Coffins in the film 'Passchendaele'
November 15, 2017 3:32 PM   Subscribe

When the credits run at the end of the 2008 film Passchendaele there are newsreel clips from the period. One of these shows soldiers carrying coffins - see screen grab here

As you can see, the coffins are 'house' shaped with parallel sides. I have only ever seen coffins in Morocco this shape, and maybe there were Moslems among the soldiers in that First World War clip and that is why the coffins are that shape - or maybe there is another explanation entirely.

Can anyone throw any light on this?
posted by Quillcards to Society & Culture (2 answers total)
 
The gabled lid allows for gas accumulation and bloating.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:44 PM on November 15, 2017


I've seen Hungarian coffins with simple vaulted tops and a quick google of 'Belgian coffin' turns up some vaulted ones as well. The examples in your screen grab are simpler than the 3 boarded style I'm thinking of but I'd guess it's a regional variation that could be thrown together quickly. It doesn’t seem likely to me that there'd be Muslim carpenters available create a specifically Moroccan style of coffin, using local timber.
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:22 PM on November 16, 2017


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