Date of birth: 20/05/1891

Place of birth: Jeddingen, Rothenburg, Provinz Hannover, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire

Last known residence: Jeddingen, Rothenburg, Provinz Hannover, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire

Profession: Farm Labourer

Religion: Lutheran

Country: Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire

Force: Imperial German Army

Rank: Gefreiter

Enlistment date: 16/10/1912

Enlistment place: Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, German Empire

Units:  —  4. Kompanie, I. Bataillon, Infanterie-Regiment Bremen (1. Hanseatisches) Nr. 75  (Last known unit)

Date of death: 26/07/1917

Place of death: Verlorenhoek, Ypers, Belgium

Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.)

Age: 26

Hermann Scheele was born in 1891 in Jeddingen, a rural village near the slightly larger Visselhövede, east of the Free City of Bremen. Jeddingen belonged to the Province of Hanover within the Kingdom of Prussia. Hermann lived a quiet life as a farm labourer in his native village. In 1912, he completed his military service in the 4th Company of the Infantry Regiment Bremen (1st Hanseatic) No. 75. Although Bremen was an independent city-state within the German Empire, its regiment and troops operated within the Prussian army. After his service, Hermann left the bustling Hanseatic city and returned to rural Jeddingen, where life – although less turbulent and dynamic – flowed peacefully with the rhythm of the seasons. He married his sweetheart Ida, but instead of a simple and fulfilled life, the seasons brought war to Jeddingen. In August 1914, Hermann was recalled to the ranks of the 75th Infantry Regiment.

After roaming across the roaring battlefields of the French front – from the Marne to the Oise, the Champagne and the Somme, to Arras and Cambrai – the regiment arrived in Ypres in June 1917. Just in time for the opening assault of the upcoming Franco-British offensive in Flanders. Throughout July, the regiment occupied part of the Albrechtstellung near Verlorenhoek, north of Zonnebeke. British raids and shelling were a daily occurrence. On the afternoon of 24 July 1917, British drumfire intensified again on the southern half of the Verlorenhoek sector and the northern half of the Bellewaarde sector. The shelling continued, and the Bremen Hanseatics took cover as best they could in bunkers, dugouts, and shell craters. There was no rest in the line. From 25 July onwards, British artillery and mortar fire increased even further. A general infantry assault seemed imminent. That assault came on 31 July 1917, but the Infantry Regiment Bremen (1st Hanseatic) No. 75 was pulled out of the front line on 30 July, after days of bombardment, and withdrawn to Zwevegem near Kortrijk. The regiment was now only a shadow of its former self and no longer fit for frontline duty. It would take weeks before it could be redeployed.

Hermann Scheele was killed on 26 July 1917, while his regiment was under heavy artillery fire in the Albrechtstellung near Verlorenhoek. Hermann would miss an entire life. A few days before his death, he wrote a letter to his Ida. She replied to him on 29 July 1917, a few days after his death. In her letter, she spoke of her ill father, knew Hermann was at the English front, and expressed her hope that the war would soon end so he could return to a decent life. The letter would remain unanswered.

Deutsche Verlustlisten 1914 bis 1919. Berlin, Deutschland: Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) (Bundesarchiv, Berlin (BArch)). https://des.genealogy.net/eingabe-verlustlisten/ Sources used

Zipfel E. & Albrecht A., Geschichte des Infanterie-Regiments Bremen (1. Hanseatisches) Nr. 75 (Bremen, H. M. Hauschild, 1934) 289-297. Sources used

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=9bc7134c-cf81-44aa-bcfa-48b54401ce89

Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge https://www.volksbund.de/erinnern-gedenken/graebersuche-online/detail/3c89115c8baaac06b6281a02ce8dc554