En Vacance 1930?

I am almost at the end of sorting out packets of negatives found at a 'car boot', the English equivalent of the flea market. One packet appears to be a record of a visit to La Ferté-Macé, a town in Normandy taken in the 1930's judging by the car in the foreground of the hotel car park which is a Citroen C4 made between 1928-1932 and a luxury model at the time.  The photos were developed in Bagnoles de la l'Orne for a Mr or Mrs Legendre, who apparently came from Carrouges. Legendre is a surname common in the area dating back to the 14th Century.  If voting or census records are available, it may be possible to identify candidates of the right age and means to afford the expensive hobby of photography and lifestyle recorded in these images.  

The hotel Du Grand Turc which features in three pictures of the precious roll of 12, has now been turned into a cultural arts centre but back in the 1930's it was renowned for its tripe à la mode Fertoise; the stomachs and feet of cattle cooked in a cider stew on a hazelnut skewer. Shops in the town still sell these tripe brochettes. Locals say the best time to eat them are in Autumn when the apples have the most flavour.

There are many hotels Du Grand Turc in France because when the French king Francis I was at war with the king of Spain Charles V in the Italian war of 1536–1538 Francis formed an alliance with the Sultan of Turkey so many towns gave their inns the name of 'Grand Turk' to honour the Sultan. The inn sign, a cooking pot, is the emblem of the Janissaries, a Turkish infantry corps.

In 1911 Gaston Meillon, whose father ran the Hôtel de Normandie on Rue de la Teinture, took over the Grand-Turc and ran the establishment with his wife for 49 years. The couple built a new wing to increase capacity from six to thirty rooms. The Turc's culinary reputation was made by Mrs. Meillon who took care of the daily routine while her husband was frequently kept away by his duties as mayor and local senator. During the Nazi occupation in WW2 he was relieved of his political roles and joined the resistance. Many banquets, baptisms and communions took place there and its cellar contained over 33,000 bottles of fine wines and rare vintages.

In the town square near what is now Le Cave Chimay, Mr or Ms Legendre stopped to take two photos of the Romano-Byzantine church Notre-Dame-de-l'Assumption. La Ferté Mace means a fort (or castle) that belongs to Mace (or Massey). A Norman knight called Mace fought in the Battle of Hastings with William the Conquerer. He had several sons and his was the only French noble family who owned land in Normandy, which was a Norse occupied territory of France. The Mace/Massey descendants were respected in England but their ancestors in France were more feared for their martial power than respected for their nobility. Typically a church was built as people settled under the protection of the Mace castle. The Mace castle was completely destroyed in the 15th Century and stood in what is now is named Neustadt-am-Rübenberge Square but was then called Castle Square. With the growth of the town and its textile industries, a grander church was desired. A new church was designed in Neo-Gothic style by architect François Liger in 1852. Although relatively modern, the church is admired for its twin 60 metre spires, 16 bells, decorative mosaics and stained glass. The choir of the 11th Century Romanesque church remains standing next door. Tours are given May to August on Thursdays at 2:30 p.m. 

There are photos of a lake with a bridge crossing which were taken at the thermal spa, the Casino in nearby Bagnoles de l'Orne which is major attraction of the area. The Lac de Bagnoles was created in 1611 to provide water to a large iron foundry located in the middle of the forest and it covered an area of 17 acres, so double its current size. In 1811 there was a terrible storm over Bagnoles, the lake flooded and the dam and the foundry were destroyed. As it no longer had any economic use, the lake gradually became a leisure asset for the town. In 1881 the town became connected to Paris by the railway and hotels began to appear on the banks of the lake including the Grand Hôtel creating what is now called the Belle Epoque Quarter, a historic boulevard lined with sumptuous residences of architectural uniformity. 

As it was distant from the front lines, in World War One because of its relative safety the area was active with munitions production but became inundated with injured soldiers and civilian refugees. When food shortages took hold there was much tension between them and the locals and there were strikes by munitions workers as a result. A famous but unwilling visitor to La Ferte Mace was the American poet E. E. Cummings who was imprisoned for three months in a former seminary (which had closed in 1905 after the separation of Church and State) that now served as a detention centre. In this 'Depot de Triage' the political, military and criminal prisoners were kept together and only segregated by gender until their fate could be decided by the judicial authorities who only visited every four months.  Cummings was there from September to December 1917 and recalled this experience in his first book, the autobiographical novel 'The Enormous Room' published in 1922. Later on the buildings were practically abandoned except when they temporarily housed Spanish refugees from the Civil War and then during WW2 two German regiments and a command post was stationed there. 

Cummings had volunteered with the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps an organisation affiliated with the Red Cross but run by the novelist Henry James who had solicited volunteers from the Ivy League to prevent America's brightest and best men from perishing in trench warfare. In April 1917 Cummings signed up and on the ship crossing the Atlantic he met William Slater Brown and the two became fast friends. In August 1917 Brown (known as 'B' in the book) wrote letters home expressing his anti-war sentiments and reported those amongst French soldiers. Brown was arrested by the French authorities and when questioned, Cummings stood by his friend so he was also arrested. There are many contemporary images of the detention centre in the official French defence picture library.  The casino at Bagnoles and many other hotels were used for barracks and hospitals too. Despite my best efforts in looking, the town does not seem to care to point tourists to this place which is now a technical school, the Lycee des Andaines.  One Cummings scholar noted on their visit in 1990 after finally gaining access they could see that the water pump, the social centre of the prison that Cummings wrote so much about was still there. 

After the 'Great War' American billionaire Frank Jay Gould fell in love with Bagnoles. An heir to railway fortune he decided to live here and began to develop the resort to suit his rich friends. In the 'Roaring Twenties' the season in Bagnoles was filled with classical music concerts, horse racing at the Hippodrome, golf tournaments and other leisure pursuits of the upper classes. The demand for entertainment was high and so a second casino was built. The Casino du Lac was built in 1927 by the renowned architect Auguste Bluysen. 

One significant visitor who came to Bagnoles to cure his phlebitis met a tragic end in there in 1937. The film and lens resolution isn't quite enough to read the wall posters or the newspapers of the people sitting by the lake for any sign of the political storm clouds brewing over Europe but it would be miraculous if these photos were taken when Carlo Rosselli, the prominent Italian socialist intellectual and activist was staying there. Trained as an economist, his ideas of a 'Liberal Socialism' may have irked the Italian Marxists but he was inspired by the British Labour Party. From a wealthy family, he fought in the Spanish Civil War for the Republicans and funded opposition to Mussolini and Hitler.  On June 9th, after dropping off their sister at the train station, he and his brother Nello - a historian and activist - were flagged down by a pair of broken-down motorists on the road between Alençon and Bagnoles-de-l'Orne. The men came up to the Rosselli's car then stabbed and shot them, dumping their bodies in the woods and stealing the car. When eventually caught, the murderers were linked to the French right-wing terrorists 'the Cagoule' and likely acting on the orders of Mussolini. A significant monument to both men was erected on the place of their murder in 1942. 

There are other general views which are hard to identify, I suspect the wooded area is the park of La Roche-Bagnoles Castle which is open to the public. This arboretum was created during the castle's construction in 1855. The first owner Madame Goupil wanted a special garden and had 140 specimen trees brought from all over the world.

There is film on the French defence picture archive which shows the liberation of La Ferté-Macé by the Americans on 8th June in 1944. It is possible that Ms/Mr Legendre is in the crowds, the joy of the people filling the GI's canteens with wine is palpable and the devastation very evident. Perhaps US Army cameraman thought shots of the town square and church would be recognisable to many French viewers. I have written to the Marie to ask if there is somewhere useful I can deposit these negatives.  

Bordered by the Andaines forest, belonging to the Normandy Maine Regional Natural Park, the town is the ideal setting for "green" stays. Beyond that, La Ferté-Macé has, within its walls, a toy museum, a public garden specialising in shade plants and a leisure center of more than sixty hectares. For over 50 years on the first weekend in September there is La Grande Braderie in the town centre. It's a huge jumble sale, flea market, an art and local produce market and a wine fair, much to the delight of bargain-hunters. I wonder how many packets of unwanted negatives and photo albums will end up there.

Britain's Forgotten Nazi Gold Medal Pitch

This is the untold story of Britain's most improbable gold medal triumph at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Germany and an early defeat by Britain of Adolf Hitler in an arena intended to showcase Nazi superiority.

An inspiring story of an underdog British ice hockey team cobbled together at the last minute who managed to steal victory from the favourites of Canada and Germany.

Today these men and the historic popularity of ice hockey in Britain has been largely forgotten and this history documentary will uncover the fascinating history of when Britain dominated international ice hockey in a novel and interesting way. 

More than 75 years have passed but there is still no British sporting triumph to match it. Set against the backdrop of the rising Nazi movement in 1930s Germany, a makeshift British ice hockey team overcame political squabbling, personal vendettas and zero funding to win gold for the first and only time in the sport's history.

Assembled at the last moment by an enterprising Irishman, a remarkable group of individuals aged from 17 to 39 years old made their own way to the Olympic games carrying their own equipment and bags of determination. 

They faced a range of established international teams including the Canadian national team who had never lost at the Olympics and expected to go home with the gold. Their strongest rivals was a team of German professionals, backed by the Nazi party who had offered the country's best player Rudi Ball, previously barred from the sport because he was Jewish, a free passage out of Germany if he won. The British were rank outsiders but their competitive playing captured the hearts of the Bavarian home crowd as they arrived in the twin villages of Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the games.

As Hitler and top Nazis presided over the games, this debonair and eclectic bunch of men showed true Olympic spirit as they faced off against all the odds. When the first puck hit the ice under the shadow of the Zugspitze Mountain, they came out fighting. They did not know that back home the BBC were broadcasting the games live and a wave of unexpected national pride was building. Their ultimate victory rocked the Olympic community and caused controversy that reverberated as far away as the Canadian parliament.

They returned home to find that they had sparked a national obsession with this unlikely British sport and for a brief period ice hockey players would earn more than the top footballers. Ice hockey games were televised before football matches were. Even the Queen took up playing ice hockey on a frozen pond at Buckingham Palace. But soon after this peak, the Second World War broke out and the obsession was short lived. The memory of the British team's amazing achievement was lost.

Now through a stylish and compelling film we present the story of how these extraordinary man came to gather from all corners of the globe to form the most unlikely team of sporting heroes and how they ended up giving Hitler a taste of British determination before World War II even started. Reliving this incredible moment will be in inspiring Olympic story. It will also challenge common beliefs that Nazism was unacceptable to Britain's interests at time, for this was the era when finding a common ground for peace with Germany was Britain's key foreign policy. Several of the players had German family and ultimately had to take sides in the conflict. 

The stadium and the buildings where this took place still stand. There are many photographs and artefacts connected to the principals but most eye-witnesses are now dead. With the assistance of AI for in-betweening, this documentary can utilise hand-drawn animation in the style of the the classic 'Eagle' comics to recreate the games and dramatic events surrounding the story. Animation can also be rapidly created from rotoscoping live action and motion capture of ice hockey players and 3D scanning of the actual locations. 

The film would include a combination of:

• Archive footage and sound recordings of the games sourced from agencies around the world including the BBC, ABC, as well as Canadian and Japanese news sources,
• Never seen before personal stills and film archives belonging to the families of the British team. 
• Personal artefacts of the team members including Olympic medals, sporting equipment, news cuttings and other museum-grade objects.
• 'Eagle' style animation of games and events that elaborate on the personal journeys of these amazing men. Many of the actual Olympic facilities remain extant for reference and scanning. 
• Footage from Leni Riefenstahl's iconic documentary about Hitler's 1936 Olympic Games.
• Interviews with the teams surviving family members.
• Archive news interviews with team members such as Archie Stinchcombe and team captain Carl Erhardt.

Britain's Forgotten Nazi Gold.

Remember that Jamaican bobsleigh team in the 1988 Winter Olympics? Well, what about the British ice hockey team in 1936? Not only did a motley scratch team win the gold medal but they took the European championship and the World championship from under the noses of the eight times in a row World champions. It's an upset the losers Canada are still smarting from. Along the way they also tweaked the noses of the Nazis and set off a boom in ice hockey in Britain which for a while, for professionals, was bigger than football. Case in point: ice hockey matches were televised by the BBC long before football ever was. So what happened?

When the 1936 Olympics were awarded to Germany in 1931, Adolf Hitler had not yet been elected and there had only been two winter games. The world was in an economic depression and some of Britain's best hockey players were working in Canada drilling oil and punching cattle in the summer and playing hockey in the winter. Hitler originally did not want a bankrupt Germany to host a rinky-dink athletics meeting but once in power he quickly grasped the opportunity to demonstrate Nazi supremacy. The winter games became a dress rehearsal for a bigger show in Berlin in the Summer. However Britain didn't get around to picking an ice hockey team until the last minute. With little time for training and hardly any money for equipment and travel and no hope of a medal, the British team set off for Bavaria intent on enjoying themselves and trying their best.

Each member of the team has the kind of biography that shows their toughness and resolve that won them gold on February 11th 1936. Winger Archie Stinchcombe was a typically gritty Yorkshireman who was blind in one eye and would readily scrap with opponents even though players didn't wear helmets then. Ironically the British team captain Carl Erhardt was born to German parents who had moved to England before the First World War but when having German heritage got to be uncool at school, he went to America and Switzerland where he learned to play ice hockey. Carl was the kind of guy Ian Fleming looked up to. He was smart, handsome and had a taste for the good life, he excelled at tennis and water skiing too. To get to the games he drove his open topped Lagonda M45 tourer (still owned by his son) from Kent with his hockey equipment, skis and his dinner jacket on the back-seat to Bavaria at high speed along the twisting Alpenstrasse, one of Hitler's new showcase projects, an undertaking even 'Top Gear' would find challenging in winter snow. In Germany he could not have failed to notice the village signs that said "Jews not welcome here" though these were hastily removed from around the Olympic village after protests. 

In the newly built stadium (still standing) at the foot of the magnificent Zugspitze, the Nazi flags fluttered alongside the Olympic rings everywhere and Adolf Hitler and other Nazi top brass attended the games. For the opening parade the teams were told to lower their flags in front of the viewing stand and give the Nazi salute but this didn't go down well, so when the British hockey team walked in, they saluted the crowd, walked past Hitler looking the other way, then saluted the crowd again. The Nazi controlled media splashed the 'arms-up' photos everywhere, causing concern in English newspapers.

There was some inter-British Empire politics in play too. Before the matches got underway, Canada objected that two players, though British born, had played in Canadian teams and sought to have them banned. This did not win friends with the authorities and the charming German-speaking captain and his team; full of Olympic spirit, captured the public's affection as the underdogs. The Canadian figure skaters photographed queueing for Hitler's autograph didn't win it back.

The matches were played outdoors sometimes in snowstorms but Britain beat Sweden 1-0 and then Japan 3-0 and so unexpectedly faced the undefeated World and Olympic champions in the semi-final. The match played under stars and a few dim floodlights had that behind-the-sofa kind of anxiety; the first British goal was scored by Gerry Davey (still Britain's highest goal scorer) who had signed himself out of a sick-bed with a fever, then Canada hammered Britain back for most of the game but goalkeeper Jimmy Foster (rated one of the world's best) kept them to one goal before Edgar Brenchley smashed another home in the dying seconds. The German crowd went absolutely wild; they knew they had witnessed history. Because of the scoring system, Canada now had to win their second semi final by five goals but Britain only had to draw otherwise Britain had the gold. Britain's hopes soared like a ski jumper's bobble hat. The Canadians then objected to the scoring system but the officials (perhaps because Germany was still in the running) said the rules had been properly agreed before the games. Canada's plan crashed like a four-man bobsleigh. The radio commentary of the second semi-final with Britain against Czechoslovakia reports Czech hopes for bronze were dashed by a 5-0 thrashing; the 'colour' commentary came from Canadian player Bob Bowman. The churlish Canadians then also beat Czechoslovakia but it was only enough for a silver medal but would Britain be able to deliver a coup-de-grace and push them down to third if they beat the USA? Hampered by some premature celebration hangovers no doubt encouraged by camaraderie in the bars of the Olympic village, Britain's final match finished nil-nil in normal time and the two teams remained deadlocked for one over-time period after another until both teams could barely skate and called it a draw. The players collapsed on the ice like a scene to come from Stalingrad; utterly spent, their heavy woollen jerseys steaming, Jimmy Foster's forehead bleeding with cuts from heroic goalkeeping. Britain, the crowd's favourite, by its tally of points, had now secured the Gold and the European and the World Championships. 

In the subsequent Second World War many of the team are known to have served with distinction. Gordon Daley would encounter Hitler again in extraordinary circumstances; being one of the first allies at Hitler’s bunker in 1945, he grabbed hold of the petrol cans that had been used to burn the Furher’'s body and they are now in a Canadian museum. Britain did well in following championships but after a period of growth; by the 1960's the lack of investment in home-grown talent stalled ice hockey in Britain. Though Archie Stinchcombe and others went on to coach teams in Britain, Europe and Canada until very recently, they weren't feted like our '66 World Cup heroes and made their living running sports shops and dry cleaners. In 1983 the Times Newspapers got in touch with the team but it turned out they only wanted to look at their Olympic passes signed by Adolf Hitler to try and authenticate the bogus diaries they'd purchased.

natbocking@icloud.com

Slapp Pro Beta Instructions

After installing the app, touch the Slapp icon (the picture of a slate) on your iPad or compatible device. 

This will launch the Slapp camera viewfinder.

Touching the 'i' icon on the right will bring up the photo custom metadata entry window. 

Touch the 'Add a row' icon in the centre. This will create two fields; Key and Value. 'Key' is the name you give your type of data. 'Value' is the information you want in the caption.

Once you have touched the 'add a row icon, you can touch the '+' plus sign at the bottom right to add more rows of fields up to 12 rows. 

To erase rows, touch the row and swipe all the way left or use the red trashcan. 

To add information to the Key and Value fields, touch and then type or paste your text. If your text is longer than either the Key or Value field it will still be recorded but it may overlap the next row in the photo captions if it is longer than the field shown. You can skip filling rows to lay long text in the caption field in the exported photo without overlaps. 

To hide the data entry fields, touch the 'i' icon again.

The app will always write your caption at the top of the image. It does not crop your image. Turn your device to landscape or portrait orientation and the text fields will be at the top and are added to and increase the original image dimensions of your device. 

Compose your photo and touch the shutter button on screen to take an image, with or without the data entry window open. 

After you take a photo, a small version will appear on the bottom right of your screen to confirm the image was taken and that the caption was added (this can be cleared by closing and opening the app).

Whatever was last written into the Key and Value fields will remain whenever the app is closed and opened.

Slapp saves your images to a folder in your native Apple photos application called 'Slapp Pro'. You can search and organise your Slapp images by using the native app's search features. Apple's Photos app will search for images by whatever keywords are written in the Value field. That app ignores values in the Key field but shows the search results in its Keywords window. 

For example if you set a row with a Key as "Set" and a Value as "Break Room" searching for "Set" will not yield results, only searching for "Break" will return the images tagged "Break Room". 

By use of the native Apple photos app and Slapp Pro, you will be able to rapidly and easily generate, store and retrieve Slapp images that both display and contain the user-generated metadata relevant to the subject of their images.

If you have any questions, get in touch. 

Kindly,

Nat Bocking 

M: 07939226313

E: natbocking@icloud.com