Memorial French Soldiers Wester Cemetery Gent

This memorial on the Westerbegraafplaats Cemetery commemorates the French soldiers who were killed in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), the First World War and the Second World War.

Monument in bluestone. On a stepped platform, a life-size, bronze, French infantry soldier crashes into an obelisk. The soldier is in uniform and carries a backpack, his left arm is in a sling. The obelisk shows Art Nouveau influence through its rounded shapes, decorated with curls and braces.

Above the soldier's head is the following text on the obelisk:
"Died to the French soldiers for the fatherland",
including "1870-71 / 1914-18 / 1939-45".

All letters are colored with gold leaf. The first 4 lines are worked out in relief, the bottom four are cut into the stone and thus clearly added later.
Above the text a laurel wreath with a bowed ribbon has been worked out in relief, showing a Latin cross and 2 ostrich feathers. Ostrich feathers were in ancient Egypt the attribute of the goddess Maat, protector of the cosmic order, balance and peace.

The monument was erected in honor of the French soldiers who died during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 and was funded by La Société Française de Bienfaisance de Gand. Since it was not inaugurated until July 1, 1900, the deceased were first buried elsewhere. Due to an archive fire, however, it was no longer possible to find out all the names of the deceased.
The 8 names that could be found at the time, have been carved into the three other sides of the obelisk. These too were decorated with gold leaf.
After both World Wars, the data was simply cut into stone.

Source: Inventory immovable heritage - Heritage object "War memorial French soldiers"

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries + Marie-Christine Vinck
• Photos: Demeester (1), Marie-Christine Vinck (2, 3, 4, 5)