#17: Who Knew Keeping The "Wrong" Time Was So Patriotic?

June 12, 2013

A Spot of History: In WWI Belgium -- where many people felt helpless against the oppressive German occupation -- small, simple things took on great power and significance. The Belgian flag (black-yellow-red) was forbidden to be displayed, so shopkeepers used tri-colored cord to wrap packages, while others trimmed their hats or shirts with the national colors.
 

Antwerp's Cathedral Clock, courtesy of
123RF website

Even the simple act of knowing, or keeping, time became a Belgian patriotic weapon of war.

It all started when the Germans took over Belgium and instituted Berlin time (European Central Time) across the country. Called “Heure Allemande” by the Germans, it was better known to the Belgians as "Heure Torenaur" or "Tower Time" because every village's clock tower or public clock had to be set to the new German time.

This was insufferable to the Belgians. Wherever and whenever they could (without obviously putting themselves in harm's way), they maintained their original Belgian time (Greenwich time). It became fashionable for meetings, events and even invitations to state "H.B." for Heure Belge, which was one hour earlier than German time.

Naturally, the Germans didn't take this sitting down. Any use of Belgian time was considered a "hostile demonstration," and Belgians caught with a watch set to H.B. were fined 20 marks.

Where did the CRB delegates stand on the issue?

Being neutral, they weren't supposed to take sides. But as E.E. Hunt related in his book, War Bread, the Americans kept Belgian time. This, however, could cause problems:

 

"If we arranged for a German to call at one and a Belgian to call at twelve, they arrived at exactly the same moment and glowered at each other in the ante-room. The cathedral clock in Antwerp furnishes time for the whole country-side. The clock was obligated to record German time, of course; but when the city fathers sent out notices of municipal meetings, they avoided the suggestion that the clock kept unpatriotic time by stating that the meeting would be, say, at two o'clock, 'hour of the Tower.'"

In German-occupied Belgium, where native resistance of any kind could be met with harsh penalties, any subtle action had the potential of taking on great patriotic symbolism.

That was especially true if...the time was right! :)

 

My Post: Speaking of time, my trip to the Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford was highly successful. Thanks to Carol, David and all the others at the Archives. I found many items that should be useful when writing my book. I also met Bert Patenaude, a  Research Fellow at Hoover Institution and lecturer in history and international relations at Stanford University. His first book was The Big Show In Bololand: The American Relief Expedition to Soviet Russia in the Famine of 1921. I had a great hour of coffee and conversation with Bert -- thanks for the time!

Another big thanks goes out to Branden Little (Assistant Professor of History at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah). Before I left for Stanford, Branden emailed me a list of tips and suggestions which made my trip so much easier, productive and fun. Thanks, Branden, for all your help -- and your friendship!

I also had a nice family moment when I visited the Hoover Tower. Right inside the entrance, carved on one marbled wall, are the names of all those who honorably served (not all those who participated) in the CRB. It was wonderful to look up and spot my grandfather's name, Milton M. Brown, my uncle's name, William Hallam Tuck, and all those I've become quite attached to --  Fred Eckstein, Hugh Gibson, Maurice Pate, E.E. Hunt and Joe Green. A fascinating set of diverse and talented men.

As for my research, during three full days at the archives I took more than 2,500 digital images and made a couple hundred photocopies of material I believe will be useful for my book.

When I got home, it took a full week of work to view every image and decide if I needed to print it or not. Then I had to take all the printouts and sort them into my growing filing system.

An interesting idea came to me in the archives. While studying a large portrait book of CRB delegates (in the Tuck collection), it dawned on me that there was no master list of names and photos of all the delegates. They certainly deserve at least that, and it's frankly surprising there isn't such a name/photo list. So, I started taking photos of any identified groups of delegates and any named portraits, even if I wasn't interested in those particular delegates.

I then shared my idea with the staffers of HI at Stanford and HHPL in Iowa. They felt it was a worthwhile project that they would definitely like to have if completed.

When I got home, I spent more than a week pulling head shots from group pictures, cropping portraits, sizing all images to thumbnails and setting up a basic structure. Even getting the list of names together was a challenge. Every list I've seen is slightly different. So, I created a new list using Vernon Kellogg's list at the end of his CRB book, a 1929 CRB directory and the Hoover Tower wall of names.

While I knew I could make a good start of matching names and photos, I knew I could never do it all. That's when I thought of making this a crowd sourcing project. I took what I had done and placed it on a page within my wesite. You can find it at http://www.jbmwriter.com/CRB-Delegates-Names-and-Photos.html

In only a few weeks, I've had numerous people send information and/or photos. Thanks to Erskine, John, Tammy and Branden for their great contributions. The current stats are: 182 total names, 115
names/photos matched, 41 photos unmatched and 67 names without photos.

For those who would like to help, check out the site and pass around the website address to anyone  who you think can help. In no time at all, there should be a true master list of names and photos that I'll provide free on CD to any institution or individual who wants it.

While I'm glad I started this project, I do realize it's taken that much time out of my own work. So, of course, it's time to get back to work!

End of Post