Belgians RTW

10/08/2026

Another useful resource - now also available on Ancestry...
I've only found one reference to Tunbridge Wells - Leona VAN GOETHEM, a "married housewife" from Charleroi, who was discharged on 1st February 1915 to West Hall, Chilston Road, Tunbridge Wells - a 35-bed VAD Hospital, Kent 94. Was her husband one of the Belgian solders being treated there? An Octave VAN GOETHEM is listed in a newspaper list as being there in November 1914...

'The Mysterious Affair of the Forgotten Belgian Refugees'

Earlier this year, we asked readers for their questions about the First World War in London. The most intriguing was a deceptively simple one - what records do we hold about Belgian refugees? Unlike the Huguenots of the 16th-18th centuries and the Kindertransport and other Jewish refugees before the Second World War, the Belgians who came to the UK fleeing the First World War seem to have disappeared from our national story. And yet, once you start to look, there are traces of their lives in our collections. Charlie Turpie shares her discoveries - http://ow.ly/VY9ea

PAGE: Pirotte family entry in the Bermondsey Workhouse register, 1915 (ref. BBG/573/008)

26/07/2026

Finally made it to the wonderful Shoemakers Museum in Street to listen to Jane de Baecke's very moving account of her father's experiences as a refugee from Belgium in WW1. A timely reminder that no-one leaves their home unless there is absolutely no other option. Clarks employed and housed many of the refugees. And like Tunbridge Wells, also took in Basque children in the late 1930's.

04/06/2026

"The goal is to have the Sablon become a vibrant meeting place where residents, visitors, antique dealers, galleries and markets co-exist."
Is it not that already?
From my perspective, all that's lacking is somewhere to buy a sandwich at 8.15am in preparation for a quick lunch during a heavy session at the Archives de l'État en Belgique 😘 🫣

The City of Brussels has finalised its plan for the redevelopment of the Sablon district, aiming to make the square in the city centre greener, more accessible and more attractive, while respecting its historic character and unique identity.

04/06/2026

It's Gypsy Roma and Traveller Month and I discover that one of the refugee families who passed through Tunbridge Wells during the First World War belonged to this community. They were Jenische from Alsace-Lorraine. Blog post coming soon.

22/05/2026

We're finding many extended family relationships between the refugees who came from Belgium to Tunbridge Wells in WW1.
Just found someone who's the - deep breath - ..mother-in-law of the first cousin 1x removed of the wife of the great-nephew of the wife of another refugee's first cousin 1x removed...

Photo because apparently FB likes them! It's the stunning painting in Folkestone Museum of refugees being welcomed in 1914. Painted by one of the refugees, Fredo Franzoni, it was given to to the Town as a thank you for all the kindness and generosity to the 65,000 Belgian war refugees that passed through Folkestone. Well worth a visit!

18/05/2026

12/05/2026

Back speaking at The London Archives again today 👍.🇧🇪

21/01/2026

Settling down to work in the Local Studies room at The Amelia Scott I thought to myself "I recognise the back of that head!" ❤️