October 1914 that the German race to the sea was halted by the French and Belgian Armies and the German Army forced to retire beyond the River Ijzer, much hampered by the opening of the sluices and the inundation of the area by the North Sea.

  • AUSTRIA-HUNGARY - LLOYD C1 - The Lloyd C1 produced by the Ungarische Lloyd Flugzeug und Motorenfabrik immediately before the outbreak of the Great War achieved instant fame by reaching an altitude of 20343 feet at Aspern near Vienna. The aeroplane was already in service when the War started and between four and five hundred of the various versions were built and used extensively by the Austro-Hungarian Air Services during the first half of the War. No armament was carried initially but the observer later had a Schwarzlose machine gun. Some were fitted with a second machine gun fitted on the top wing. With its good rate of climb, the Lloyd was a popular aircraft on the mountainous Italian front. It was stable and easy to fly even in the roughest weather. It then served well as a trainer after its operational career ended.
  • AUSTRRIA-HUNGARY - BRANDENBURG C1 - The C1 was designed by pioneer aircraft designer Ernst Heinkel for the Hansa Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke and for more than three years this very successful aircraft proved to be the backbone of the Austro-Hungarian reconnaissance detachments. It was also used for artillery target observation and as a day and night bomber. Even when carrying a full load it was capable of excellent performance, blessed with a good climb and first-class handling qualities. Not only could it take off and land in fairly short space but it was also reliable and safe.
  • BELGIUM - A STREET IN FLANDERS - '6,000,000 acres of land in France have been laid waste. 2.000.000 people, driven out by the War, are returning to rebuild their homes. The British Committee of the French Red Cross is giving them clothes, furniture, seeds, implements and infants' food' - caption of the reverse of the card,
  • BELGIUM - BELGIAN OUTPOST BEHIND AN IMPROVISED SHELTER.
  • BELGIUM - BELGIAN SOLDIERS DEFENDING A ROAD - 'Here are a group of Belgian lancers who have alighted. They are summarily cut off behind bales of hay and a plate of sheet metal and then opened fire on one of the many Uhlans who at the beginning of the war infested roads of Belgium. The horse of an Uhlan hit by a bullet is tumbling with his rider' - quoted from the reverse of the card.
  • BELGIUM - BRUSSELS - THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER AT THE FOOT OF THE COLUMN OF CONGRESS.
  • BELGIUM - DINANT - Nestling in the valley of the River Meuse, the town has been pretty comprehensively destroyed.
  • BELGIUM - IN FLANDERS, A VILLAGE SET AFIRE BY THE RETREATING GERMANS.
  • BELGIUM - LIEGE - Place de l'Universite - Soldiers and civilians clear up shell damage.
  • BELGIUM - LOUVAIN - FRANC-TIREUR RAID IN LOUVAIN, AUGUST 25th, 1914 - feldpost, posted by a soldier in the 3rd Company of the 1st Infantry Regimant on October 15th, 1915. This 'attack' was one of several excuses used by the German Army for the destruction of the town.
  • BELGIUM - LOUVAIN - MONUMENT TO THE DEAD, 1914-1918.
  • BELGIUM - LOUVAIN - RUE DE DIEST - fieldpost, posted April 15th, 1915, to Pontrilas.
  • BELGIUM - LOUVAIN - THE FIRE OF LOUVAIN, AUGUST 22-24th, 1914 - THE CATHEDRAL AND THE BUTTER MARKET - On August 25, 1914, the German army ravaged the city of Leuven, deliberately burning the University's library of 300,000 medieval books and manuscripts with gasoline, killing 248 residents, and expelling the entire population of 10,000. Civilian homes were set on fire and citizens often shot in the place they stood. Over 2,000 buildings were destroyed and large amounts of strategic materials, foodstuffs and modern industrial equipment were looted and transferred to Germany
  • BELGIUM - NAMUR - THE PONT DE SALZINES.
  • BELGIUM - NAMUR - THE RAILWAY BRIDGE - once destroyed and fallen behind the lines, then repair was a priority and seems to be progressing already.
  • BELGIUM - NIEUPORT BAINS - THE RAILWAY STATION.
  • BELGIUM - POPERINGHE - During the War, the town was one of only two in Belgium not under German occupation. It was used to billet British troops and also provided a safe area for field hospitals. A grim reminder of that time remains within the town hall, where two death cells are preserved, and outside in the courtyard, where there is a public execution post used by firing squads.
  • BELGIUM - POPERINGHE - FRENCH CAVALRY IN THE GRAND PLACE - This picture must have been taken early in the War as the cavalry still wear their ceremonial helmets.
  • BELGIUM - POPERINGHE - THE CONVENT OF THE BENEDICTINE NUNS.
  • BELGIUM - RAMSCAPELLE STATION AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT - THE FLOODED TERRAIN - It was here in October 1914 that the German race to the sea was halted by the French and Belgian Armies and the German Army forced to retire beyond the River Ijzer, much hampered by the opening of the sluices and the inundation of the area by the North Sea.
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