A cenotaph in Bangkok
If I have one great passion besides my dearly beloved wife Noi, it is military historiography in general and the First World War in particular.
In a previous article I briefly discussed the Foreign Cemetery in Chiang Mai. In November 2018, on the occasion of the worldwide commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, this cemetery commemorated the British expatriates from Chiang Mai who had fought in one way or another in the British armed forces during the Great War.
The French Cenotaph in Bangkok
Today Lung Jan takes a moment to reflect on the French cenotaph in Bangkok. A cenotaph is a monument to missing or buried soldiers. There are a few aspects of the French monument that make it more than special. First and foremost, this memorial not only commemorates the French nationals residing in Siam who fell during the First World War, but also on a separate plaque the French and Indochinese victims of the Franco/Siamese War of 1893 and the resulting French military occupation of Chantaburi.
A controversial Dutch Consul General in Bangkok
A century ago, the bloody conflict known as World War I ended. In a previous contribution I took a moment to reflect on the – almost – forgotten story of the Siam Expeditionary Force and I referred very briefly to Ferdinand Jacobus Domela Nieuwenhuis, who was the not entirely uncontroversial Consul General of the Netherlands in Bangkok during the First World War.
The – almost – forgotten story of the Siam Expeditionary Force
November 11 marks the end of the First World War in many places around the world. In Bangkok this traditionally takes place at the Cenotaph at the British Embassy where the 25 fallen staff members of this institution and fallen Siamese-British expats are commemorated. The sacrifice of the 11 Frenchmen residing in Siam who died during La Grande Guerre is also honored annually at the French embassy.
