Bonjour à tous,
Un modeste complément de ma part.
Lorsque F. Danès a établi le patronyme BURNICHON, j'ai également épluché, hier après-midi, les registres et autres JMO, et je suis parvenu à la même conclusion que lui. Mais, distrait par les magnifiques images du Tour de France, je suis arrivé deuxième de l'étape. Lorsque j'ai voulu partager mes conclusions sur l'identité de ce soldat Burnichon, F. Danès avait déjà publié sa propre enquête.
Voici une synthèse très abrégée de mes recherches.
Je pense que son identification est correcte. L'auteur de la première carte postale indique que son régiment va « remplacer l'active ». Dans le second texte, il évoque les « jeunes du 39e de ligne », ce qui désigne manifestement un soldat plus âgé servant dans un régiment territorial. La référence au vin restreint également l'aire de provenance géographique. Le 104e RIT de Roanne apparaît très tôt dans ce fil, repéré par notre ami britannique.
Je suis également d'accord avec l'identification, par élimination, des différents membres de cette fratrie Burnichon. Je note que le frère, Jean Joseph Burnichon, soldat au 3e régiment d'artillerie à pied, est mort pour la France le 28 septembre 1918.
Bravo à F. Danès pour son exceptionnelle enquête sur l'identité du soldat Burnichon, et merci à Keith pour le partage de ces documents remarquables.
Mon message se termine par une courte analyse du niveau de langue du soldat Burnichon.
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Just a modest contribution from my side.
When F. Danès identified the surname BURNICHON, I also spent yesterday afternoon combing through the records and war diaries (JMO), and reached exactly the same conclusion. Unfortunately, distracted by the magnificent Tour de France coverage, I only managed second place in the stage! By the time I was ready to post my findings on the identity of this soldier, F. Danès had already published his own investigation.
Here is a very brief summary of my own conclusions.
I believe his identification is correct. In the first postcard, the writer says that his regiment is about to "replace the active army". In the second letter, he refers to the "young men of the 39th Line Regiment", clearly suggesting that he himself was an older soldier serving in a Territorial regiment. The reference to wine also helps to narrow down his geographical origins. The 104th Territorial Infantry Regiment (104e RIT) from Roanne was identified very early in this discussion by our British friend.
I also agree with the process of elimination used to identify the correct member of the Burnichon family. I would simply add that Burnichon's brother, Jean Joseph Burnichon, who served with the 3rd Foot Artillery Regiment, was killed in action on 28 September 1918.
Congratulations to F. Danès on his outstanding investigation into the identity of Soldier Burnichon, and many thanks to Keith for sharing these remarkable documents.
I shall finish with a brief assessment of Burnichon's written French. This is not easy for a non-native speaker to assess.
The letters suggest a modest but solid level of literacy, very typical of a French infantryman in 1915. Burnichon writes clearly and coherently, but without any literary ambition. He is fully literate, well beyond the simple "able to read and write" classification ("sait lire et écrire") found on French military records. He writes long, grammatically complete sentences and organises his thoughts logically. There is no indication that someone else wrote the letters for him.
His style is straightforward and direct. He uses everyday vocabulary and familiar expressions rather than elaborate language. The tone is warm, practical and matter-of-fact.
His education probably did not extend beyond the primary-school curriculum of the French Third Republic. By 1915, however, that education gave many working-class men a sound command of reading and writing, and Burnichon's letters are good examples of this.
Have a nice week-end.
Kind regards / Bien cordialement.
Eric