A Soldier Out of Place? The Mystery of an Unusual WWI Grave in a Normandy Village

In a quiet corner of the churchyard in Lénault there is a gravestone with 2 names on it, a mother and her son who was killed in World War 1. But the photo of the young soldier reveals a mystery I have been trying to solve: he was J BALLOUD but he was not wearing the uniform of a soldier from a local regiment and instead was, dressed in the uniform of an African regiment. Why? Who was he and why was a young man from rural Normandy in an African regiment in WWI?

The English translation of the inscription on the grave reads thus:

In memory of my dear son, J BALLOUD, who died on the field of honour, 6th October 1915.

Emilienne BALLOUD 1864-1931.

I really wanted to find out more about J BALLOUD and his Africa connection. First stop the war memorial in Lénault which reveals his name was Jules Balloud and he was one of 25 Lénault men men who died on the battlefield of that terrible war. (As an aside there is also a Georges DANNE on the memorial and he may well have been related to the family who originally lived in our house but I need to research that more another time).

The census return for 1911 reveals that Jules was living in the village (le bourg, so the actual village rather than an outlying hamlet like La Caucesserie) with his mother, Emilienne. They were described as journalieres, day workers or journeymen, with various employers. Further research shows that both Jules and Emilienne were born in the neighbouring village of Saint-Vigor-des-Mezerets but I have found no record of her marrying. She also still has her maiden name although many records list this rather than a married name. When Jules was born in early 1892 he was given 2 entries in the parish register, one by his grandmother stating that his mother had given birth at her home in Saint-Vigor-des-Mezerets but that she was resident in the nearby small town of Vassy where she worked as a servant. In the second entry, by Emilienne herself, she states that she is now resident in the neighbouring village of Saint-Jean-le-Blanc with no job given.  At no point is a father mentioned so everything points to Jules being illegitimate. Who was his father?

I then looked for his military record.  This shows that Jules joined the 3eme régiment du Zouares on 16th Oct 1913 as a 2nd class young soldier and transferred to 3e régiment de tirailleurs algériens (an infantry regiment) on the 20th Aug 1913. He later became a first class soldier before becoming a corporal in the 6th July 1913. He is recorded as "disappeared" (disparu) on the 6th October 1915 at La Ferme du Navarin in the Champagne region of France.  

The 3eme régiment du Zouares was a French infantry regiment of the Army of Africa stationed in the province of Constantine. But why did Jules, a country lad from rural Normandy join an African regiment? One thought that occurred to me was that his father was perhaps of African heritage.  In section of Signalments his face is given as coloré (coloured) but this cannot be assumed to mean anything more than he was tanned or had a darker skin colour as might be expected from someone working outside.  It is purely supposition and may well be wishful thinking as further searches reveal photos of soldiers from the Zouares who appear to not be African. As you can below, these soldiers in 1914 are in a similar uniform to what Jules is wearing on his gravestone photo.

Image source: AUL 69 La Divion de Marche Marocaine de l’armée d’Afrique Jean-Baptiste Tournassoud/ECPAD/Défense (https://laststandonzombieisland.com/2024/08/27/tres-colore/soldats-du-3e-regiment-de-zouaves-rz-de-la-division-de-constantine-august-1914/)

I would love to think that Jules Albert Balloud, a Normandy country lad, was the son of an Algerian who somehow found his way to seducing a young French woman in the late 1800's.  In all likelihood that was not the case and we shall probably never know who his father was.  Emilienne never married and, as far as I can see, she never had any more children.  She obviously loved her son dearly and made sure he was remembered on a grave in the village where she spent her later years. I imagine Jules when Jules was conscripted he thought joining the army would give him a better life, as was so often the case with young men in the early 20th century, and he could never have imagined that his life would be cut so tragically short just 2 years later.  Emilienne would almost certainly have been eligible for an annual war pension of 800 francs as the unmarried mother of a French soldier killed in the Great War. This would have made her life financially easier, but at the ultimate cost to her only son.

RIP Jules Albert BALLOUD. Though the years have passed, we remember you.