DOCUMENTS: 1902-1913 1st Foreign Regiment certificates of Leg. Masquère

Another part of the DOCUMENTS series. Enjoy rare documents that were issued by the 1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE) in North Africa more than a century ago.

The rare documents belonged to 1st Class Legionnaire Julien Masquère. Unfortunately, we know only few things about him. Born in the Ariège department in southwestern France in June 1871, he must have joined the Foreign Legion prior to 1902; he left it in early 1913. Masquère served in Algeria, the Algerian Sahara, Morocco, and in French Indochina’s Tonkin (what was Northern Vietnam back then).

The documents shared today are three medal certificates and an honorable discharge certificate. The medal certificates confirm the participation of the aforementioned legionnaire in military operations in the south of Algeria (colonial medals for operations in South Oran, Far South Oran, and the Algerian Sahara which took place from 1899-1903), and in the French operations in Morocco, namely in the occupation of Casablanca from 1907-1909. The certificates allowed the legionnaire to wear the colonial medal with the ALGERIE and SAHARA clasps (or metal bars), and the Morocco commemorative medal with the CASABLANCA clasp. The colonial medal certificates are signed by Colonel Alcime Dautelle, who commanded the regiment between 1900 and 1904. The one for the commemorative medal is signed by Colonel Emile Girardot (1907-1910).

These rare documents, as usual, were published with the kind permission of Krzysztof Schramm, historian of Poland’s Foreign Legion veteran association (A.A.A.L.E. de Pologne) and the author of Zygmunt Jatczak: I regret nothing.

All the certificates, including the discharge one, were issued in Algeria’s Sidi Bel Abbes, the HQ of the Legion at the time. The certificate for the Tonkin colonial medal was not part of the set; it is in the possession of an unknown collector.

The rare certificates (click on the images to enlarge them):

Documents - Foreign Legion - 1902 - 1st Foreign Regiment - Colonial medal certificate - Algeria - 1er RE — The Algeria colonial medal certificate was issued in 1902. It is signed by Colonel *Dautelle*.

Documents - Foreign Legion - 1903 - 1st Foreign Regiment - Colonial medal certificate - Sahara - 1er RE — The Sahara colonial medal certificate was issued in 1903. It is also signed by Col. *Dautelle*.

Documents - Foreign Legion - 1910 - 1st Foreign Regiment - Commemorative medal certificate - Casablanca - Morocco - 1er RE — The Casablanca commemorative medal certificate, issued in 1910. It is signed by Colonel *Girardot*.

Documents - Foreign Legion - 1913 1st Foreign Regiment Honorable discharge certificate - 1er RE — The Honorable discharge certificate, issued in 1913.

—