Did You Really Say That?

This card shows a scruffy, ink-stained photo of L'arc de Triomphe in Paris, not worth posting if it weren't for the message on the back.

The message from Minnie to Seargeant Richard Davis, a patient at the U.S. Army Base Hospital #1  reads:

9-30-18

This arch is but 2 blocks from our hotel I do hope you will get to see Paris for it is a most beautiful city. Although I hate to admit it, I do think it is much prettier than New York. Hope you are still with us so I may see you again.

Sincerely Minnie

I'm afraid I don't know if Minnie was able to see him again or not.

Alise Sainte Reine, France

Alise Sainte Reine is a tiny town in Burgundy with a population of just over 600. Small as it may be, it is thought to have been the site of Caesar's defeat of the Gauls in the Battle of Alesia. The U.S. military also stopped by here during World War I. According to the message on the back of the postcard, the X on the front marks the location of their battalion headquarters.

French Postman

Here's the back of the card, sent to Louis Madeline, who was a soldier stationed in Saint-Mihiel, in the Meuse department of Lorraine, France during World War I. There's no date on the card, so it's impossible to know if he was there during the Battle of Saint Mihiel, led by U.S. General, John Pershing. I also wonder if this Louis Madeline is the French architect who was born in 1892 and died in 1962.

The message reads:

Saint-Martin-des-Champs

Dear Cousin,

I wish you well and happy and above all that it passes quickly.

Your cousin

Emile (Guy?)

Royal Army Service Corps

This is an embroidered silk card from World War I, with the initials A.S.C.

Those letters could stand for any of the following:
American Society of Cinematographers
Artichoke Society of Canberra
Aeronautical Systems Center
Association of Society Cadavers
Ambulatory Surgical Center

In this case, the letters stand for the Army Service Corps, although they were sometimes referred to as Ally Sloper's Cavalry, after a contemporary rent-dodging, drunkard cartoon character.  However, the truth is that this corps played a very important role in World War I. Their name was changed to the Royal Army Service Corps. in 1918.

The A.S.C. was responsible for transport and supply of food, equipment,  munitions and other supplies on and off the battlefield. Although they were instrumental in winning the war, they are considered unsung heroes, because they rarely recognized for their importance.

Here's the back of the card. Silk cards from WWI were typically made in France.

Jo from Scotland recently posted some amusing old photos of the Royal Army Service Corps. Click here to see them.

New Year Greetings from Belgium

The kind and wonderful Janine bought this card at a flea market in Belgium and sent it to me. Thank you, Janine!

The printed text is in French, but the card's message was written in Dutch. In many ways, the card is similar to other cards that sought to bring attention to the needs of war orphans during and after World War I.
This card points out that it is the powerful who wage war, but that the resulting misery and suffering affect the humble people in their homes. How many men die as heroes defending the flag and leave behind crying wives, mothers, and sisters? And then the little ones who suffer from hunger, to them I reach out my hand. 

The text on the card is signed by Elsa Ghislaine in Brussels and dated 1914, 1915, 1916, and 1917.

Gabriella sent this card to her family in January, 1922 with the following message:

Dear Family,

To celebrate the New Year, we send you our best wishes and greetings from us all.

Gabriella

Be sure to join Janine at her blog to see some of her beautiful artwork.

Patriotism Gone-A-Fowl

Here's a patriotic booklet from 1917.

This looks pretty serious. So, what do you suppose the booklet urges you to do to help the war effort? The back cover provides a clue.

That's right, we're going to load up that cannon and pelt the enemy with chicken eggs. We'll win for sure! But there's more to it than that. You have to read all of the important instructions provided by Pratt Food Co, which did not believe in short slogans or cut-to-the-chase marketing approaches.

I am going to post all of them for you chicken lovers. Other folks may want to go watch TV now.

 

Camp Upton, N.Y.

The picture above is a real-photo card of Camp Upton, on New York's Long Island. Camp Upton isn't there anymore; in its place you will find Brookhaven National Laboratory. Camp Upton was built hastily in 1917 as an induction and training center for World War I soldiers. One of the soldiers at Camp Upton was Sergeant Irving Berlin who wrote Yip, Yip Yaphank while he was there. The commanding officer at the camp wanted to build a community center at the camp and thought that Berlin could help raise $35,000 to build it with a musical revue. The Yip, Yip Yaphank production included the famous song, Oh! How I hate to get up in the morning, and made $80,000 for the Army, which never built the community center.

The camp was deactivated after World War I, and the land was designated Upton National Forest and  reforested by the Civilian Conservation Corps. With the advent of World War II, the camp was reconstructed and put back into service. Camp Upton was then declared surplus on June 30, 1945, but it was decided that the base would not be dismantled.  Instead, it was converted into a research center for the peaceful uses of atomic power. These are all world War II era cards.

Fatherless Children of France

After World War I, many children in France were left orphaned or fatherless. Donations were sought to support newly-established orphanages and to support widowed mothers.


The message reads:

Best Wishes to Grace for a Merry Christmas

Emma H . Berkalew

Duty's Call

This card was sent to Miss Helen Lihr, who worked for New York Air Brake Co. in Watertown, New York.  Although the company had previously focused its efforts on manufacturing brakes for locomotives, the emphasis shifted during World War I.  At that time they started making horse-drawn cannons and other war equipment. At the end of WWI, the focus shifted back to locomotive brakes.

The message on the cards reads:

Dear Helen,

I haven't any news, so I can't write. I am in hopes of seeing you Thurs. then for a time. Hope I can (illegible) and make any kind of train connections. I'll arrive at 7:15 am on sleeper from N.Y. City. If I can come I will telegraph and if I do meet me at the train. I won't write again until I know for sure whether I am coming or not. Lovingly MJB

Save the French Orphans

This card would serve to acknowledge a contribution made to help support French war orphans of WWI.  The back of the card reads:

" Suffer the little children to come unto Me. "

Dear ______

We have received your contribution, and we are pleased to welcome you as a member _________ of the Nest, for the year 191_.

With thanks,

The Secretary

Before World War I, Liefra (an abbreviation for Liberté-Égalité-Fraternité) was an Utopian, socialist, agricultural community. It's hard to know how long it would have persisted without the advent of WWI. The lack of capital and male farmers departing for the front ensured its demise. After the war, the founder, Paul Passy, transformed it into a refuge for orphaned and abandoned children with the help of the Quakers. At that time it was called le Nid de Liefra, or the Nest of Liefra.

Paris - Le Palais du Trocadéro

The Palais du Trocadéro was built for the 1878 World's Fair in the form of a large concert hall with two wings. It contained a large organ, the first to be installed in a concert hall in France. The organ was eventually moved to Lyon where it is still in use.

The Palais du Trocadéro, which was not particularly popular with the French, was demolished to make way for the new Palais de Chaillot for the Exposition Internationale of 1937.

This card was sent on August 10, 1918, three months before the end of World War I. The message reads:

Hello Mor:

Just to say that that just over here and still able to do my little share in this big thing. Regards to all the folks, I am

Eli

The card was also passed and stamped by censors and marked by the recipient as answered on 9/14/18.

Embroidered Silk Postcard

The recipient of this card may well have been the mother of "wee Edith" from yesterday's post. This silk embroidered card was made in France. The cards were very popular among soldiers stationed in France at the end of WWI, so it's not surprising that the golden years for cards of this kind were from 1914-1920. They rarely had postmarks because they were sent via free soldier mail, although sometimes they were also sent in envelopes to protect the fabric.
The text on the card reads:

Dear Mrs. Bee

Just a P.C. for Auld Times Sake. Hoping you are all in the Best of Health.

Love From

Dod

Souvenir de France-1919

This peace postcard includes a removable Belgian lace handkerchief. The various victor flags are represented in the stitching of the numbers: Great Britain, Italy, France, the United States, Belgium, and Portugal. The card was never sent.

Dunkerque-1918

U.S. Army Post, so no postage required. It's December 16th, 1918 and WWI has been over for just over a month. Mail is still censored though, as evidenced by the stamp on this card from Harry Ellick to William Buckley.

The message reads:

Dear Mother and Father:

The picture shows a view along the river front, and where I passed to-day while in Dunkirk. I am about three miles or so, from Dunkirk, where the Hotel casino is, and I hopped the car, in _______

The stores are all open at this place, and there are civilians there. There is a pretty good harbor there, although I did not get to see much of it. Many french, british and U.S. soldiers in town, strolling around. There was a good wind up today and the sea was kind of rough. Hope that you are all well.

Best wishes.

Pvt. Harry Ellick, Evac Hosp. No.5,

American Ex. Force.

Dunkirk, France, 16 Dec., 1918