When Germany invaded Belgium on 4th August 1914, more than 1.5 million Belgians (about 20% of the population) fled to The Netherlands, France and Britain. There is no doubt that dreadful atrocities were committed by German troops as they invaded Belgium (such as the killing of hundreds of civilians at Dinant and Leuven), although they were often exaggerated by the British for propaganda purposes, to encourage men to enlist and to try and persuade the United States to enter the war.
The number of Belgian refugees who came to Britain is uncertain, but is probably around 250,000 in total – the largest single influx of refugees in Britain’s history. Most returned to Belgium when the war ended, but a few settled here. Belgian men were not conscripted into the armed forces, but around 60,000 supported the war effort by working in munitions factories and other vital industries. The refugees were, initially at least, welcomed by the British people, and great efforts were made by government, local government, voluntary groups and individuals to help and support them. Sadly the initial welcome often turned to resentment as the war dragged on, and at the end of the war the government was keen to encourage the refugees to return to Belgium.
Around 300 refugees were settled in the Calderdale area, with at least 30 in the Hebden Bridge area, and at least one family lived in Old Town. Seven local women were awarded the Medaille de la Reine Elisabeth for their services to Belgian refugees: Miss M. Lord, Miss Alice Barker, Mrs Ingham, Mrs Frederick Lee, Mrs A. F. Thomas, Mrs Sandbach and Mrs Tatham.
The minutes of a Wainsgate Church Meeting on 27th October 1914 note:
‘That a collection be made on the 2nd Sunday in November in aid of Belgian Refugees, and that boxes be placed in the Chapel and School entrances Sunday by Sunday for voluntary contributions to same fund.’
‘That the Secretary and Treasurer of the Belgian Refugee Committee be asked to take charge of the money collected per above resolution.’
The minutes of the Meeting on 1st December 1914 note:
‘That the money collected for Belgian refugees be handed over to the Treasurer of Hebden Bridge Local Fund.’
There are two Belgian refugees known to be buried in the graveyard at Wainsgate: Eugene Parmentier, who died in 1918 aged 36, and Rosalia Gorrebeeck, who died in 1916 aged 14 months.
Eugene PARMENTIER
Eugene Parmentier was living with his wife Henriette at 1, Callis Cottages, Charlestown at the time of his death. He died on 27th September 1918, aged 36: his death certificate records his occupation as munitions worker and the cause of his death as tuberculosis (larynx and lungs). He was buried on 1st October in plot B206a at Wainsgate, which was bought in 1891 by Herbert Pickles of Stubbins, Hebden Bridge, probably for a child who died in infancy. Herbert died in 1931, and is buried in this plot, together with his wife Sarah Ann, who died in 1949, and their daughter Gertrude May Pickles, who died in 1964.
What was the connection between Eugene Parmentier and Herbert Pickles, and why is he buried in the Pickles family grave?
We don’t know anything about his background or his time in Hebden Bridge (apart from a newspaper report in February 1916 that he was refused a leaving certificate to go to London by the Halifax Munitions Tribunal). Eugene died a few weeks before the Armistice in November 1918: his widow Henriette appears to have returned to Belgium at the end of the war.
Rosalia GORREBEECK
Rosalia Gorrebeeck was the daughter of Maria Elisabeth Gorrebeeck (born De Ranter) and Maurits Hendrik Gorrebeeck, and would have been less than a year old when the family fled from Belgium. They were living at Crabtree Fold, Old Town when Rosalia died on New Year’s Eve 1914, aged 14 months. Her death certificate gives the cause of death as ‘Measles and Dentition Convulsions’, and gives her father’s occupation as ‘fabric worker’.
Rosalia was buried at Wainsgate on 2nd January 1915 (the burial register describes her as ‘Belgian refugee’), but there is no record of exactly where in the graveyard she was buried. It is likely that she was buried in an unmarked ‘common’ or ‘public’ grave: there are several plots which were purchased by Wadsworth Township which were probably used for what used to be known as ‘pauper’s burials’.
We know very little about the family and their background, although their names suggest a Dutch heritage. A local newspaper reported Rosalia’s death:
‘DEATH OF A REFUGEE BABY. Widespread sympathy has been evoked on the Wadsworth hillside and extended to the family of Belgian refugees, residing in a cottage at Old Town, who on Wednesday evening, lost their one-year-old child. Driven from their home in Belgium by the Germans, this family has met with much sickness since they came to Hebden Bridge, and now death has entered their home. These poor people are surely getting more than their share of misfortune.’
The Halifax Weekly Courier reported on 11th March 1916:
‘Marion Garrebeck (sic), a Belgian, of Old Town, Hebden Bridge, was fetching some milk on Monday when she slipped and fractured her leg. She was conveyed to Halifax Infirmary.’
On 21st July 1916, Maria (now living with Maurits at 11, Green Syke, Hebden Bridge) gave birth to a son, Albert. As far as we know they returned to Belgium at the end of the war: they left their daughter buried in the graveyard at Wainsgate, but returned home with a young son born in Hebden Bridge.
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Despite the large number of Belgian refugees who came to this country in such a short period of time (over 16,000 arrived in Folkestone on 14th October 1914), they left little legacy and their story is largely forgotten in Britain. Within a year of the war ending, more than 90% of the refugees had returned to Belgium.
One of the best known Belgians to most British people is Hercule Poirot, the fictional detective created by Agatha Christie, and it is said that she based the character on a Belgian refugee she met in Torquay, possibly Jacques Hornais, a retired police officer.
For more information about Belgian Refugees in the first World War:
Online Centre for Research on Belgian Refugees belgianrefugees.blogspot.com
Tracing the Belgian Refugees belgianrefugees.leeds.ac.uk
WAINSGATE GRAVEYARD PROJECT 