Blog

This blog has been adapted from a history of Camden called Curious Camden Town, by Martin Plaut and Andrew Whitehead. The Belgian Connection What was the largest single influx of refugees into Britain? You’ll never get it (unless you’ve read the title to these paragraphs). A quarter-of-a-million Belgians came over...

This extended blog looks at Belgian refugees in the ship-building industry in Cumbria. We were very grateful to have access to data on over 400 Belgians from the Cumbria Archive Service, which can be accessed via our database. A lot can be learned from this dataset, taken from the records...

This month our blog contributor is Karin McLean-Vandeputte, who shares her family history with us. Her ancestors’ records can be found in our database. Belgian Refugees in Barton-St-David, Somerset Leon Vandeputte (1876-1959), butcher, lived with his wife Marie Louise Deseck (1880-1969) and his two children, Anna (1906-2002) and Valere (1907-2007)...

This month’s blog has kindly been contributed by Judith Hewitt, Manager of the Devil’s Porridge Museum in Dumfries and Galloway. “In him we have lost a very able and gallant gentleman, as well as a friend who endeared himself to all” – Mr G Batley Godwin, Manager in Mossband Farewell...

This month we hear from Curator Lucy Moore about looking for Belgian refugees at Leeds Museums. Over the last five years, Leeds Museum & Galleries has been commemorating the First World War with a wide variety of displays and exhibitions. We’ve tried to represent the wide variety of wartime experiences...

This month’s blog comes from Kieran Taylor. Kieran is a second year PhD student at the University of Stirling. His research focuses on the history of Belgian Refugees in Glasgow and considers the role of Glasgow Corporation as an administrator. His research is funded by Glasgow Life and the University...

This month we hear from James Buckman of the Spalding Gentlemen’s Society about accusations of fraud in the Belgian refugee community in Spalding during the Great War. When refugees from the invaded country of Belgium started to arrive in Britain seeking help and support, the Rev. Prior Clement Tyck, a...

This month’s blog has been kindly put together by Graham Bradshaw of the Halifax Great War Heritage Society. You can find out more about the Halifax project here. Belgian Refugees in Halifax: Dr Hector Jules Masquelier and Margret Crabeels There were around 300 Belgian Refugees staying in the Halifax area...

  The first blog of 2019 comes from Peter Bareau, who has researched the life of his grandfather, Louis Bareau. Louis, a widower, came to England from Antwerp in 1914 with his son Paul (Peter’s father) and daughter Simone. Unlike most Belgian refugees, they stayed on after the war was over.  Paul...

This month the blog comes from a little closer to the project’s home. Many thanks to Lynda Kitching, secretary of the Friends of Beckett Street Cemetery in Leeds, for sharing with us her findings on Belgian refugee Joanna Cools. Joanna came to the city in 1914 and sadly never made it...