1917 FRENCH WW1 RECONSTRUCTION FUNDRAISING LAPEL BADGE / HOTEL DE VILLE ARRAS

Description

Obverse
: the city of Arras townhall destroyed by germans
above legend : "ARRAS Hôtel de ville détruit par les allemands : Janvier 1915"
Reverse
: "Le Devoir Social / Reconstitution des foyers détruits par la guerre 1914-1917 / 6 rue Gobert, Parisd XIe / Journées des 21 et 22 mai 1917"
Size
: 46 mm or 1,8 inch.
For nearly three years, from October 1914 to April 1917, Arras lived under German artillery fire. On October 8, 1914, the 16th century town hall caught fire under the effect of incendiary busses. On the 21st, the belfry, symbol of the city, collapsed.
Methodically bombarded, the old city is nothing but ruins. The 16th century belfry and town hall have been razed to the ground, the Saint-Vaast abbey devastated as a large part of the town's heritage. At the end of the war, only 5% of the houses remained habitable.
These WW1 "charity day" fundraising souvenirs (cardboard insignia, thin stamped medals, pin badges, more rarely bronze or silver medals) were sold during the Great War to raise money for a variety of causes : mainly supporting the troops fighting on the various fronts, supporting the war effort, supporting wounded soldiers (or having caught tuberculosis)
, soldier's widows, orphans, thanking allied countries, etc...