Friday, February 27, 2009

A little mystery

Hi ALL,

Just me again, trying to find a little time to write something I hope you will enjoy. First let me say to all of you that

follow my blog, thanks. I really do enjoy reading your comments. I hope more people will get aboard. For those of you to whom I have not responded bear with me I need to find out how to get your blogging address, I will get there I promise.

My entry for the day, just a little bit of what I call fascination for one that is interested in history and antiques. Approximately thirty years ago maybe longer I found this picture frame in our local dump I was fascinated with it from the moment I saw it. This hand carved rectangular shaped frame with an oval cut out in the center, is trimmed with a barbwire carving and across the top on a ribbon like caving are the words Douglas I. O. M. and at the bottom the words Prisoner of War. But when I turned it over and read what was on the back I really got excited, you see it had been made by a prisoner of war in 1915. I know that year is not all that long ago but the history was what I found so exciting and mysterious, carved in the wood was the prisoner’s serial number. I tried for several years to find out where this camp was located but with no luck. It seems that there are hundreds of Camp Douglas’s but none that had anything to do with a war camp. Well low and behold after all these years I hit pay dirt, thanks to my searching the computer I came up with it’s location, I.O.M. stand for the Isle of Man which lies in the middle of the British Isles set in the Irish Sea between England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Now tell me how this frame ended up in our local dump. Well I finally found a number to call and I was told by the director of this museum that they were more then excited about my find and that they would be in touch with me and would be able to let me know exactly who the person was that carved the frame because of the serial number, well that’s been two years ago and no one has ever called. They did tell me that in the museum they have may artifacts made by the prisoners of war but none with a barbwire carving I told them I would like to give it to the museum and that was the last I heard. I guess their slow. I have tried several times since to reach them again but no luck. I’m inserting a picture of the frame for you all to see.

If anyone out there has any further information about this frame or the camp I would appreciate hearing from them.

I’ll be blogging again soon.

POW Frame 4 

 

    POW Frame 3

 

POW Frame 5

4 comments:

  1. This is a one-in-a-lifetime finding! Please don't give up on the museum that you contacted - Write to them. Would Portland's museum be of help? W/in this frame is a story - a wonderful story. It's also a lovely piece of work. Someone in the blogging world must see it and respond.
    Well, dear friend, I'm off to jot down a few more paragraphs in my
    n-o-v-e-l. If I think the word than it's tolerable. If I speak it out loud, I cringe.
    Thank you for your compliments - here you are praising people whose work can't hold a candle to your creations in sculpture and poetry, etc.
    You are, indeed, a gracious lady!
    Fondly, Geegee

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  2. Nice story and a nice frame I might add.so wonderful that many things from the past hold hidden stories and mysteries that can beguile and amuse us in what is now the future.

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  3. So exiting! I wonder who the carver is. Perhaps You should try a bigger museum in London? If they contact the other museum I´m sure things will speed up!
    Christer.

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  4. Margaret...leave it to you to write a mystery like this and to even be able to drop in photos for us all to see. You know me and how I like to research these types of things? I may have already tried to help you with this but I am on the hunt once again after reading your riveting story of the POW frame. Don't you ever stop writing Margaret...you are gifted just like Alice. I am proud to have you both on this blog!

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