British officer becomes French mayor
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by
Stork
I read something in a diary a few days ago which didn't strike me as strange at the time, but it just popped into my head and now I'm wondering about it. A British officer left his unit to become the mayor of a French town. Why would this happen? I don't remember which diary it was in or which town it was, but it was during the war years, so it wasn't a post-war reconstruction effort. Would this be a temporary position, or would it be indefinite, lasting for years? Maybe the town was destroyed by the enemy and most of the residents had left, and the British army thought it could give up an officer to try to get the town back on its feet. Any ideas?
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British Army Town Major’s.
I think the British Officer left his unit to become the Major (not Mayor) of the French town. I have read in the diaries of these Town Majors.
There is an article about British Army Town Major’s in this Link: http://www.greatwar.co.uk/ypres-salient/town-ieper-history-1418.htm Part of the article concerning a British Army Town Major, explaining his duties.
“Civilians in Ypres: Up until the spring of 1915 most of the civilian population, which numbered about 18,000 in 1914, continued to live in and around the town. With the sudden arrival of hundreds of French and British soldiers in the autumn of 1914 it soon became a busy hub for the military forces passing through it or spending time out of the line from the battle areas to the north, east and south of the city. The cafés and shops were busy with troops. A British Army Town Major was responsible for liaison between the civilian authorities and the military”.
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by
cyngast
moderator
Marie is right. Town Majors in towns occupied by units of the army acted as a liaison between the army and the civilian authorities. Among their duties was locating suitable billets. The Town Major wasn't always an actual major; I've seen instances where a captain filled the post. I imagine being able to speak French was an advantage.
BTW, @Stork, I did the same thing when I first came across the term, thinking that the diary said mayor rather than major. Mention of a Town Major is the kind of thing where you can use the #alliedrelations hashtag.
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Image AWD0003fxx On this page is mentioned that T/LT Allom is appointed Town MAJOR of Harponville and is struck off Establishment of Battalion.
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by
cyngast
moderator
I think that Town Majors became Staff Officers, maybe of the Division or Brigade, and so were no longer on the battalion's strength.
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