Social media helps French police find WWI soldier’s relative

Published February 24, 2018
MARSEILLE (France): Jean-Marie Salanova (right), a police officer, hands a copy of a letter by Sergeant Jean Soulagnes, a French WWI soldier, to his great-great-grand niece Clara as her father Stephane Douhot, and mother Lydie (right) look on during a ceremony on Friday. The handwritten missive was written on May 27, 1915, from the Somme by 24-year-old Jean Soulagnes to a friend. Soulagnes was killed in fighting 12 days later. Police were able to trace Stephane Drouhot, Soulagnes’s great-grandnephew, with the help of social media.—AP
MARSEILLE (France): Jean-Marie Salanova (right), a police officer, hands a copy of a letter by Sergeant Jean Soulagnes, a French WWI soldier, to his great-great-grand niece Clara as her father Stephane Douhot, and mother Lydie (right) look on during a ceremony on Friday. The handwritten missive was written on May 27, 1915, from the Somme by 24-year-old Jean Soulagnes to a friend. Soulagnes was killed in fighting 12 days later. Police were able to trace Stephane Drouhot, Soulagnes’s great-grandnephew, with the help of social media.—AP

PARIS: A fallen soldier’s letter from World War I that was discovered in France has touched authorities so much they launched a successful search for the soldier’s living relatives.

The handwritten missive was written on May 27, 1915, from the Somme by 24-year-old Frenchman Sgt. Jean Soulagnes to a friend.

Soulagnes was killed in fighting 12 days later in the battle of Hebuterne.

The letter was found by Marseille police in February in a search following a burglary.

With the aid of social media, authorities found Soulagnes’ great-grandnephew, Stephane Drouhot.

He attended a ceremony Friday at a Marseille police station where he was given the letter.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
Updated 06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

Restored faith in the police is unachievable without political commitment and interprovincial support.
Appointment rules
06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

IT appears that, despite years of wrangling over the issue, the country’s top legal minds remain unable to decide...
Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....