The accessibility and
the role of the beach during WWI
Erwin Mahieu
Access to the sea was crucially im p ortan t
throu gh ou t the First W orld War. Beaches
were therefore o f the utm ost strategic
im portance, even though they had many
other functions as w ell. Furthermore, the
Belgian coastline was divided in a Germanoccupied zone east o f the Yser estuary
and an area west o f the river Yser th a t was
controlled by the Allies in October 1914. This
article discusses the “ beach life ” between
1914 and 1918, and how this sandy s trip of
Belgium got through those fou r d ifficu lt
years.
The coast occupied
A fter the capture o f Antw erp on 10
October 1914, the German army could march
on the Belgian coast w ith o u t hindrance. On
12 October they occupied Ghent and tw o
days later, on 14 October, troops commanded
by Flans von Beseler entered Bruges. The
coastal towns ofZeebrugge, Blankenberge
and Ostend follow ed the next day, so th a t an
im portant objective of the m odified German
attack plan was achieved. Although the
occupation o f the Flemish coast had not been
considered nor prepared before the war (see
De Meyer, in this issue), the German navy
now v irtu a lly controlled the southern North
Sea. The deploym ent o f subm arines and
torpedo boats from Ostend, Zeebrugge and
Bruges greatly increased the Flemish coast’s
strategic im portance.
In the first few days o f the occupation, the
Germans consolidated th e ir positions by
entrenching th e ir artillery, e.g. on the Ostend
esplanade. They also emplaced guns on
strategic locations such as high dune tops in
the conquered coastal towns. The German
m ilita ry authorities too k over command of
the city o f Ostend and announced the new
rules to the population by means o f
Bekanntm achungen (proclam ations) and
Befehlen (orders).
The first article o f the Proclamation o f 21
October by com mandant Tägert in Ostend
read as follow s: “ Entering the esplanade and
the beach is p ro h ib ite d w ith in the c ity lim its
o f Ostend. Persons livin g on the esplanade
have to carry a pa ss.” The next day, 22
October, a supplem ent to th is measure was
announced: “ The in ha bitan ts o f O stend are
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As one o f the first measures taken a fte r the o ccupation o f Ostend, com m a n d a nt Tägert
b a n n e d g o in g fo r a w a lk on the esplanade. The slopes le a d in g to the esplanade w ere b locked
b y means o f beach cabins a tta che d w ith b a rb e d w ire. This is Vlaanderenstraat in the directio n o f
the esplanade (C ollection o f Erw in M ah ie u )
fo rb id d e n to leave lig h ts on in places
overlooking the sea. W indows overlooking
the sea have to be covered w ith roll-dow n
shutters o r curtains a t nig h t.” This set the
trend: the beach and the promenade became
an exclusively German m ilita ry zone where
civilians were only exceptionally allow ed or
to le ra te d ...
The first clash between Allied and German
forces in Ostend too k place on 23 October
1914. Around noon, tw o British torpedo boats
fired a few volleys at the city, whereupon the
Germans responded w ith a rtille ry fire.
Officers and soldiers to o k cover in a panic
w hile civilians, who were less fa m ilia r w ith
the danger, looked on. Despite the German
response, the British hit a target after a
couple o f m inutes. A s h e ll landed on the
dinin g room of the M ajestic Hotel and
wreaked havoc. The sh e llin g o f 23 October
resulted in the measures o f 21 and 22
October being tightened and extended. On
28 October, A dm iral von Schröder issued the
fo llo w in g order ‘ as to the m ovem ent o f the
in ha bitan ts o f the Belgian coastal area’ :
i ° Full freedom o f m ovem ent is abolished.
2 ° Local traffic in the streets is subject to the
fo llo w in g stip u la tio n s:
• Entering the beach and the streets be hind
the beach is pro hibited .
• The houses on the streets b e hind the
beach as welt as the adjacent houses on the
sidestreets have to be evacuated.
To enforce this order, the Germans
blocked the streets leading to the beach and
the esplanade w ith confiscated beach cabins,
if this was not already the case. On the
seaward side, a row o f benches was placed
in front o f the cabins and all this was firm ly
attached w ith barbed wire (see picture)!
75
The beach o f O stend, deserted a n d w ith o u t b a thing m achines, was p ro v id e d w ith a b a thing service fo r the m ilita ry in the sp ring o f 1 9 1 5
(C ollection o f Erw in M a h ie u )
Verspätete Kurgäste
(delayed seaside visitors)
However, Ostend had much more to offer
than ju st strategic interests. O stend’s fame
as a seaside resort had not escaped the
notice o f the Germans. Fashionable Ostend,
an im p ortan t m eeting place for the upper
m iddle class in the Belle Époque period,
received a horde o f uninvited guests during
the occupation. Nevertheless, the German
officers and soldiers considered themselves
seaside visito rs and soon postcards were
printed that illustrate d this attitude.
In addition, a ba thin g service fo r the
m ilita ry appeared on the Ostend beach
between the Casino Kursaal and the Palace
Hotel in the spring o f 1915 (see picture
p.77). There were changes for the civilian
population as w ell. On 7 May 1915, Mayor
Liebaert inform ed the population th a t the
Im perial German K om m andantur perm itted
entrance to the esplanade along and in
the gallery from 8 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. This
authorisation too k effect on 8 May and
applied to the part of the promenade located
between Koninginnelaan and the entrance
o f the racecourse. The notice was slig h tly
m odified on 13 May: traffic on the esplanade
along the gallery was allowed up to 8.30 p.m.
The m odification too k effect the very same
day.
The beach was now divided in zones
fenced o ff w ith barbed wire. The zone for
officers stretched from the slope near the
76
Prior to the First W o rld War, O stend h a d been an im portant meeting place for the upper m iddle
class. G erm an soldiers, unaccustomed to the sophisticated pre-w ar life in Ostend, considered
themselves seaside visitors now. Here we see three soldiers on a bench on the prom enade. They are
represented as Verspätete Kurgäste (delayed seaside visitors) in Ostend (Collection o f Erw in M ahieu)
Kursaal to W enenstraat (currently
Kemm elbergstraat). Civilians were allowed to
enter the beach between W enenstraat and
the continuation of Koninginnelaan. Non­
comm issioned officers had the area from
Koninginnelaan to the steps in front o f the
gallery to themselves. Soldiers had to make
do w ith the rem aining zone in front o f the
gallery up to the large slope in front o f the
entrance o f the Palace Hotel. A different zone
was allocated to each rank and the
equipm ent made available also differed a
great deal. To change clothes, the officers
could make use o f the luxurious cabins lined
up on the beach in front o f the promenade
(see pictures p.77).
Next to the em pty beach put at the
disposal o f the civilians (see picture), the
non-com m issioned officers had to change
clothes in ordinary beach cabins. Finally,
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soldiers had to use the gallery to change, but
the men preferred to take o ff th e ir clothes on
the beach or on the nearby breakwater. They
had never heard o f sw im m ing trunks... The
Ostend civilian population, who was allowed
to go for a w alk in and along the gallery,
often com plained to the Mayor and the Chief
o f Police about all this indecency. W ithout
success...
Osten d as Läusebad
(delousmg bath)
Soldiers who had served at the front for
a few m onths w ould be given leave to rest
and recover for a w hile. Regiments th a t had
showed ‘exem plary’ conduct were rewarded
w ith a sho rt stay at the coast. The units were
transported by train to the ‘ health reso rt’ of
Ostend. For many German soldiers the visit
to this city was the first tim e they saw the
sea. Am ong those who came from the in te rio r
o f Germany, only the w e ll-to-d o could afford
the long journey to the North Sea or Baltic
Sea and the sojourn there in peacetime.
Soldiers on furlough in Ostend had to pay
a ‘m andatory’ v isit to the Palace Hotel. The
German navy had equipped this luxury hotel
on the promenade as a Desinfektionsbad
(disinfection bath) to enable soldiers to get
rid o f the bugs tha t thrived the trenches. Lice
(and other pests) were a real nuisance to
soldiers and were im possible to exterm inate
in the unhygienic conditions o f the frontline .
The Germans, however, were convinced
th a t the lice infestation was the result of
contact w ith lice-infested nations! After
th e ir clothes had been tho ro ug hly scrubbed
and disinfected, the men were rid o f the ir
unwelcome guests for a w hile. M any soldiers
expressed th e ir joy by w ritin g verses on the
w alls o f the sanitary fa cilitie s o f the Palace
Hotel. The fo llo w in g rhyme about Ostend
was popular at the tim e: “ Is t es auch kein
W eitbad h e u te -M a c h t’s ais Läusebad uns
Freude” (Although it ’s not a topnotch resort,
it makes a fine delousing bath).
The contrast betw een the officer's a re a a n d the beach fo r civilians. A sign a t the entrance
o f the b a thing zo n e fenced o ff w ith b a rb e d w ire re a d : " N u r für O ffiz ie re " (For officers only).
A g a in s t the slope o f the se a w a ll there was a r o w o f b a thing m achines w here the officers co u ld
ch ange clothes b efore th e y w ent fo r a swim . C ivilian s h a d to be content w ith b e in g tolerated on
the beach, since they d id not have a n y b a thing m achines (C ollection o f Erw in M a h ie u )
Bathing according to
rank and the rules
Bathing regulations
Germans who wanted to go fo r a swim
had to observe the regulations. In itia lly (in
the sum m er of 1915) these consisted o f 9
stip u la tio n s, and they were extended to 11
articles in 1916. For instance, m ilita ry staff
were urged not to go in to the w ater fu rth e r
than chest deep on account o f the strong
currents (art. 1) and to swim ony at neap
tide and rising tide (art. 2). Bathing was only
and exclusively allow ed in the designated
area (art. 3). At each zone, signs warned
swim m ers for possible strong currents.The
recreational beach was divided in fou r zones
(see Verspätete Kurgäste) and stretched from
the Kursaal to the entrance o f the Palace
Hotel. Soldiers were provided w ith fresh
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This p ictu re was taken b y F. G erlach from Berlin a n d was entitled: "A m S trande von O ste n de "
(O n the beach a t Ostend). O n ce the men w ere on the beach, they g o t undressed on the spot a n d
took a d ip in the brine. For m a n y soldiers w h o cam e from the in te rio r o f G e rm a n y this was the
first time they s a w the sea (C ollection o f Erw in M ahieu)
77
■ IT!
) ÔfïeniiF
I 1 Upm iMumh
HÉ M irnfaW ki
h u i 7 i4 n
"O ste n d e r B aderegeln 1 9 1 7 " ( 1 9 1 7 O stend b a thing regulationsj a p p e a re d in "A n Flanderns
Küste" on 15 A u g u st 1 9 1 7. These regulations a re a p a ro d y o f the m a n y rules as w e ll as the
officer's a rro g a n t a n d h a u gh ty attitude. They claim the best stretch o f the beach a n d d o n o t a llo w
p riv a te soldiers to com e close. The d ra w in g is clear: four half-hidden signs in d ica te that the area
in the fron t left is fo r officers only. In the forefront, an o ffice r calls his d o g , w h o has just visited
a bitch (the d o g w ith the b o w tie). The lo o k o f the recum bent la d y is d ire cte d to us a n d speaks
volumes (Collection o f Erwin M ahieu)
linen and sw im m ing trunks fo r a sm all fee
(art. 4). The beach reserved for civilians was
o ff lim its for all m ilita ry s ta ff who were off
duty (art. 5). Buoys marked the sw im m ing
area and the men were supervised by an
officer (art. 6). Bathing w ith o u t sw im m ing
trunks and changing clothes on the beach
were forbidden (art. 7). Troops who went to
the beach w ith th e ir rifles had to leave them
at the racecourse du rin g ba thin g (art. 8).
In case o f an air raid, the beach had to be
abandoned im m ediately (art. 9). Alarm s and
the threat o f bom bings were made known by
means o f a siren (art. 10); in such cases, the
supervising non-com m issioned officer was
given a d ditiona l instructions (art. 11).
78
The men usually observed these
regulations fa ith fu lly - except fo r changing
clothes on the beach and sw im m ing naked.
The men fe lt no qualm s about nudity; once a
platoon had arrived on the beach, changing
clothes (i.e. undressing) was done quickly.
Trousers, tunic and the rest of the uniform
were taken o ff on the spot and together they
went into the sea in the nude (see picture
Comical situations
A parody o f the bathing regulations
appeared in “An Flanderns K üste” , the
magazine o f M arinekorps Flandern, in 1917.
In “ O stender Baderegeln 1917” (1917 Ostend
bathing regulations), the magazine mocked
both the rules and the bathers (see below).
The text was laid out like a poster on top o f a
scene from the Ostend beach life o f the tim e.
The draw ing was made by Richard Fiedler
and the text is signed w ith the pseudonym
Poe-Poe.
In his parody, Poe-Poe first pokes fun at
the officers. “ During ba thin g (when o n ly
sw im m ing trunks are worn) th e y have to
g ird on th e ir be lts a nd sabres and carry
th e ir facings and o th e r badges w ith them.
Periscopes m ay n o t be used du rin g ba thin g
so as n o t to cause panic. Bathing machines
m ust n o t be confused w ith outhouses.
Batdheads m ay n o t use the crest o f the
waves, and reading the p a p e r b y means o f
the phosphorescence o f the sea is p ro h ib ite d
on account o f being too dangerous. Seagrass
m ay o n ly be m ow n w ith p rio r perm ission
b y the Kom mandantur, and the oyste r beds
m ust n o t be used in the second h a lf o f
A ug ust because the y have ju s t been made.
As from 30 May, sw a llo w in g seaw ater is
o n ly p e rm itte d to holders o f a ra tio n card on
account o f its s a lt content. However, spicy
stories are exempted. People w ith w ater on
the brain m ay n o t dive so as n o t to dam age
the coastal defences. Sw im m ing trunks are
o n ly available in exchange fo r a receipt. To
pre ven t d riftin g off, the o rd e r o f 30 February
is catted to m ind: sw im m ing outside the zone
is o n ly allow ed in sw im m ing trunks w ith o u t
an id e n tifyin g mark. Taking pictures o f
subm erged U-boats is forbidd en. ”
Some o f the jokes in the parody by
Poe-Poe may not be very edifying, but the
draw ing by Richard Fielder is much more
subtle (see illu stra tio n ).
It is obvious for whom the rules on the
poster were intended: a sign above the
text reads “ Für Portepeeträger” (for sword
bearers), a derisory nickname for officers. To
the right o f the poster, in view o f the officers,
there are a few ladies... At the bottom o f the
draw ing we see an officer w ho calls his dog
to order after a v isit to a bitch (the dog w ith
the bow tie). A lady lying on the beach gives
us a seductive look. And the men? Far away,
near the Palace Hotel, they undress on the
beach near the high-w ater m ark and take a
dip in the brine...
P-77)-
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A visit to the beach
as propaganda
A group photograph
In the “ Kriegs-Album des M annekorps
Flandern 1914-1917” , the M arine Corps
is represented as the protector o f the
threatened Flemish coast. The French and
especially the British, who bombard the
area and cause a great deal o f damage,
are depicted as the aggressors. A m asterly
example o f pure propaganda. The “ KriegsA lb u m ” includes a few pictures tha t show the
‘m ilita ry ’ beach life in Ostend. One picture
shows the beach w ith hundreds o f m ilita ry
ba thin g in the water. Two other images show
soldiers in sw im suit in the sea. The caption
to these photographs reads as follow s:
“ Ostend. M ilita ry beach life. M an y thousands
o f German soldiers, includ in g from units
sta tio n e d fa r inland, who had p ro b a b ly never
seen the sea before, were in vigo rated and
refreshed b y the cool waves in sum m ertim e. ”
In other words, the soldiers had no reason to
com plain. In any case, propaganda wanted
people to believe they had a grand tim e by
th e se a . Large-sized pictures o f soldiers
provided w ith an ‘appropriate caption’ (see
below), as published by Paul Floffmann &
Co in Berlin-Schöneberg, had to spread the
same message.
Officers and persons in au thority
preferably presented themselves as
im portant and respected seaside visitors.
They did not ju st claim the m ost exclusive
part o f the Ostend bathing area, they also
wished to change clothes in luxurious cabins.
And as was fittin g for men o f d istinction,
they had th e ir picture taken in fu ll dress
uniform as a souvenir to take home. For
the men, the Navy made a lifeboat w ith
(inexperienced) German lifeguards available.
The ca p tio n to this p ictu re o f hundreds o f elated soldiers on the O stend beach reads: "Beginn
d e r Bade-Saison in O ste n d e " (Beginning o f the b a thing season in Ostend). The G erm an soldiers
a p p e a r to have the time to start the n e w b a thing season a n d p a d d le a b it! (C ollection o f Erwin
M ahieu)
A p o stcard w hich troops often sent hom e is this one o f a g ro u p o f soldiers w h o h a d clim b e d
on a b a thing m achine on the beach o f O stend. They are dressed in sw im m ing trunks but still have
their c a p on. Such postcards reassured a n d soothed the hom e front so that the w a r efforts co u ld
continue (Collection o f Erwin M ahieu)
A n unused life b o a t used as d e co ra tio n w ith the Royal C h alet in the b a ckground. G erm an soldiers in swim suit w ith th e ir caps on
(C ollection o f Erw in M ah ie u )
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79
Three officers, p h o to g ra p h e d in th e ir b a thing zone, try not to lo o k stiff. Sitting ca su a lly in a w icke r c h a ir w ith a bucket in scrib ed "O o s te n d e "
betw een the legs a n d a c c o m p a n ie d b y a yo u n g lo ca l boy, they w a n t to create the im pression o f be in g honoured a n d w elcom e guests
(C ollection o f Erw in M a h ie u }
The city o f Ostend was responsible for
the parts o f the beach reserved for the
officers and non-com m issioned officers. The
(experienced) Ostend lifeguards now had
to look after a new type o f to u rists: German
officers in sw im m ing trunks... The difference
in experience between the German and
Belgian lifeguards resulted in the drow ning
o f l í soldiers on 6 September 1915. We do
not know how often the lifeboat was used
to rescue people from drowning, but it was
one o f the most popular pieces o f decoration
(with the Royal Chalet in the background) in
pictures taken on the beach (see photo).
The “ Kriegs-Album des M arinekorps
Flandern 1914-1917” dem onstrated that
the M arine Corps presented its e lf as the
protector o f the threatened Flemish coast.
But the officers also liked to behave as
honoured and w e ll-liked guests. The civilian
population - and in particular the children were som etim es involved to add lustre to the
picture.
80
Flemish beach fisherm en pose fo r an (o b lig a to ry / p h o to g ra p h . A so ld ie r from the
M a rin e a b te ilu n g looks a t the catch. The a w k w a rd ly p o sing fisherm en w ith one d ra g n e t a n d three
push nets m eet the p h o to g ra p he r's requirements, b u t they d o not seem to have set one fo o t in the
w a te r (Collection o f Erwin M a h ie u }
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commenced on 31 March 1915. The fence in
Knokke was energised w ith electricity on 31
August 1915. From then on it was im possible
to sm uggle or flee to the Netherlands over
the beach.
Sources
The "electric fe n ce " on the Belgian-Dutch border. This p h o to o f the beach in Knokke shows
that it ran a ll the w a y to the w a te r line. The fence was ra ise d a n d exte nd e d o ve r the course o f the
w ar. In itia lly it was a b o u t 1 .5 0 m tail, a n d la te r on it was raised to a b o u t 2 .5 0 m. A p p ro x 5 0 0
p e o p le w ere kille d b y touching the fence (C ollection o f Erw in M a h ie u }
German soldiers and beach fishing
The m ilita ry occupation o f the coast and
the ban issued by Adm iral von Schröder (28
October 1914) on entering the beach for the
civilian population meant the end o f beach
fishing. The bom bings and especially the
concern o f the Germans tha t civilians would
give “ signals” to enemy w arships were the
reason for th is ban. A lthough beach fishing
was not practised anymore, a photographer
from the Marine Corps had a few beach
fisherm en pose w ith th e ir gear for an “ action
picture” . This photo was published in the
“ Kriegs-Album des M arinekorps Flandern
1914-1917” . It had to show that the German
m ilita ry was interested in the regional way
o f fishing. Five aw kw ardly posing fisherm en
w ith one dragnet and three push nets meet
the ph otographer’s requirem ents, but they
do not seem to have set one foot in the water
(see picture)
What about the other beaches
along the coast?
Blankenberge, w ith its many hotels, was
ideal fo r the German occupiers to bille t
troops. Also in this case, the esplanade
became an exclusive German m ilita ry area,
the civilian population was not allowed to
enter the beach, and ba thin g machines and
a ba thin g service were put at the disposal
o f German soldiers so they could swim in
the sea in summer. To ensure the tro o p s’
safety, the K om m andantur requisitioned the
local lifeguards. The rules were apparently
relaxed later on and civilians were allowed
on the beach from 1 p.m. to sunset. The
area between Hotel B ürgerhofand Hotel
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Excelsior (approx between the Kursaal and
the Pier) remained exclusively reserved
for the m ilitary, however. On 23 A pril 1917
Leutnant und P latzm ajor Letz noticed that
these rules were som etim es broken and from
then on parents were held responsible for
children ignoring the orders. Lt Letz made the
fo llo w in g known:
“ Blankenberge, 23 A p ril 1917. To the town
council o f Uytkerke.
Certain people, in p a rtic u la r e ld e rly
fisherm en, have recently been fo u n d on the
beach before 1 p.m. on repeated occasions.
Furthermore, children and ad ults are often
fo u n d in the p ro h ib ite d area between Hotel
B u rg e rh o fa n d H otel Excelsior. As a result,
the fo llo w in g has to be o ffic ia lly announced
once more:
A ll civilia ns are s tric tly p ro h ib ite d from
entering the beach p rio r to 1 p.m. and a fte r
dusk. Entering the p ro h ib ite d area o f the
prom enade and o f the beach between
H otel B u rg e rh o fa n d H otel E xcelsior is also
forbidden. Parents sh a ll be he ld responsible
fo r children who vio late th is order. Violations
sh a ll in any case be p u nished as severe
disobedience as from today.
By o rd e r o f (signed) Letz, Leutenant und
P latzm ajor” .
The neutral Netherlands were spared
German occupation. To prevent Belgians from
flee in g to the north and to halt the increasing
s m u g g lin g d u rin g th e first m onths o fth e
war, the Germans constructed an electric
fence on the Belgian-Dutch border. This
“ electric fence” stretched from the beach in
Knokke (see image) over the area north of
Antwerp all the way to Aachen. Construction
• “ Die Besetzung der flandrischen Küste durch die Marine
war im Frieden nicht mobil-machungsmasig vorbereitet
oder auch nur erwogen worden” (page i) in: Schulze
Erich Edgar, Das Marinekorps in Flandern 1914-1918,
Berlin, 1923, 32 p.
• Proclamation on page 12 in: Oostende gedurende de
Duitsche bezetting, Uitgave A, 15 October 1914, Ostend,
16 p.
• Notice on page 14 in: Oostende gedurende de Duitsche
bezetting, Uitgave A, 15 October 1914, Ostend, 16 p.
• Order on page 11 in: Oostende gedurende de Duitsche
bezetting, Uitgave B, 15 October 1914, Ostend, 16 p.
• The *order* by Admiral von Schröder of 28 October 1914
included eight items. Only the stipulations relating to
the accessibility ofthe beach (and the esplanade) have
been included in the article.
• Notice on page 10 in: Oostende gedurende de Duitsche
bezetting, Uitgave K, 15 October 1914, Ostend, 16 p.
• Notice on page 11 in: Oostende gedurende de Duitsche
bezetting, Uitgave K, 15 October 1914, Ostend, 16 p.
• Elleboudt A. 81 Lefevre. Oostende onder de Duitse
bezetting 1914-1918, Ostend, no date, 570 p. (page 270)
• “ Der Krieg hat uns m it ungezieferreichen Völkern in
Beruhrung gebracht,...” (page 44) in: An Flanderns
Küste, Kriegszeitung für das Marinekorps, 1916-1918,
498 p.
• The rhyme was taken from page 44 in: An Flanderns
Küste, Kriegszeitung für das Marinekorps, 1916-1918,
498 p. Translation according to Elleboudt and Lefevre:
“ Is het ook geen wereldbad heden, het maakt ais
luizenbad ons blijde” on page 274 in: Oostende onder
de Duitse bezetting 1914-1918, Ostend, no date, 570
p. Free translation with a view to rhyme: “Alhoewel
geen kuurplaats heden, maakt het ons ais luizenbad
tevreden”...
• Elleboudt A. & Lefevre, Oostende onder de Duitse
bezetting 1914-1918, Ostend, no date, 570 p. (page 269)
• Elleboudt A. & Lefevre, Oostende onder de Duitse
bezetting 1914-1918, Ostend, no date, 570 p. (page 270)
• The parody appeared on 15 August 1917 on page 275 in:
An Flanderns Küste, Kriegszeitung für das Marinekorps,
1916-1918,498 p.
• Boatswain’s mate Richard Fiedler, born in Lückenwalde
in 1888, served with the High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte)
before the war. He was a talented artist and this was
noticed by Marinekorps Flandern. At their request he
drew numerous illustrations for the magazine An
Flanderns Küste” . He died on 17 August 1918 from
injuries sustained when an allied aircraft bombed
Bruges (page 474, An Flanderns Küste).
• “ Kriegs-Album des Marinekorps Flandern 19141917”, herausgegeben von der beiden Ersten Pfarrern
des Marinekorps. Ev. Marinepfarrer Koene und K.
Marinepfarrer Dr. Frins. Selbstverlag der MarineBucherei des Marinekorps, Ostend, 192p.
• “ Ostende, Militärisches Badeleben ”, and “ Beim Baden
im Meere” on page 44 and 45 in: “Kriegs-Album des
Marinekorps Flandern 1914-1917”
• Elleboudt A. & Lefevre, Oostende onder de Duitse
bezetting 1914-1918, Ostend, no date, 570 p. (page 272)
• Minutes ofthe Mayor and Aldermen of Blankenberge
dated 01/10/1915: statement that the lifeguards were
appointed by order of the Kommandanturin August and
September 1915.
• Electric fence in: Hans Sakkers, Johan den Hollander and
Ruud Murk, De Holland Stellung, 2011, 264 p.
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