Dunkirk 1940. Inland. France & Belgium. Photos, some never seen before

Two photos of houses Dunkirk area? Lots of sand and one has a name Les Frontenelus ?. info on the back
Photo from my collection
Keith

 

“Am Strand” maybe - “at/on the beach”?

 

I think this villa in Coxyde, on the right of this old postcard, is the house you're looking for.
Keep in mind though:

• The German photos were obviously taken from another angle
• This picture was taken at the end of the Twenties (1927)

As far as I know, this specific villa doesn't exist anymore. If you wish, I can try to find out its exact location.

 

Well done Christian The location would be good as well.

 

Rear of the casino Malo les Bains.
Photo from my collection
Keith

 

The villa on your photos was located in Coxyde-Bains, next to the Leopoldine Lejeunelaan.
As you can see, there is nothing left but sterile holiday apartments...



There is also a villa with the same name in the Overwinningslaan, but build in 1948.

 

I wonder whether this could be an overrun BEF ordnance park rather than the Wehrmacht collection points that we are accustomed to seeing.

In the foreground you have what look to be three 6-inch 26-cwt howitzer carriages without their ordnance mounted. The only explanation I can think of for them to be in that condition is that they were spare carriages. In the right background you also have a 60-pdr on its old carriage wheels, and of course you have a couple of Quads.

If my speculation is correct it might be possible to identify the location – might need to get Rich and Drew on the case.

It’s a 6-inch 26-cwt howitzer Christian – their barrel was a similar length to their cradle and they have a small box structure on the right near the muzzle. The 8-inch is an altogether bigger beast – see Dunkirk 1940. Inland. France & Belgium. Photos, some never seen before, third image.

 

Can anyone id the area of the Boat yard, i think it is in Belgium. photo taken in 1942.
Photos from my collection.
Keith

 

Not many clues are available:

• The text on the back of one of the photos is in Dutch. It is therefor safe to assume these pictures were taken in Belgium (Flanders) or the perhaps even in The Netherlands.
• There seems to be almost no housing on the banks of the river, which suggest a waterway prone to frequent floodings.
• The waterway stretch, as shown on the pictures, is not straight, i.e. not a canal. Nor is it very large, so probably not one of the larger rivers. This suggest to me perhaps the Yser, the Lys or the Dendre.

 

Close up and darkened the photo to show the houses.

 

Keith, how long have you had the pictures?
This exact shipyard was searched for two years ago—unsuccessfully, however.
https://www.reddit.com/r/whereisthi...ll_shipyard_somewhere_in_flanders_during_the/

 

They came in the post today

 

Found this info with AI
During WWII, especially in 1942 under German occupation, Belgian boatyards, particularly those in occupied Flanders and around Antwerp, shifted to building barges (Binnenschiffe) for the German war effort, supplying vital inland transport for troops, coal, and materials, with yards like Boelwerf often involved in repair and new construction under stringent controls, though specific detailed records for every yard in 1942 are sparse.
Context in 1942:

• German Control: Belgium was under Nazi occupation, and industrial production, including shipbuilding, was directed towards German needs.
• Barge Importance: Barges (flat-bottomed barges) were crucial for moving heavy goods (like coal from the Ruhr) on Europe's extensive canal systems, bypassing threatened seaways.

Key Areas & Yards:

• Flanders (Flemish Region): Major industrial areas like Antwerp and Ghent had significant shipbuilding capacity.
• Boelwerf (Temse): A major shipyard that built various vessels, including barges and coasters, during the war under German supervision.
• Smaller Yards: Many smaller yards also contributed to the fleet of river and canal craft.

What They Built:

• Standard Barges: Various sizes of inland cargo barges were constructed.
• Military Craft: Some yards built specialized harbor craft, tugs, or even concrete barges (though often in occupied France/Netherlands).

Finding Details:

• Specific yard records for 1942 might require searching archives in Belgium (e.g., Nationaal Archief, provincial archives) or specialized naval history sites focusing on WWII occupation.
• Therefore, any barge production occurring in a Belgian boatyard in 1942 would have been entirely under German direction and control as part of the Axis war economy.

 

The small boatyards extended well inland on rivers and canalised waterways. There is a small museum at Baasrode near Dendermonde on the site of what was, I think the last surviving yard which was open until the 1980s. I don't think it's there, although it's on quite a meandering part of the Schelde.

Christian will probably know better, but the steeply pitched roof on the building in the picture looks more Dutch than rural Flemish to me. Is the yard next to a brickworks, or is that ballast ?

 

I also noticed the steeply pitched roof on one of the photos. This is, of course, an wholly uneducated guess on my part, but it made me instinctively think of the region between Zeebrugge, Terneuzen and Antwerp. As to the brickworks, IF it is indeed a brickworks, this would suggests to me clay pavers. These were often transported by boat (e.g. Nieuwpoort) during the pre-war era. So, in order to find the exact location, we should perhaps also look for a clay-extracting site.

 

Since Keith's pictures were taken in 1942 and showed the structure of a large barge which seemed nearly completed, I tried my luck and consulted the Belgian Inland Shipping database for that year.

By a process of elimination (excluding the inland yards in French-speaking Belgium and the big naval yards near the seaports), I found one that fits the profile we're looking for: the VAN GARSSE boatyard in Moerbeke (North of Lokeren, between Ghent and Antwerp). It was situated on the Moervaart, which was/is connected to the Durme, a tributary of the Schelde. The area is in a depression ('Moervaartdepressie') and was/is prone to inundations. Also, one of the oldest activities in that region was the extraction of turf, which was transported by boat to Ghent.

Is this the yard we're looking for? I'm not sure, but as a candidate, it ticks a lot of boxes though.

PS: this result was not listed when I submitted the question to AI
(prompt: 'Provide me an exhaustive list of all Belgian boatyards active in inland barge repair of construction in 1942.')

 

More from AI
Belgian boatyards active in inland barge repair of construction in 1942

In 1942, during the German occupation of World War II, several Belgian boatyards specializing in inland navigation (barge construction and repair) remained active, often under strict German administration to support transport and military logistics.

Key Active Inland Boatyards (1942)

Baasrode Shipyards

A major center for inland shipbuilding on the Scheldt River. Active yards included
Van Praet
(established 1721) and
Van Damme
(established 1827). These yards were critical for maintaining the regional inland fleet and are now part of a provincial heritage site.

Sambre
4.2
(228)
River
Established long before 1942, this yard on the Meuse River has a history of building and repairing inland vessels and remains active today.

Scheepswerf IDP - Shipyard IDP
4.9
(23)
Shipyard
OpenVismijnlaan 5
Founded in 1922 as a cooperative, it was active during this period specializing in maintenance and repair for professional and fishing vessels.

Antwerp Port Services BVBA
4.0
(4)
Shipping company
Indiestraat 2
While many large-scale yards in Antwerp were repurposed for the German Navy (Kriegsmarine), inland repair docks continued to service the barges essential for transporting coal and materials across the occupied territories.

Operational Context in 1942

• Resource Scarcity: Production was hampered by severe shortages of steel, timber, and power.
• German Administration: Inland shipping was a priority for the occupying forces; shipyards were often mandated to repair damaged barges to maintain the flow of goods along the Albert Canal and the Scheldt.
• Workforce: A filing system for shipbuilding and ship repair workers was introduced in January 1941 to manage labor, and some personnel were released from military duty specifically to resume repair work.

 

Van Praet-Dansaert and Van Damme shipyards. the river has bends in it a bit like in the photos

 

I think you and Rich are correct. While reviewing some old postcards, I found one that depicts the Escaut (Schelde in Dutch) banks near Baasrode. Note the very distinctive crane on the picture which seems to match the one on the photos quite nicely.



Also, the sinuous contours of the Escaut near Baasrode in the 1930's are more consistent with the photos than Moerbeke.



It gets even better: as Rich mentioned earlier, there's indeed a boatyard museum in Baasrode that is ran by a dedicated association ! They even posted several photos on their site depicting the yard between 1900 and 1930. All there is to do now, in order to gain 100% certainty, is to contact them and show them the photos.

Shall you do the honours Keith

 

Yep done