JF Ptak Science Books   Post 1467

The French Foreign Legion is legionary, or legendary, something that is famous in and of itself.  It was formed 180 years ago to help keep the peace in Algeria (which the French massively mess-up) and the rest of the now-disappeared French empire.  That corps of soldier had been composed of an ask-no-questions, never surrender, blood-in-the-sand, hardened and escaping individual. 

If a photograph is worth ten thousand words, I’m not sure what story these pictures tell of the Legion.  No doubt these are the best faces in the best spots at the best angles in the best light kind of photographs, and don’t really seem to tell any bit of the story of the French Foreign Legion that one would expect.  But this was evidently not a real documentarian’s divulge that took place here in a double-page spread of the jam-packed issue of The Illustrated London News for 6 September 1913. But perhaps it was–perhaps there was a reading and writing room, and perhaps the barracks were kept clean and light and airy–certainly that would be good for the morale of the fighting man, but just not for our expectations.  

And truth be told the menu for breakfast looks pretty good.  Whether or not this was a standard fare is impossible for me to say.   The cook (who looks proud enough to be a chef) could make a person want to pull up a chair to the table.

These are the sleeping quarters, which look bright and clean, though the racks look pretty narrow, like not that much more wide than a good set of shoulders:

And of course the read and writing room, complete with a small library–the tables look very shiny…

And the game and recreation room, where I see some tea and chess–I’d be very interested to know what the framed documents on the rear wall were all about.

And one of the men, someone with 15 years’ service: