Although the prompt picture shows a Beatle-like group of boys (in the sixties?), my contribution this week goes back. The album I referred to in my previous post shows photos made during the mobilization in Holland during the 1939/1940 period. The photographer was Karel Morren, my mother's life companion from the sixties. He served in an infantry regiment. His unit was transferred from The Hague to Arkel, a small village in the eastern part of South Holland, one of the twelve Dutch provinces. Karel was a troop sergeant. I doubt whether he was involved in any fights during the early days of the war. Most pictures show him during kitchen-related activities. The image below puts him amidst cooks. Karel is the man with the spectacles in the back row. Judging by the looks on their faces, the war was still far away.
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| The kitchen staff in The Hague in the 2nd half of 1939 |
Apparently, the regiment also had musicians in its ranks. They are shown below. I believe they are trumpeters but I am not a connoisseur. So I stand to be corrected (thank you, Mike!).
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| A pre-war version of 'Blowing in the wind' maybe? |
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| The sound of trumpets... |
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A musical welcome upon arrival in Arkel
In the background probably the river Linge |
To demonstrate that military life did not consist of eating and playing music only, below the regiment howitzers.
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| The horse-drawn 10.5 cm/4 inch howitzers |
Unfortunately, I don't know the exact unit Karel served in. For that, I have to go to the National Archive in The Hague. There I can have a look at Karels military records. But I suspect he served in the 28th Battalion Veld 6. That unit was part of an infantry regiment. Whether the military orchestra was part of that regiment as well, I don't know either. Whenever I find out, I'll let you know. In the meantime, have a look at the
Sepia Saturday site for more musical intermezzos.
Although the prompt picture shows a Beatle-like group of boys (in the sixties?), my contribution this week goes back. The album I referred to in my previous post shows photos made during the mobilization in Holland during the 1939/1940 period. The photographer was Karel Morren, my mother's life companion from the sixties. He served in an infantry regiment. His unit was transferred from The Hague to Arkel, a small village in the eastern part of South Holland, one of the twelve Dutch provinces. Karel was a troop sergeant. I doubt whether he was involved in any fights during the early days of the war. Most pictures show him during kitchen-related activities. The image below puts him amidst cooks. Karel is the man with the spectacles in the back row. Judging by the looks on their faces, the war was still far away.
A nice choice of pictures to share. The pic' of the kitchen staff was fun. And how funny we both mention "Blowin' in the Wind". (clever caption) :)
ReplyDeleteCoincidence does not exist, some people say. So there must be another reason why we both mention this song. Trying to figure out why, blows my mind :-)
DeleteThese were excellent choices for this theme. Though being an army cook was definitely hard work, I'm sure Karl appreciated not having to get too close to any frontline action. You are quite correct about the trumpeters. I marvel at how well the horses behaved when mounted trumpeters played a mass call to arms. Back in November 2016 I featured similar photos of trumpets/bugles from WWI.
ReplyDeletehttps://temposenzatempo.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-clarion-call.html
https://temposenzatempo.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-drums-and-trumpets-of-war.html
@Mike, I had a look at both blogs you mentioned. On the second one I thought the man on the very right in the fourth picture and the man on the very left in the fifth one are one and the same person. What do you think?
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ReplyDeletePoignant pictures from a major crisis pioint in history. It was good to see they had some happy moments before the onslaught.