Cherbourg, France

[Joshua Milford]

I had someone contact me via my Titanic website that had a question and I simply cant answer it. I thought maybe with all the collective knowledge in this forum, somebody may know the answer!

Here is the question:

Was there any military conscription activities under way during the time Titanic was docked at Cherbourg, France?

This person is trying to authenticate a family story that claims her grandfather and his cousin were in line to board (I assume SS Traffic to Titanic), but quickly left their place in line when they witnessed young men being pulled from the boarding line and conscripted. She continues to say that her grandfather and his cousin hid among crates until several hours after Titanic departed.

Anybody know?