Sepia Saturday 741 - Highs & Lows

When I look at a new SS theme, I usually have an idea of which pictures from the family archive I could use.  But not this time. Fortunately, Alan provided an escape (as he always does). He mentions "a couple of Alpine skiers from almost a century ago, feeling high on the top of a mountain".

I am not a skiing man myself nor do we have mountains in Holland. The highest "mountain" here is a hill called the Vaalserberg in the province of Limburg; it is a little over 300 meters high. Not exactly the type of mountain when you plan to go out skiing. But there is a picture of my grandfather Andreas Miebies (1883-1957) standing in the dunes near The Hague. It was taken over a century ago, during the second part of WW One when he was mobilized. We see him here standing on the very right. His rank is that of sergeant and he is the commanding officer of this group of soldiers serving in the 47th Landweer batallion Hunters (Jagers).

A section of infantry troops belonging to the 47th batallion Hunters
with Sgt. Andreas Miebies on the very right

The rifles you see are the Austrian .256 Manlicher M.95. It was manufactured 

under license in The Netherlands by the Hembrug weapon factory in Zaandam. 

It has been in use until after WW Two.

Manlicher M.95

When my grandparents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, their oldest 

son, my father, put together a kind of PowerPoint presentation avant la lettre. 

For that purpose, he made several drawings and stitched them onto a fabric roll. 

On the drawing below he drew himself shortly after his birth on his father's lap 

with Grandma still in bed. At the time, my dad was born in August 1914, 

Granddad apparently served already in the army as the Manlicher rifle was up 

against the wall and his uniform on the chair.

At the beginning of WW Two, the Dutch army Manlichers were confiscated and 

used by the Germans. So it is not impossible that just a few days before the end of 

WW Two, my father and his comrades were shot by Dutch Manlichers in the 

hands of Germans...

Like the drawing, the picture of the military in the dunes was also part of the presentation my father made for his parents. Readers with sharp eyes will 

be able to see the stitch holes on the top side of the photograph.

If you want to see how other Sepians interpreted this month's theme, go to the

Sepia Saturday site and enjoy yourself!

The Sepia Saturday 500

I strongly believe the Sepia Saturday site radiates a certain magnetism. It explains my infrequent visits after having been a fan a couple of years ago. To avoid misunderstandings, I still am a fan of Alan's sepia invention. It is just that I do not participate as much as I once did and as I would like to. But now that I have seen that "we" have reached the 500 milestone, I feel I must pay my dues once again.

But let's go back to the task that Alan prepared for us. As usual, he did not set any rules so I can shamelessly copy his idea of presenting you with a collage of my previous contributions. And since Alan is a fervent anarchist, he preaches not to adhere to any rules there may be, I will add a few photographs not shown before. In random order, I'll try to give you some background about the various photographs.

In the top left-hand corner, old hands may recognize a member of the RSSSATP handling a Dermochelys coriacea. At the time, it was February 2013, no one knew what RSSetc. stood for. But by now everyone knows that the depicted officer is a member of the Royal Society for the Strategic Study of Advancing Turtles in the Pacific. If you want to know more about this still very hush-hush organization, you'll have to look it up in my blog: SS 164

Next to it my father's handwriting. It is from a 1939 letter when he was in the military and writing to his wife-to-be. His letters are dear to me as they belong to the very few things he left behind when he was shot just before the end of the war. At the time I was a little over a year old. The letter is shown in SS 150.

The watch is what we call a vest pocket watch. It belonged to my maternal grandfather. I can't remember having seen him wearing it, but in my imagination, I can see him lifting it out of his vest pocket and looking at it. He was a man of his time and I value my (fond) memories of him. SS 164 refers again.

The picture in the middle, showing the bus, was taken in Göttingen (Germany) during a school trip my mother made back in 1933. As you can clearly see she looks at us from her rooftop position. She is the one on the very right. Her lifelong friend Ina is next to her. SS 155.

In the middle to the left a colourfull telegram sent to my dad and mum on the occasion of their marriage on November 18, 1942. The friends who send it obviously had no idea the marriage would last for two and a half years only. SS 162.

I'll come to the 'centerfold lady' later.

The tower and the street on the right-hand side are in German Dausenau a/d Lahn. Like the picture with the bus, also this one was taken during one of my mother's school trips in the early thirties. The object that drew my attention in this picture, is the SS-banner over the street. It is clearly election time as it says: Adolf Hitler schaft Arbeit und Brot. Wählt Liste 2. Translated that is: Adolf Hitler provides labor and bread. Vote list 2.
At that time he still listed 2. But we all know what happened... 
In this case, I hesitate to abbreviate the relevant Sepia Saturday number. So it is 154.

The picture underneath is the cover of the Sepia Saturday jubilee issue. It was published by Alan to celebrate SS 200. One of my blogs is there as well. It made my name as a writer in the family :-)

Please click to enlarge

The military trio you see on the left is the Eberlé trio. It was part of the 47th Landweer Battalion Hunters during WW1. The publication mentions that they played the piano (invisible), the violin (the man with the bow) and the violoncello. This unit was the very same battalion my paternal grandfather served in. However, the real reason for showing this photo here for the first time is to honor one of the best and consistent SS-bloggers: Mike Brubaker! I have always admired his always interesting contributions on the subject of musicians and their instruments. Chapeau! Maybe one day he'll publish his blogs in a book which I will order immediately!

Next to the trio, you see my paternal grandfather presumably with his secretary. His desk displays a huge telephone. In those days, it is 1936, it must have been a significant status symbol. Otherwise, it would have been placed on her desk. SS 151.

Underneath you see a collage of happily wedded couples. It displays the development of wedding fashion during the first half of the 20th century. The bridal dress color evolves from black to white. SS 140.

The lady with the laptop is my Auntie Jo. She was born in 1913, lived to be 101 years old and remained interested in everything around her to the very end. SS 261.

The drawing in the left-hand corner was made by my father on the occasion of the 25-year wedding jubilee of his parents in 1938. It was part of many drawings, all explained in an accompanying poem. It is my grandfather with his newly born first son, my dad, on his knee. Grandpa, as you can see, was in the army and grandma is recuperating in bed. It is August 1914. SS 147.

"Older" Sepians will recognize the lady in the middle of the collage. It is a relative of Alan and her name is Auntie Miriam. She will be in the middle of festivities here on the second Saturday in January, also known as Auntie Miriam Saturday. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend but Alan, please accept my best wishes for her well being, wherever she may be.

The last picture leaves little doubt about the time of year it was shot. This is Christmas time on board a KLM aircraft in the fifties. SS 157. It serves to accompany my best wishes for the year to come to all Sepians, in particular to Alan and, I hope they will read it, to Kat and Marylin. Cheers! And may we live to see the next 500!

For more festive Sepia Saturday contributions, please click here.

Sepia Saturday - A Military Dad

When my paternal grandparents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on August 15, 1938, my father added to the festivities by making an overview of their life so far. He did this by preparing a roll made of linen about 10 yards long and 5 inches wide. Then he attached family pictures and self made drawings to it. I would imagine that he presented his parents with a kind of This is your life. 

Part of the linen roll with highlights of my grandparents' marriage.

Mathematicians among you will have already calculated that my grandparents were married in 1913, just before the start of WW1. Although The Netherlands remained neutral during this war, its army was in a mobilized state during the four years the war lasted. The mobilization officially started on August 1, 1914 and included my granddad Andreas Miebies (1883- The Hague -1957). Two days later his first son, my father, was born. During their wedding anniversary 24 years later, my father made an artist impression of this memorable event.

Johannes Cornelis Miebies seated on the knee of his father Andreas.

The drawing shows my grandmother Lena Bakker (Heenvliet, 1880 - The Hague, 1959) sound asleep and probably exhausted after the delivery of a baby boy able to sit up so soon after the happy occurrence.  Please also note grandfathers' rifle and uniform on the bedside chair. 
We are now coming close to the Sepia Saturday theme of this week. It is a heroic looking group of soldiers wearing sabers and caps resembling those of bellhops. 

It is my good fortune that my father included a similar picture in his This is your life for his parents. So now I can show you my grandfather in the King's armor. 

Grandfather Andreas (to the very right) and his military pals
during his mobilization.

I have been trying to find out in which part of the military he served but so far in vain. The one thing that strikes me in this photo is the large variety of uniforms. And contrary to this weeks Sepia Saturday picture, on this photograph the mustaches are a minority. My grandfather displays the most evident one. Knowing Andreas lived in The Hague and assuming that he stayed there during his mobilization, I think this photo was taken in the dunes near The Hague. 

For more uniforms, caps, helmets, mustaches and heroism, have a look at the Sepia Saturday site. It is managed this week by Kat Mortensen, a lady with military genes.

Update Oct. 16, 2012: Among many other particulars the Dutch Army Museum informed me that my grandfathers rank was sergeant and that he was the section commander of this 47th infantry battalion Jagers (Hunters).
In Dutch the detailed information received reads as follows:

De foto is genomen na maart 1916, toen werd de kepie (pet) ingevoerd in het leger. De in het midden staande en de liggende persoon dragen deze kepie.
Het is een sectie van het bataljon Landweer - Infanterie (Jagers No. 47) met als standplaats Den Haag. Er waren 44 districten en 2 batajons grenadiers (3 en 32) en 2 jagerbataljons (36 en 47) Op de hoofden draagt men de sjako M 1865 met de groene bol van de Jagers, twee sjako's model 1912, waarvan men de emblemen ( een lauwerkrans met daarin een hoorn) heeft afgehaald (om beter te kunnen camoufleren). Het is ook mogelijk dat ze in die tijd niet meer geleverd werden aan eenheden die de kepie kregen. De platte pet behoorde bij het uniform van 1912, een grijsgroen uniform met groene jagers kraag en mouwopslagen. De persoon links draagt de jas die ingevoerd werd in 1905 en gedragen werd tot 1912. De jassen met twee rijen knopen werden gedragen van 1865 tot 1905. Allen zijn bewapend met het geweer M.95. De twee onderofficieren, sergeanten van de Jagers met de kepies, zijn de instructeurs van het regiment Jagers. Uw grootvader was, als sergeant, de sectie-commandant.