French Mills

[ludokhan]

evidence ...

hello, I would like to share with you a set of documents taken from the War museum hermitage (brussels) on Captain Roland leon martin

*pensioner of the Belgian army at the rank of commander,
He spent 4 years in captivity in Germany after the capture of his regiment in Liege on August 7, 1914.


.
right now you can already read
the names of the other 3 French manufacturers who have made the set of 180.233 "dunkirk"grenade.


(1 Mr. Vandesluys in Dunkirk)
2 Mr. Gauchet in Paris
3 Mr. Emile Imbert in Escarbotin
4 the French company of incandescence by the gas in Vimieu .




as well as the amount of compensation granted by the English government for the "counterfeit" .

3 pence per grenade produced (in the text)
document signed and exchanged between the Belgian munitions company

(Mr. Dewandre) and Colonel Goold-Adams September 13, 1917

I only deposit historical documents to your appreciation .
I would read the complete document in a new post on the grenade Roland.



thank you


(I am currently translating documents for our English-speaking friends.)

 

[Snufkin]

Here is the translation from the French to English of the first two pages:

 

[MINENAZ16]

Nice documents.
Even if it's war with the same enemies, men never forget money !

 

[Millsman]

I think with Dewandre it was money but for Roland it was pride.

 

[ludokhan]

Hello, absolutely, I think so too.


during his detention the commander Roland had only the possibility of giving it is right to a legatee remain in France (free zone, April 26, 1916).


I place you a correspondence between the captain and the Belgian Minister of Defense (04 August 1919)


summed up by a meeting made in 1914.


. "the commander presents his invention to the minister who admits he wants to endow the Belgian fortresses ... unfortunately the entry into the war and the cost of the latter put an end to the project by decision of the government in 1915".

 

[earni74]

I am not a grenade collector, the contributors post's make for interesting reading, thanks to all
Mick

 

[Millsman]

Hello, absolutely, I think so too.


during his detention the commander Roland had only the possibility of giving it is right to a legatee remain in France (free zone, April 26, 1916).


I place you a correspondence between the captain and the Belgian Minister of Defense (04 August 1919)


summed up by a meeting made in 1914.


. "the commander presents his invention to the minister who admits he wants to endow the Belgian fortresses ... unfortunately the entry into the war and the cost of the latter put an end to the project by decision of the government in 1915".

View attachment 146133

I understood that about 50,000 Roland's were made but were dumped to stop the Germans getting them.