What was ailing Guynemer?

[Mary]

Hi, All.

I am new here. Just joined today. I wanted to toss a question out to the membership.

I was reading yesterday in a biography that Guynemer suffered from gastroenteritis from childhood. Also, in a few photos (especially toward the end) he looked positively ghastly. I have known someone with ciliac disease who could at times look nearly as ghastly. She was always pale and thin, like Guynemer. In doing some research I found that ciliac is often misdiagnosed as gastroenteritis. Has anyone ever done a kind of informal diagnosis on what Guynemer really suffered from? It was just an idle thought experiment on my part, but I wondered what someone else might think. I also kind of thought that the diagnosis of tuberculosis (by the biographer) toward the end of his life might have had some throwback to earlier times when it was thought "romantic" to be so diagnosed, especially if you were an artist or some such thing.

Thoughts?

Mary

[Barrett]

Somewhere I recall reading that GG was asthmatic, haven't seen it since.

That 1000-yd/meter stare in his late films/photos has been attributed to "Paris fatigue." As in, "I gotta get back to the front and get some rest." I like to think it's true. He could probably absorb as much mothering as les filles cared to dispense.

[Mary]

That's very funny, Barrett.

I had never heard of it being attributed to that, but to a form of PTSD or shell shock. I like your explanation better!

[Froggy]

Originally Posted by Barrett

Somewhere I recall reading that GG was asthmatic, haven't seen it since.

That 1000-yd/meter stare in his late films/photos has been attributed to "Paris fatigue." As in, "I gotta get back to the front and get some rest." I like to think it's true. He could probably absorb as much mothering as les filles cared to dispense.

These allegations are so stupid that it does not even merit the time to answer
All I can say is that a few days before his death, he confided to his parents
"I wish the war was over, to no longer hear the sound of machine guns"

Here a photo with his mother at Compiegne,a few days before his death

[Mary]

That's very sad, Froggy. And what you are saying probably confirms the "diagnosis" of battle fatigue.

Also, please be assured that I meant no disrespect in anything that I suggested in my post. I merely wondered about Guynemer's general health and how his gastrointestinal problems might have been diagnosed today. He was a very tragic figure, as were so many of the "aces." Of course, from a woman's viewpoint (that is, mine), Guynemer's case was especially poignant because he was so...well...beautiful.

Mary

[jsontag]

Guynemer is my favorite ace. What an exceptional pilot he was. He was, like I'm sure all the other aces were, hoping the War would end soon. Looking at pictures of the aces, you can see that before they died, that battle fatigue was a problem as they flew until they were killed or the war ebded, whichever came first.

That is very interesting Mary, about how he would have been diagnosed today.

[Froggy]

Bonjour Mary

No Problem I hve not seen any offense from you part at all



To answer your question the beginning, what I know is that he was of frail constitution(he compensated by a great willingness) .He had, at the age of 17 years ,simultaneously catched measles and scarlet fever (severe disease at that time)
and he struggled to recover and later he was even forced to interrupt his studies-Later he was rejected by the military doctor whenl wanted to engage in the aviation-It is through the support of his father he was finally able to engage

Cordialement
Bruno

[Mary]

Merci, Bruno, for your kind thoughts.

I should probably open a new thread for this, but since you are in France you might be able to answer this. Are there any "battlefield" tours for the centennial of WWI in your country that concentrate on the aerodromes? I will be in France in 2015 and would be interested in such a tour.

Mary

[Froggy]

Bonjour
Mary,The problem is that the vast majority of airfields were built with tents and dismountable sheds because they were evacuated frequently to other sites following the movements of the front .So there are no more traces of these airfields and even when one find the exact localization ,not easy fot most of cases, we find a crop field, which represents not so much of interest, or a modern buildings at the place of the former airfield
Exemple with for the Toulis airfield...



Cordialement
Bruno

[tcrean7828]

Originally Posted by Mary

Hi, All.

I am new here. Just joined today. I wanted to toss a question out to the membership.

I was reading yesterday in a biography that Guynemer suffered from gastroenteritis from childhood. Also, in a few photos (especially toward the end) he looked positively ghastly. I have known someone with ciliac disease who could at times look nearly as ghastly. She was always pale and thin, like Guynemer. In doing some research I found that ciliac is often misdiagnosed as gastroenteritis. Has anyone ever done a kind of informal diagnosis on what Guynemer really suffered from? It was just an idle thought experiment on my part, but I wondered what someone else might think. I also kind of thought that the diagnosis of tuberculosis (by the biographer) toward the end of his life might have had some throwback to earlier times when it was thought "romantic" to be so diagnosed, especially if you were an artist or some such thing.

Thoughts?

Mary

Mate,
Welcome to the flagship of the Aerodrome - where the greatest minds on the planet get together and talk about their favorite subject - WW1.

tcrean7828

tom

P.S. Werner Voss and Kurt Wolff fan here.