VERDUN - Battle of 1916.

[zetlander]

There look to be hundreds of infants given the name Verdun in the 1916-18 + period.  (see free BMD.)
Would these be the children posthumously born to men who were killed in the Battle of Verdun.

Are the name of any other battles/events used as Christian names ?

[ShaunJ]

I don't think there were any British casualties at Verdun. 

[carom]

Interesting thread, I'd not come across this before. There are also children called Mons, Ypres, Arras and a few Somme. My guess would be that many had fathers or relatives fighting in France.

[roopat]

Verdun was a French battle & siege in the east of France. The French casualty rate was very high. The French 'Unknown Soldier' (who lies under the Arc de Triomphe) was selected from some of the fallen at Verdun. When I visited the area we were told the offensive at Verdun was launched to divert German resources & attention away from the proposed major assault in the Somme region by British etc troops to give it a better chance of success.


Pat

[philipsearching]

There look to be hundreds of infants given the name Verdun in the 1916-18 + period.  (see free BMD.)
Would these be the children posthumously born to men who were killed in the Battle of Verdun.

Are the name of any other battles/events used as Christian names ?

This also happened in Victorian times (see censuses of births for children named Mafeking, for example).

The children may well have had fathers (or other relatives) serving, but my feeling is that the names were probably inspired by newspaper reports of British Army (exaggerated!) successes on the Western Front.

Philip

[IMBER]

The name Louvain was very popular following the reported German atrocities in that city where there was no British involvement.

Imber

[andrewalston]

When I visited the region about 30 years ago the locals were very pro-British. They told me that our offensive on the Somme had diverted the German troops from Verdun, which had been under intense bombardment since February 1916.

Verdun had been almost surrounded in the German invasion of December 1914.

[Viktoria]

Verdun was a French battle & siege in the east of France. The French casualty rate was very high. The French 'Unknown Soldier' (who lies under the Arc de Triomphe) was selected from some of the fallen at Verdun. When I visited the area we were told the offensive at Verdun was launched to divert German resources & attention away from the proposed major assault in the Somme region by British etc troops to give it a better chance of success.


Pat

It was the other way round, The Somme was to divert German troops away from Verdun.
The French were at mutiny point, bad ill  judged treatment by high ranking officers added to the tension ( such as the execution of every tenth man) mennt as. “ Stiffener” in fact added to the unrest.
Super film staring Kirk Douglas, was not a bad depiction .
If memory serves me right “Paths of Glory”
Fort Douamont is a vast place, now an  ossuary for thousands and thousands of skeletons.Something like 300,000.
Passendale was also a “ diversion “ to relieve the hard pressed French,to our great cost again!
Many children were named Verdun as a mark of respect , not all had fathers killed there as British troops were not really involved as far as I know but others may have better information.
Viktoria

[roopat]

Oops apologies I got it the wrong way round, the little grey cells aren't what they used to be 


Pat