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postcards from the war front

Churn camp ....a photo of her Grandad .. Belgium 1917 with love to my dear mother on the back ...and a french lady :)...with on the back .. another for your album I will be amused to see all these again when I come home
 
Very interesting pics. He was a member of the RAMC - Royal Army Medical Corps. The Anzac Coves obviously sound Australian.
 
he chose to join RAMC said he didnt have to shoot anyone :) the one postcard is embroidered by hand and I see that your card is as well .. I suppose they were fairly common but who did them ???
 
On a recent edition of 'Flog It' someone was selling a collection of them, the chap doing the valuation said they were made by the French woman

Nick
 
brummie nick said:
On a recent edition of 'Flog It' someone was selling a collection of them, the chap doing the valuation said they were made by the French woman

Nick
Click to expand...
Thanks Nick any particular "french woman " :) or was that Frech women in general this one seems to be a work of love :) lots gone into the work :)
 
I have posted these before but I'll give it another whirl. They were in my mom's things.

ps Note the Christmas edging.
 
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Hi O/H found this on the web about the silk cards, look like it was a cottage industry sort of thing.



These cards known generally as WW1 Silk Postcards were first produced in 1914 through 1918 and declined substantially in 1919 onwards until ending around 1923. In 1930 through 1945 a machine made card was produced which was simpler and plainer with less variations. They never regained the popularity of their WW1 predecessors which have been estimated at some 10,000,000 hand made cards.

The WW1 cards were generally hand embroidered on strips of silk mesh with as many as 25 on a strip. They were mostly embroidered by French women in their homes and then sent to the factories for cutting and mounting on postcards.

Most cards do not have postage stamps as they were mailed home in the Military Mail Pouches. Samples of machine duplicated designs can be seen in the above photos. However, I am unable to date them.
 
something else now from Edward Sadlers discharge papers reason for discharge "Impairment" ... suffered since entering service ??:(
 
Tom, I might be sticking my neck out here and maybe I should leave it to those who know but my first thought was that it was taken from the French 'impair' that means 'clumsiness' or 'awkwardness'. Just a thought from my half English brain.:)
 
Cadeau said:
Tom, I might be sticking my neck out here and maybe I should leave it to those who know but my first thought was that it was taken from the French 'impair' that means 'clumsiness' or 'awkwardness'. Just a thought from my half English brain.:)
Click to expand...

Graham

Impair/ weaken; damage~one's health by overwork.
 
This is a lovely thread and thank you to all who have contributed. I watched an auction on tv last week and an album of these WW1 silk postcards went up for auction. The estate had been left to six grandchildren to share and they said this would be the fare way and share the money raised. What they did was for one of them to bid for them so they would stay in the family. They did this one of the sisters bought them then the money was shared between the remaining five. I have a silk hankie from world war one still in it's packet. Jean.
 
Thanks Graham .Darby what struck me as odd yes I know what impairment means :) but why that ..is it an army thing ...and what type of impairment ?it could be stress or loss of limbs etc .. but was this typical on discharge papers or is it because no longer fit for active service and standard army parlance :(
 
I will answer this one, Grandad was disabled in 1917 as you will see from his discharge paper above. The impairment was a nervous breakdown due to the fact that the R.A.M.C had taken over a french chalet to use as a sort of field hospital. There were so many casualties that a lot of these brave men had to stay outside, on a certain night there was a terrible frost and these poor men all perished. Grandad was so upset that he was unable to help, it caused a breakdown. I remember well into the 1970's he used to have terrible nightmares, shouting 'For God's sake let me do something'. These nightmares were and always will be a part of my memory of him. Heather
 
Thanks Heather adds to the background of Edward Sadler :)I still wonder if as a result of fatigue .shell shock etc if this was a "Normal" term in army parlance for a wide variety of discharges :)
 
Hi Tom. It could well be a general term used for a wide variety of ailments, as it proves with Grandad. Now I have just had a look on the A3 size one I have got here and it says..hand written.....441148 Private Edward Sadler. Royal Army Medical Corps (T.F). printed... Served with honour and was disabled in the Great War. Honourably discharged on 17th April 1919.

So this larger certificate must have been given well after he left in 1917 as Mom was born the 4th August 1919. A postcard from France Yes. A baby No.

Heather
 
I've got my Father discharge certificate, I had it framed, it was still in the cardboard tube that it must have came in.
 
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