battleofthemarne

The date given by LOC states between 1910 and 1915, however, assuming this photo was taken at one of the two Battles of the Somme, this photo would need to be dated either 1916 or 1918.

The photo probably dates back to when the Germans first took the area in 1914.

Here's a news article describing battles there in September, 1914 ("CAPTURED AT HEAVY COST; Peronne Taken in Face of Deadly Fire From the German Guns. 900 DEAD IN ONE TRENCH Battle Fought in Wheat Field ;- Repeated German Assaults Were Repulsed") query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=980CE2DA1430E7...

This is a cropped version of Agence Meurisse photo on Gallica site, with caption: "Cadavre allemand sur le champ de bataille de Fère Champenoise " [German corpse on the battefield of Fère Champenoise] Pub date 1914 gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9041757x

"THE decisive action in the battle of the Marne was won by General Foch on the afternoon of September 9, at La Fere Champenoise, or on the center of the fighting line, which was near where the Petit Morin, a tributary of the Seine, takes its rise in the marshes of St. Gond. This became the fixt opinion of students of the progress of the war, but not until long after the battle occurred. For six days, over a front of nearly two hundred miles, were assembled on either side approximately a million men." Literary Digest History of the World War books.google.com/books?id=Q58MAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA65&o...

Chanconin seems to be the site of a few Bain pictures from the Western Front, but so far no luck in locating it: www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=chanconin

Maybe a misspelling: "Chauconin-Neufmontiers is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauconin-Neufmontiers

Yes, Chauconin, a battleground in September, 1914 during the First Battle of the Marne. www.publiccopy.org/categories.php?categoryno=11947&pa... is an account of a visitor there after the destruction.

War sucks.

Cool

From the Western Front Association: www.westernfrontassociation.com/great-war-people/memorial... Mother remarried: Mrs Douglas W Gwyther. An obituary was also published in the Times Herald, Newport, Virginia on 28 September 1914 - I've seen the index, not the actual obituary.

From "The War the Infantry Knew" for September 9th 1914, Major Geiger of 2/RWF talking about the battalion's time at La Ferté reported "While we were there German machine-gun fire started again. We were scarcely back at the chateau when young Thompson was brought in seriously wounded; he had been standing at the corner of the open space calling to Wynne-Edwards"

Edward James Vibart Collingwood-Thompson was Commissioned as a 'Special Reserve' Second Lieutenant (Probationary) in 3rd Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers on 13th September 1913. [London Gazette 28755 of 12 Sep 1913]. It was not until the outbreak of war in August 1914 that he was attached to the 2nd Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers, and sailed with the Battalion to France on 11th August 1914. Edward Collingwood-Thompson appears to have been mortally wounded by indirect machine-gun fire from German positions on the far side of the river. There is a private memorial in the town of La Ferte to this much loved and missed young officer, erected by his family. Edward Collingwood-Thompson was born in Taunton, Somerset, on 8 Dec 1893, the only son of Mr and Mrs Edward Collingwood-Thompson. He was educated at Cheltenham and The Oratory School, Edgbaston, (a Catholic school now at Woodcote, Reading). Despite winning a prize cadet scholarship for the Royal Military College Sandhurst, he opted to go to the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, possibly intending to study for a Commission in the Royal Artillery or Royal Engineers. There is a 2Lt Leslie Collingwood Thompson, possibly a younger nephew, shown Commissioned into the 2nd/6th County of London Volunteer Regiment on 11th September 1917. [LG 30333 of 12 Oct 1917].//

Collingwood was our first officer of the RWF to fall in WW1. Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum seek WW1 photos We at the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum in Caernarfon are starting the mammoth task of looking for photos of individual soldiers from the RWF who were killed in the Great War.

Help piece together the Life Stories of more than 8 million men and women who made a contribution during the First World War at www.livesofthefirstworldwar.org/