This convex, pillow shaped sign measuring 20" x 16" and weighing about 10 pounds arrived a few days ago, safe and sound from France. It was in fairly decent condition except for a layer of dirt and a line of rust running horizontaly just below the obituary. I managed to get rid of most of the rust line and a lot of grime came off when I polished it. The edges of the sign have seen better days but they cleaned up a little and don't really take away too much from the overall image.

It appears to have a hand coloured photo of the soldier and the remainder of the sign is hand painted. It seems that they had trouble with the green enamel and if you look the sign over you can see a few places where it didn't fire correctly. The enamel is very thick and if you look at the closeup of the corner there is a layer of blue enamel below it and also on the reverse side.

The subject matter may not be to everybody's tastes but I think it is a fascinating and sentimental piece of history. I used to be a funeral director and licensed embalmer so this kind of thing suits me just fine. I was trying to speculate on it's history and why it is not with the soldiers family? I have a theory. Perhaps this was the first sign the artist produced. When they saw the finished product with the green colour problems they did another and this never went to the family. (or not)

SIGN BEFORE CLEANING

AFTER CLEANING

BACK OF SIGN

FRONT CORNER

HENRI MAURICE BOULENGER

OBITUARY TRANSLATION

HENRI MAURICE BOULENGER

21 YEARS OLD

SOLDIER OF THE 37TH INFANTRY REGIMENT

DIED FOR FRANCE

AT NEUVILLE ST. WAAST

24TH OF MAY 1915

Hi Vlad, I speculate that with the edge damage and around the mounting holes, together with the sate of the back face, this plaque was actually put to use so may have come off a headstone or memorial at some time.

Hi Steve

I think you might be right but I don't want to add grave robber to my resume so I'm sticking with my theory.

Vlad

That is one of the most interesting Enamels I think i have ever seen - i certainly haven't seen anything like it and I am very keen on anything "Great War"  - I even lent part of my large collection of original Great War 78's for a Cd to be made   - and artwork like that would have been spectacular for the cover .

It looks to me like a "stock Image" with  the personal details fired on later  - hence the fact that the Green is flaking

I know a lot of people will have reservations about owning such an object, but i certainly don't - what would happen to it otherwise ?

it would just rot away" in some corner of a French Graveyard"

I tried to save some cast iron gravestones (C 1880)  locally - but the council just broke them up for scrap - it certainly is a continental custom to have images on Gravestones but i assume that due to the size  it was part of a "Town Memorial" or put up in the Town hall or something like it

A wonderful interesting item  - well done for saving it

GREAT LOOKING ENAMEL VLAD...THANKS FOR SHOWING MATE AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE OTHER INTERESTING QUALITY STUFF THAT YOU POST ON THIS SITE..

Thanks for the encouraging words guys.

I suppose my time spent in the funeral business forced me to realize that death is part of the circle of life. Rich or poor, King or commoner, we all end up in the same situation. It is truly the great equalizer.

It is an honour for me to have the opportunity to safeguard this sign for the time being and I hope one day to pass it on to someone who will do the same.

I never got to meet my great-grandfather. He was a 31 year old private in the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) who was shipped off to Belgium at the beginning of WW I. He died soon after in Ypres, Belgium on November 9, 1914. All I knew of him was a black and white picture which showed him in his kilt and bearskin hat and a rifle at his side. To be honest I think he looks bewildered and terrified in this photo. Family members were unable to tell me much about him so it was a great moment when I went online and discovered a few things about him. If you have a family member who fought in one of our past conflicts there is a way to find out a bit more about them. It is through an organization known as the "Commonwealth War Graves Commission". I found out such things as his age, regiment, where he was from, who his parents were and exactly where he is buried.

Here is the link to that website. If your ancestor fought with the Australians, Indians, Canadians, South Africans, New Zealanders or countries of the United Kingdom you might find something interesting here.

http://www.cwgc.org/

Vlad

Hi Dusty

You might know this already but there was 3 main battles that took place in the Ypres area. My great-grandfather died in the first battle in 1914 and your grandfather died in the second battle that took place in April/May of 1915. The third battle was Passchendaele and that took place in 1917.

Did you know that Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote "In Flanders Fields" during that second battle. It was also during the second battle that the Germans launched the first large scale attack on the Western Front using chlorine gas. They deployed 68 tons of it over a 4 mile front, killing about 6,000 soldiers in ten minutes.

I can't even begin to wrap my mind around the horror and carnage our forefathers faced back then. They should never be forgotten but sadly they are. I feel lucky to have the chance to preserve the memory of one lone French soldier. I will hang on to the sign for a while but I am going to ensure that a war museum gets it before I pass on.

Vlad

Look forward to seeing them boys.

Vlad

Can anyone tell me what I can do with this sign to stop the enamel flaking away from the edges.

Vlad

Preferably you need to treat all the rusting first then GENTLY apply superglue solution onto any loose or potentially loose bits, and let it dry

Thanks for the advice Steve. It sounds like a good project for the coming Canadian winter.

Vlad