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INTRODUCTION – THE DIFFICULT TIMES

By the time winter turned to spring, Maria was falling prey to an illness that was difficult to diagnose. Her families were concerned as she was only sixteen and a very young mother to be. Maria’s paternal grandparents were very wealthy and had friends in high circles. As a consequence they had secured the services of three experts from the University of Bucharest in order to assist the family physician, namely Dr Bogdan. The objectivity of the overall exercise was to engage in extensive medical research in order that young Maria could be treated and successfully cured of any unforeseen sickness. Ailments at the time included invasive overtones of vampire-indulgences as well as healthy people becoming evil-possessed. It would appear that cult sacrifice and worship of the devil was gathering momentum and was spreading across Europe, especially in the Eastern frontier. The paternal grandfather of Maria, who went by the name of Dimitri Cernat was the last known descendant of the well-known legendary Ambrogio Vladislav, alternately the notorious Count Dracul. It was the year 1916.

At the outbreak of the First World War (WW1), King Ferdinand and Queen Marie were the principal rulers of Romania. The war had already been declared on Germany by the forces of the Triple Entente. For the record, WW1 had started two years earlier in 1914. The Triple Entente comprised of Russia, Great Britain and France. At the time, the Romanian Government and the WW1 Secretary of War were contemplating entering the war but were unsure and indecisive as to the side that they should join. There were mixed feelings amongst the people of Romania, however, whilst one grouping was more interested in re-capturing lost territory from Hungary, Queen Marie pressured King Ferdinand to enter the alliance which would supplant Romania as a potential buffer thereby protecting Russia from possible attacks, either Germany itself or its potential allies.Economic advantages for Romania were envisaged as a consequence of this pact.

As Romania did not have a compulsory draft system, the Authorities relied on the call up of single young males between the ages of 18 and 29. However, volunteers were welcome to register for wartime enlistment. The enlisting had already started in Great Britain and suitable candidates that had passed physicals and medicals were being allocated to legions of regional groupings in order to be sent to the battlefields of Europe. Married men were not called up…this helped Ion Popescu for more reasons than one. He had an ailing young wife and an addition to the family was on the cards. However, the men aged between 30 and 39 and also married mencould be called up to defend their country, should the war intensify resulting in the need for emergency back-up soldiers. The show of support for national patriotism and the allegiance to King Ferdinand and Queen Marie were pivotal in terms of upholding the principles of good governance and protecting Romanian sovereignty. By the same token the maintenance of a stance of neutrality also had its perils, in that, simply standing by and doing nothing could prove counter-productive in the long run.

Due to the pressure put on him by Queen Marie, King Ferdinand signed the treaty on the 17^thAugust 1916 and entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente. Pursuant to the signification of the treaty Romania declared war on Hungary (Austria-Hungary) on the 27^thAugust 1916. In accordance, Romania fought no less than nine battles during the first month of hostilities following the entry into war. Some of the battles took place on Romanian soil, one of which was the Battle of Turtucaia. When the cessation of hostilities of WW1 ended in 1918, the provinces of Bessarabia and Bukovina were annexed and re-incorporated under the flag of Romania.

Notwithstanding her royal status, Queen Marie added-value by visiting hospitals on a daily basis and offered WW1 casualties a smile and a courteous word in order to show support and alleviate their pains. Furthermore, she was instrumental in assisting the Romanian Red Cross during the period of the ensuing First World War in order that their good work was more easily facilitated and pursued; and that there was a champion amongst them.

A quotation, following the Paris Peace Conference was very apt:-

“She is magnificent and we have, against all protocols, shouted our admiration. The day remained grey, but Queen Marie carried her light within her.”

--- Le Matin, a French Newspaper ---

Ion Popescu was very lucky, in that, being married came to his rescue. He was off the hook in terms of being drawn into the current belligerence of warfare because of his marital status. However, in the event Ion Popescu accepted enlistment as a volunteer in the Romanian army, he in all likelihood, would be posted somewhere far off into an unknown battlefield of Europe. This would then mean that he would not be around to see the birth of his first baby. This was a worrisome thought that sprung up in his mind, from time to time.

Should he send the baby to a crèche?Ion Popescu was an ordinary man…he was not rich. On second thoughts, would the baby be able to recognize him when he returns from his national duty, in the event he was on the side of victory. Alternatively, what would become of the baby …should he die!A myriad of thoughts, frightening options and ridiculous alternatives criss-crossed Ion Popescu’s mind…this happened like clockwork when his sleep broke around three o’clock in the morning. These worrisome-thoughts were getting more serious as the days passed, more especially when there was barely a month left for the policy to be amended to include married males to be drafted and conscripted into batches of emergency corps and sent away to the battlefields of Europe.

Ion Popescu was a true Romanian patriot…he thought aloud, “How do I let the King down, Romania needs me, I must do my duty; but poor Maria and the baby also needs me!”

The frightening thought of losing Maria was too much for the close families on both sides, especially Ion Popescu, the husband. It was purely co-incidental that stressful emotion, fear of family separation and possible conscriptionwere the psychological factors that affected his self-esteem, thinking and patriotism. There were mixed feelings amongst the members in the Popescu household.

The need for additional soldiers to back up the forces on the continent, especially in Eastern Europe, was averted as most of the belligerent warfare was fought on the frontiers of France, Belgium and Germany. Fortunately for the young and ailing Maria and Ion himself, the draft policy for conscription remained unaltered…there was no need to send out the males who were married.

The baby was born on the 10^thOctober 1916…a baby girl. She was christened Elena Popescu. The bottomline and final analysis…Ion Popescu was saved…he remained with his young family, as he escaped conscription and was never called up!

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