Fig. 1.

Historical material used: Examples of an orphan’s birth certificate (A) and the military record of the orphan’s father (B). (A) Birth certificate of a pupille de la Nation, André L., born of Gabriel L. on 31 August, 1914, in Bordeaux. The tribunal of the city of Versailles granted him pupille de la Nation status in 1923. That information was automatically transmitted by the Versailles tribunal to the city hall of Bordeaux and was transcribed by a civil servant in the upper left margin of the birth certificate. Similarly, notification of André L.’s marriage (in 1945) and death (in 1974) were transmitted (both by the city hall of the 16th district of Paris) to the city hall of Bordeaux, which noted these life events on the left margin of the birth certificate a few days after they occurred (© archives Bordeaux métropole – Bordeaux 1 E 427). (B) We searched for the father of André L., Gabriel L., by name and age in the database of French soldiers who died during WW1 (available at www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr/en/article.php?larub=80). The database yielded the image of the father’s record (selected sections are shown). Gabriel L. was killed in action on 9 June 1915.