Monthly Archives: July 2017
Paul Vd Kerckhove and the bust of Mayor Whitbourn Emson: by Alison MacKenzie
“A souvenir of the Belgians’ friendship and visit to the town” In 1915 the Belgian Community of Tunbridge Wells commissioned Belgian sculptor Paul Vd Kerckhove, himself a refugee, to make a bust of the town’s Mayor and Chairman of the … Continue reading
Administration and the refugees – a reflection: by Helen Phillimore
As a member of the CREATE Group I volunteered to research a part of the history of the Belgian Refugees who came over to the UK between 1914 – 1919, a number of whom were sent to Tunbridge Wells and … Continue reading
Schooling for the Belgian children: by Alison MacKenzie
In all, 75 Belgian refugee children passed through Tunbridge Wells (though the maximum at any one time was only 35), and arrangements were made with the Borough’s schools to give them free education as required. Some were taught by the … Continue reading
Posted in Research notes
Tagged Albert Le Jeune, Beechwood Sacred Heart School, Carmon, children, classroom, Clayton's Farm, Club Albert, education, Joseph Willems, King Charles the Martyr Boys' School, Lingfield Primary School, Mark Cross Convent, Murray House Church of England School, nuns, Professor Gaston Wolversperges, school, schooling, Skinners School, St Augustine's, St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, teachers, teaching, Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School
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The medical treatment of refugees in Tunbridge Wells, 1914-18: by Carolyn Gray
Additional material by Alison Sandford MacKenzie On 25th September 1914, the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, Charles Whitbourn Emson called a meeting of interested parties to discuss his proposal to open a Municipal Fund and set up a Borough Committee … Continue reading
Posted in Research notes
Tagged Belgian War Relief Committee, compulsory smallpox vaccination, Compulsory Vaccination Act 1853, diphtheria, Dr Claude Wilson, Dr Thomas Clement Guthrie, DTP combined, Edward Jenner, Folkstone, health, Lady Mary Wortley Montague, Mayor Charles Emson, measles, pertussis, smallpox, spa, Susan Power, tetanus, Tunbridge Wells General Hospital, vaccination, whooping cough
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Belgian Lace: by Caroline Auckland
I know for certain that the main piece of lace visible in the above photograph is from Belgium, the rest I have inherited or acquired. A drawer full of aging white fabric and needlepoint has survived mainly because it is … Continue reading
How were the Belgian refugees funded?: by Ken MacKenzie
With the outbreak of the war on 4 August 1914, and the speed of the initial German advance in Belgium, it became quickly clear that there would be a problem of fleeing refugees; on military grounds it was thought desirable … Continue reading
The Belgian Refugees’ links with St Augustine’s Catholic Church: by Terry Farrage and Kenneth MacKenzie
Belgium was and still is a predominantly Catholic country. Although there were a few Protestants among the refugees who came to Tunbridge Wells the overwhelming majority, Flemings and Walloons, were strongly of the Catholic faith. Inevitably they sought out the … Continue reading
Posted in Research notes
Tagged Abbe Josef Peeters, Abbe Louise Lemmens, Antwerp, Beechwood House, Beechwood Sacred Heart School, Belgian Relief Fund, Bidborough Court, Catholicism, Catholics, Lint, Malines, mass, Mayor Hippolyte Meeus, Mechelen, Meeus, Pembury Road, Pump Room, Quarry Hill House, Reverend Canon Keatinge, Society of the Sacred Heart, St Augustine's, VAD Hospital, Wynegem
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Belgians in Southborough: by Fiona Brown
In 1914 Southborough was quite a small village, separated by three miles of open country from the more elegant Tunbridge Wells but very much connected to High Brooms with its Brick Works and Railway station. I am fascinated by the significant … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections, Research notes
Tagged Argyle Road, Armand Van Noyen, Club Albert, Colonel's Way, Crothers VAD Hospital, Denyn family, Ellen Watson, Elvire Meternach, Hawkenbury Cemetery, Josef Denyn, Mount Sion, Pennington Road, Robertina Crothers, Southborough, Van Noyen, Warwick Par
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The Club Albert: by Jan Wright
In November 1914, Belgian Refugees in Tunbridge Wells decided to form a club. They were able to use premises at 32 Calverley Road which belonged to the Constitutional Club, on the first and second floor where Waterstones and Hotter are … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections, Research notes
Tagged Alfred Lacourt, Armand Van Noyen, Auguste Van Obbergen, Burlyon, Calverley Road, Constitutional Club, Ernst Kumps, Eugene Van Den Wijngaerts, H H Spender, Josef Denyn, Joseph Willems, Kings Day, Kosmos Kinema, Mayor Charles Emson, Mayor Hippolyte Meeus, Pantiles, Pierlot, Pump Room, Raes, souvenir album, Van Loven, Wynegem
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Wounded Belgian Heroes in Tonbridge, 1914: by Pam Mills
Following the Siege of Antwerp, many Belgians fled for their lives coming to the UK. On 16th October 1914, a ‘special’ Ambulance train arrived at Tonbridge Station in the early hours of the morning carrying several wounded Belgian soldiers & … Continue reading