Art / Light / Lighting / Photography

Somewhere in France 1918

Timothy Price15 Comments

SomewhereInFrance

This photo would have been perfect for last Tuesday, but I only found it looking for other photos in my archives over the weekend. This is part of a series I did using old photos and letters from my grandfather in WWI, my dad in WWII and my mom between the wars. This particular composite photo includes one of the letters my grandfather had written home while stationed in France in 1918, a “souvenir” postcard with the war years embroidered in allied colors, and a photo of solders in gas masks that was part of the collection. The army would not allow the men to write where they were in France, so the letters begin “Somewhere in France”. The letters were censored, as well, with white or black marks covering “sensitive” words. When my grandfather described battles, all the details were marked out. Laurie and I spent five weeks in France in 2013. You can see my photos of France by looking up my blog entries from May 11, 2013 through June 10, 2013.

15 thoughts on “Somewhere in France 1918”

  2. It is wonderful that you still have those letters and photos! Also enjoyed the photos of your trip to France in 2013. Quite a lovely collection! Rick and I were in Provence in 2000 as part of a tour group. Beautiful country, and we loved the people there.

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    • Thanks, Lavinia. We drove across southern France in 1997 on our way to Italy. None of us spoke and inkling of French back then, but the people we interacted with at rest stops, gas stations and cafe/bars were friendly and helpful. We found all the people were friendly and helpful in 2103, even the Parisians.

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    • Thanks, Michelle. It’s interesting to read the letters because my grandfather was not very literate. So the letters are a bit dull until he describes battles, then they are mostly censored.

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  5. Great shot I also found a silk post card like this in my grandparents things but it only had the date on.

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