Farewell Harry
The branch was greatly saddened to learn of the death of former President and Chair Harry More MBE on 13 February 2015. Harry served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and took part in the Normandy campaign. After the war, he settled in Belgium, married Denise and worked for the British Embassy and EuroControl. Colin Puplett spoke for all in his tribute: “The image that will remain in our memories will be that of a man of great integrity; upright, discreet, cheerful and generous. He was nice man, a great man, a real gentleman.” Harry’s story was told in the April 2015 edition of The Wipers Times.
Tommo: an example to all
Mark Thomas
The branch expressed its condolences following the death of ex-Falklands RAF veteran Mark Thomas, who passed away on 26 March 2015 aged 53. Known as “Tommo”, Mark joined the branch in 2010. He was an active member of the Welfare Committee and a Deputy Standard Bearer, as well as Chair of British United Football Club. Paying tribute in The Wipers Times, Brenda Puplett wrote: “His strength of character during the last few months of his life, when he was putting up a brave fight against cancer, which he knew to be terminal, was an example for us all.”
Charlotte is the toast
The commemorations at Hotton and La Roche-en-Ardenne on 3 May 2015 coincided with the build-up to the 70th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day. Abbé Herman Kusola and the Reverend Ann Babb conducted the service at Eglise Notre-Dame, with Ann seizing the opportunity to mention a new Royal arrival on 2 May, Princess Charlotte, daughter of HRH Prince William and his wife Catherine. Ambassador Alison Rose, President Andrew Fisher, Burgomaster Jacques Chaplier and local schoolchildren gave readings. The commemoration continued at Hotton War Cemetery where Colonel François Roberti-Lintermans gave the address. The commune held a reception at the sports hall, where branch members Jacqueline Daugnaix-Whitfield, Flore Empringham and Terry Ann Kemp sold RBL memorabilia. Rev Babb also led a short ceremony at La Roche, where Alan Puplett and Burgomaster Guy Gilloteaux gave addresses. Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux was impeccable as ever.
Fenton Wiffen preparing to lay the wreath at Neufchateau
Ceremony at fort
President Andrew Fisher and member Fenton Wiffen took part in a ceremony at the Fort d’Aubin Neufchateau on 8 May 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of VE Day. They laid a wreath with two schoolchildren. The fort held out for 11 days after the German invasion of Belgium. Without Belgium’s stout resistance, Germany might have thwarted the Dunkirk evacuation.
Rainer Hiltermann, René Collin, Andrew Fisher and Alison Rose
Tribute at Rebecq
Member Wilfred Burie invited the branch to attend a ceremony on 27 May 2015 at the Rebecq memorial which honours five RAF aircrew whose Lancaster was shot down on 28 May 1944. The memorial also commemorates members of the Belgian resistance who helped a crew member evade capture and provided medical assistance to another. President Andrew Fisher and member Rainer Hiltermann, representing the German Embassy, laid wreaths with Ambassador Alison Rose and Walloon Minister René Collin, among others. Guests at the commemoration included Wing Commander Jack Harris DFC, who flew 37 raids with 550 Squadron in 1944-45.
Pierre and wife Jeanine
Salute to Pierre
Pierre Campion, a member of the committee for 10 years and who served in the Royal Navy during the Normandy landings, passed away on 22 May 2015. Pierre, a fleetmaster for the Petrofina oil company who lived in Oostduinkerke, ran the Friends of the Fallen team. Every November he would place over 100 poppy crosses in war cemeteries along the coast from De Panne to Knokke. Alan Puplett paid tribute to him in The Wipers Times.
Trainee Alan
Alan Puplett, in his capacity as trainee Standard Bearer, attended the D-Day commemorations on 6 June 2015 at Caen Memorial, Bayeux Cathedral and the war cemetery.
Message from the crypt
Brigadier Andrew Fisher led the branch commemoration at Evere on 27 June 2015. As in previous years, the ceremony started at the Waterloo Campaign Monument. The Reverend Ann Babb read out a poem engraved in the Monument crypt, with the opening line “Peace to thy soul, and blissful glory crown thy shade, O brave and virtuous Hero!” She also conducted the service at the war cemetery. The bugle was played by Rosi Hingsammer. The Standard Bearer was Freddy Roiseux.
Kinnith at a branch lunch
Ken’s war
Kennith Schrijvers told his story in the October 2015 edition of The Wipers Times, recalling his childhood in Ypres in the aftermath of the First World War, his time in the Belgian Army, as a POW in Poland, and serving as a medic in the US 7th Armoured Division in the Ardennes. After the war Kennith became a police officer. He died on 31 March 2016, aged 95 (obituary).
Squadron Leader Edward Hearn DFC
Edward Hearn DFC
Tributes were paid to former member Squadron Leader Edward Hearn DFC, who died on 29 August 2015, aged 94. Hearn, born in Folkestone, Kent, joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) in January 1941 and began training as a pilot in Canada. In March 1943, he joined No 50 Squadron at Waddington where he flew as a bomb aimer during the Battle of the Ruhr.
On the night of 28-29 June 1943, his Lancaster was severely damaged by anti-aircraft fire near Cologne. The cockpit shattered, temporarily blinding the pilot, Sergeant Cecil Wilkie, who managed to stay at the controls. Hearn was hit by shrapnel in his left arm but released the bombs, earning him the DFC and Wilkie received the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.
After recovering from his wounds, Hearn returned to No 50 Squadron as the bombing leader. On August 7 1944, he was shot down near Honfleur in Normandy but managed to bail out. He was sheltered for three weeks by villagers in Marais-Vernier until being rescued by British troops. He was awarded a Bar to his DFC for “unflagging zeal, courageous bearing and coolness in face of the enemy”.
After service in India, he left the RAF in September 1946 and managed building projects before working for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in France. Later he was a partner with a British firm in Brussels. In 1947, he returned to France to thank those who had sheltered him and met his future wife, Paule. They married in 1949. Hearn was Chair of the RAF Escaping Society (RAFES) in Belgium and President of the Brussels branch of RAFA (Royal Air Forces Association). He was survived by Paule and their two sons.
Princesses honour Cavell
Members attended the unveiling of a bust of nurse Edith Cavell in Parc Montjoie, Uccle, on 12 October 2015 to mark the 100th anniversary of her execution. The monument was unveiled by HRH Princess Anne and Belgium’s Princess Astrid. The bust was the work of the Belgian artist Nathalie Lambert. Andrée Dumon, a member of the Comète Line, was a guest of honour at the ceremony.
The monument in Uccle's Parc Montjoie
Princess Anne with Andrée Dumon of the Comète Line and Nathalie Lambert
(Andrew Brown, Belgian Edith Cavell Commemoration Group)
Belgian Memorial Day
The branch was represented at a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to mark Belgian Memorial Day on 24 October 2015. President Andrew Fisher joined Ambassador Alison Rose and Holy Trinity Lay Reader David Fieldsend in reading out the names of 500 of the 33,000 British soldiers who fell in 1915. Branch member Ron Aston read the names of Canadian casualties. The names of Indian, French, German and Belgian casualties, including those who were deported and civilians who were shot, were also remembered. Membership Secretary Jean-Pierre Pede signed the Belgian National Remembrance Committee livre d’or.
Trinity service
Reverend Canon John Wilkinson conducted the Remembrance Sunday service at the pro-Cathedral of Holy Trinity in Brussels on 8 November 2015. Wreaths were laid by Ambassador Alison Rose, Australian Ambassador Mark Higgie and his wife Zoë Colvin, Northern Ireland Office Deputy Head Brian Smart, US Defence Attaché Colonel Peter Scammel and Air Commodore John Maas CBE. Branch Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux and Jean-Pierre Blankaert of RAFA, together with bugler Rosi Hingsamer and organist Heather Charlton, performed their duties with aplomb.
Christmas treat
Musician David Cage, son of member Rosemary Pallett, gave a moving interpretation of We’ll Meet Again at the branch Christmas lunch on 14 December 2015 at Le St Hubert, the new venue for branch socials since the closure of Les Brasseries Rustiques.
Princess Marie de Croÿ (National Portrait Gallery)
Courage remembered
Andrée Ferrant, Jean-Pierre Pede and Freddy Roiseux represented the branch at the opening of an exhibition on the life and death of Edith Cavell and Philippe Baucq at the Bibliothèque Hergé in Etterbeek on 7 January 2016. The event, opened by Deputy Mayor Max Irving and organised with the Belgian Edith Cavell Commemoration Group, was also attended by Ambassador Alison Rose. Cavell and Brussels architect Philippe Baucq were executed in Schaerbeek on 12 October 1915 for helping allied soldiers escape to the Netherlands. The exhibition also highlighted other courageous figures in Belgian escape networks including Princess Marie de Croÿ, her brother Prince Réginald, head of the YORC network, teacher Louise Thuliez, mining engineer Herman Capiau and chemist Louis Séverin. Thuliez and Marie de Croÿ also helped allied soldiers escape in the Second World War.
Gestapo cellars listed
The cellars where prisoners were tortured in the former Gestapo headquarters at 453 Avenue Louise, the requisitioned Résidence Belvédère, were given listed status by Brussels Capital Region on 14 January 2016. The building was attacked by Jean de Sélys Longchamps, a Belgian serving in the RAF, on 20 January 1943. After the raid the Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo), Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and Gestapo moved to 347 Avenue Louise, which was also listed. Prisoners in both buildings left inscriptions on the cellar walls.
Légion d’Honneur for Fred
Members were delighted to learn at the committee meeting on 19 January 2016 that Normandy veteran Fred Hobbs had been awarded the Légion d’Honneur.
Committee 2016
The committee in 2016 was as follows. President: Andrew Fisher. Chair: Ed Read Cutting, Vice-Chair: Colin Puplett, Treasurer: Paul Boorman, Secretary: Andrée Ferrant, Welfare Secretary: Brenda Puplett, Membership Secretary: Jean-Pierre Pede, Events Coordinator: Kate Andrews, Poppy Appeal Organiser: Ann Morley, History & Website: Greg Ruthven, Newsletter: Michael Whitburn, Friends of the Fallen: Jacqueline Daugnaix-Whitfield, Public Relations: Paulina Robbins van Rijn, Standard Bearers: Freddy Roiseux and Alan Puplett, Chaplain: the Reverend Ann Babb.
Tea in a tank
The development of the tank –designed to break the deadlock of trench warfare – was the subject of an article by Colonel François Roberti-Lintermans in the April 2016 edition of The Wipers Times. The Mark I tank first went into action at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916. Each tank had an indispensable piece of equipment, a tin attached to the exhaust which was filled with water to make tea. “Dans l’armée Britannique, on ne part pas au combat sans thé,” explained François.
Claire’s memories
Claire Whitfield looked back on her life in the April 2016 edition of The Wipers Times, following the Liberation and her marriage to Flight Sgt Stanley Whitfield. The couple lived initially with Stanley’s family in Durham where Claire picked up a North-East accent she never lost. “It was so cold there I’d always sit as close to the fire as possible,” she laughed. Work was scarce after the war and the couple returned to Belgium where Stanley worked for Claire’s father. Their twin daughters, Patricia and Jacqueline, were born at this time. Unfortunately, the factory where Stanley was working burnt down and the couple moved back to Britain. Sadly, Stanley died from a brain tumour in 1963, aged just 43. Claire later married her widowed brother-in-law Billy Charlton, who was a wireless operator on Halifax bombers during the war. She was widowed a second time in 1977. Claire returned to Brussels in 1982 and worked as a buyer for Procter & Gamble. After retiring in 1985, a friend introduced her to the British Legion club in Schaerbeek and she quickly became an enthusiastic committee member. She had particularly fond memories of Reg Whitburn and Freddie Townsend. “They were real gentlemen – I miss them so much,” said Claire.
A fabulous 80th birthday celebration for Claire Whitfield
with her twin daughters, Jacqueline (left) and Patricia
RAF memorials
The branch was represented by Andrée Ferrant, Jean-Pierre Pede and Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux at the unveiling of new memorials at Jalhay and Bérinzenne on 9 April 2016. Both memorials commemorate RAF aircrews shot down in 1944.
Raid tribute
Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux took part in a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Zeebrugge Raid at St Donatian Church (Sint-Donaaskerk) on 17 April 2016. Within the churchyard, the Zeebrugge Memorial commemorates four Royal Navy men who have no known grave.
Oak gift
President Andrew Fisher welcomed members for the annual commemoration at Hotton on 8 May 2016, announcing plans to offer the commune an oak tree and wooden bench as a memento of its enduring relationship with the branch. Abbé Herman Kusola and Reverend Ann Babb conducted the service at Eglise Notre-Dame. Ambassador Alison Rose and Pauline Robbins van Rijn gave readings. Ann also led the service at Hotton War Cemetery and at the 51st (Highland) Division memorial at La Roche-en-Ardenne.
Enclos des Fusillés
The branch was strongly represented at a ceremony in the presence of King Philippe at l’Enclos des Fusillés in Schaerbeek on 29 May 2016. The site, in the grounds of the former Tir National shooting range, was used by the Germans in both world wars for executions. Among those who faced the firing squad in the First World War were Edith Cavell and Gabrielle Petit. Youra Livchitz, who helped free Jewish deportees after stopping a train from Mechelen bound for Auschwitz, was executed with his brother Alexandre in February 1944. Freddy Roiseux was among the Standard Bearers. Branch representatives included Colonel François Roberti-Lintermans, Andrée Ferrant, Colin and Brenda Puplett, Jean-Pierre Pede and Ethel Pede-Moffatt.
Pegasus Bridge
Alan Puplett represented the branch as Standard Bearer at Pegasus Bridge, Ranville and Arromanches at the 72nd anniversary D-Day commemorations on 5-6 June 2016. “My thoughts were especially with Harry Shaw MBE, Jack Whittle, Reg Whitburn MBE, Ken Bowring, Albert Bove, Arthur Empringham, Harry More MBE, Freddy Townsend OBE, Pierre Campion and other past members,” he recalled.
Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux on duty at Evere
Evere 2016
The annual commemoration at the war cemetery and Waterloo Campaign Monument in Evere on 25 June 2016 attracted a large turnout. Wreaths were laid by Alan Campbell, successor to Katrina Johnson as Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy, Vice-Chair Colin Puplett, Erich d’Hulster and Eric Johnson with daughter Kathleen. The ceremonies were led by Reverend Canon Dr Paul Vrolijk. Jean-Pierre Pede and Willy Van Damme, representing the commune of Etterbeek, read names of the fallen and Rosi Hingsamer played the Last Post. The Standard Bearers were Freddy Roiseux for the branch and Jean-Claude Favresse for the National Federation of Belgian Veterans.
Student visits
Flore Empringham, Claire Whitfield and Roger Ellis were three of the older branch members visited by students from the International School of Brussels (ISB) as part of their creativity, action and service project. Flore recalled her experience in the July 2016 issue of The Wipers Times: “Gradually it became a habit to have traditional English tea at 5pm. He could have been another grandson to me and I was told I was like an extra grandma. This has been an enriching experience for both of us.”
Escapes and scrapes
Long-standing member Commandant Fernand Delcourt told his story in the October 2016 edition of The Wipers Times. Serving in the 1e Régiment des Guides in May 1940, he recalled how Belgium, with only eight tanks in total spread across the country, was no match for the Germans. Fernand’s tank was hit by an 88mm artillery gun and two of the crew were killed. Fernand was wounded but managed to escape to Montpellier in unoccupied France. He returned to Belgium in August 1941, initially working for the Red Cross and then as secretary to Colonel Emile Gilbert, former chef de cabinet to Lieutenant-Général Henri Denis, Minister for National Defence. Gilbert was arrested in July 1942 and Fernand was forced to go into hiding, sheltered by the monks at Orval Abbey, before escaping to Britain thanks to the Comet Line.
Fernand, aged 19 in the Régiment des Guides
Fernand with Ethel Pede-Moffatt (left) and Andrée Ferrant at the
72nd anniversary of the Liberation of Brussels in September 2016
Fantastic trio
Chairing the AGM on 18 October 2016, Colin Puplett announced that three committee members had stepped down: Ed Read Cutting, branch Chair since 2006, Reverend Ann Babb, Chaplain, and Paulina Robbins van Rijn, responsible for public relations, following her move back to the UK. Colin thanked all three for their fantastic work for the branch. Now based in Kent, Ed Read Cutting remains an active member of the RBL at its Goudhurst branch.
Michael returns
Despite his frail health, former Membership Secretary Michael Rose returned to attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Pro-Cathedral of Holy Trinity on 13 November 2016. Wreaths were laid by Ambassador Alison Rose, Australian Ambassador Mark Higgie, Heidi-Beth Hudson, Senior EU Liaison Officer at the Northern Ireland Office, Colonel Peter Scammel for the US Embassy and Air Commodore John Maas with Michel de Norman for RAFA. The Standard Bearers were Freddy Roiseux and Alan Pulpett, for the branch, Jean-Pierre Blanquart of RAFA and Jean-Claude Favresse for the FNC (Fédération Nationale des Combattants).
Léon's war
Léon Rubin was the subject of the “All About Me” feature in the January 2017 edition of The Wipers Times. Although he was a Swiss national and only 15, Léon wanted to join the Belgian forces in Britain when Belgium was invaded. In 1943, he was arrested after crossing the border into Spain. Claiming to be British, he was freed and eventually reached Britain via Gibraltar, serving in the Belgian section of the RAF. After the war, he acquired Belgian citizenship and worked in the watch business. He also served as a squadron auxiliary in the air force from 1949 to 1957, ending his military career with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel Aviateur. He made his first parachute drop aged 73 with his grand-daughter Audrey and they did it again when he was 90. Léon passed away in Waterloo on 16 June 2023, aged 97 (Remembering Léon Rubin).
Noël's book, a best-seller
Noël Anselot: a life well-lived
Long-standing member Noël Anselot passed away on 12 January 2017, aged 92. Born in Liège on 12 June 1924, Noël was an Agent de Renseignement et d’Action (ARA), with the rank of Adjutant, during the Second World War. In December 1944, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 4th Infantry Brigade, the Grenadiers ‘Steenstraete’, and was decorated with the Croix de guerre avec Palme.
After the war, he began a career in the media, initially in Belgium and then as London correspondent for Belga. He also wrote for The Economist and Foreign Report. He later worked in the oil industry, becoming Director of BP Belgium/Luxembourg and Managing Director of ELF Belgium, before founding his own company, Oil Exchange SA.
Noël returned to writing in later life, producing 10 books including Cuisine d'Ardenne, Famenne et Gaume and Ces Belges Qui Ont Fait La France, a best-seller. He was the founder of the “Village du Livre” at his weekend home of Redu, which continues to hold an annual book festival. He was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur by President Jacques Chirac in recognition of his contribution to culture. He married Joan Crawhaw, a British university teacher and former member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), during the war. The couple had seven children, two of whom pre-deceased him. His funeral took place at the Pro-Cathedral of Holy Trinity in Brussels.
Aviation pioneer Edmond Thieffry
Thieffry's flying feats remembered
Branch members attended a ceremony on 27 January 2017 at the Edmond Thieffry Monument, commemorating the First World War air ace and aviation pioneer. Almost 100 years to the day earlier, Thieffry took off from an airfield near Dunkirk, carrying four Belgian flags weighted with bags of earth from the last part of unoccupied Belgium. Flying over Brussels, Thieffry dropped the first flag near the Cathedral and the others over his old school, the Collège St Michel in Etterbeek, and the homes of his parents and future wife, Madeleine, with a “billet doux” attached: “Un bien affectueux bonjour à ma fiancée bien-aimée.” In 1925, Thieffry, together with co-pilot Léopold Roger and mechanic Jeff De Bruycker, set off from Haren bound for the Congolese capital of Léopoldville (Kinshasa), a distance of 8,200 km. Crossing unchartered territory, the crew overcame sandstorms and mechanical problems but finally reached their destination after 51 days. Thieffry was killed making another daring flight in 1929, when his plane was brought down by a hurricane near Lake Tanganyika. The monument was inaugurated in 1932 and a Brussels metro station also bears his name. Léon Rubin, Freddy Roiseux, Jean-Pierre Pede, Ethel Pede-Moffatt and Andrée Ferrant represented the branch and laid a wreath at the ceremony.
Farewell, Fred
The branch received the sad news that Normandy veteran Fred Hobbs had passed away on 2 March 2017. He was 92. A holder of the Legion d’Honneur, he served with the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), the Royal Artillery and Middlesex Regiment. Fred, who took part in the liberation of Antwerp and the Ardennes campaign, told his story in January 2016 edition of The Wipers Times. He left a widow, Ivy, and son. Five standard bearers of the “Anciens Combattants” were present at his funeral. Welfare Committee Chairman Colin Puplett read the eulogy and Exhortation.
Link with youth
Belgian Air Force veteran and member Peter van den Broeck wrote about Laakdal’s Remembrance Committee in the April 2017 edition of The Wipers Times. He described how the commune worked with schools, sponsoring visits to battlefields and the former Nazi camp at Fort Breendonk, guided by an ex-prisoner. Belgian military personnel also took part in classroom Q&As.
Envoys at Hotton
Ambassador Alison Rose and her Canadian counterpart Olivier Nicoloff joined members for the annual commemoration at Hotton on 7 May 2017. The service at Notre Dame was conducted by Père Herman Kusola and new branch Chaplain, the Reverend Canon John Wilkinson. The Bible readings were by Kate Andrews, Andrée Ferrant and Jean-Pierre Pede. The two Ambassadors, President Brigadier Andrew Fisher and Burgomaster Jacques Chaplier laid wreaths at the memorial outside the church. Later, at the war cemetery, Colonel Francois Roberti-Lintermans made a poignant appeal for peace. The ceremonies continued at La Roche-en-Ardenne, where a wreath was laid by Burgomaster Guy Giloteaux, accompanied by a delegation of fire fighters. Piper Jean-Louis Vandewinkel played the lament.
Reverend Canon John Wilkinson, François Roberti-Lintermans
and Ambassador Alison Rose at Hotton in May 2017
Evere 2017
Reverend Canon John Wilkinson led ceremonies at the Waterloo Campaign Monument and war cemetery in Evere on 24 June 2017. Ron Aston read the Exhortation at the monument and wreaths were laid by Charlotte Hunter, British Embassy Second Secretary, and William Andrews, son of Events Coordinator Kate Andrews. Jean-Claude Favresse, Standard Bearer for the FNC (Fédération Nationale des Combattants), stood in for Freddy Roiseux who could not attend. Jean-Pierre Pede read out names of the Fallen at the war cemetery, where wreaths were laid by Charlotte Hunter, Wilfred Burie, Chair of the Rebecq Memorial, Erich d’Hulster, for the Belgian para-commandos, and the grandson of Myriam Wraith, the branch’s late Secretary.
Poster promoting the British Day
Ethel, Andrée, Brenda, Erich, Jean-Pierre and Colin at Boom
British Day in Boom
Members took part in the “British Day at Boom” celebrations on 2 September 2017, commemorating the town’s liberation on 4 September 1944 by the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (Normandy footage). British food, whisky and gin tasting, 1940s music, British classic cars, board games, and London taxis were all part of the fun. The Brits were in Boom for two weeks in 1944 – and clearly made an impression because 21 local girls went on to marry British soldiers. Lieutenant Colonel David Silvertop DSO MC, commander of regiment which liberated the town, was sadly killed during Operation Market Garden. A memorial was inaugurated in his memory. A second ceremony was held across the River Rupel at the Tank Monument in Klein-Willebroek. The branch was represented at the ceremonies by Andrée Ferrant, Colin and Brenda Puplett, Erich d’Hulster, Jean-Pierre Pede and Ethel Pede-Moffatt.
Women’s sacrifice
The branch was represented at Belgian Memorial Day on 22 September 2017, when the accent was on the role of women during the First World War. Women representing civil society in Belgium and other countries read out the names of civilian and military victims as well as deportees in 1917. Anne Coppieters 't Wallant read the poignant last letter sent home by Léonie Rammeloo, a 27-year-old passeur, just before she and her friend Emilie Schatteman were executed.
Stopped counting
Paul Boorman, Treasurer for 13 years, stepped down in September 2017. “He kept us on the financial straight and narrow year in and year out, producing flawless annual accounts and providing us with advice and guidance when we needed it. His presence on the committee, his highly qualified guidance and ready wit will be much missed,” said President Andrew Fisher. Sally Baxter too up the reins as his successor.
Roger after receiving his Légion d'Honneur
Honour for honest Roger, 99
Branch member Roger Ellis, 99, was invested with the Légion d’Honneur in a ceremony conducted by Capitaine de Frégate Stéphane Lamour de Caslou at the French Ambassador’s Residence on 25 October 2017. Roger was 25 when he landed on Sword Beach. He served in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. He was joined at the ceremony by his daughter and two sons, as well as branch members. Asked for the secret of his longevity, he replied: “Never tell lies.”
Cream of the crop
The Welfare Committee held a cream tea at St Anthony’s Church Hall in Kraainem on 23 October 2017, a first which proved an instant success. The Military Wives’ Choir Belgium performed for the attendees.
Andrée and Fernand laying the branch wreath at Gare Centrale
First class
Andrée Ferrant and Fernand Delcourt laid a wreath at the Monument aux Cheminots at Gare Centrale on 10 November 2017. Created by sculptor Fernand Débonnaire, the monument commemorates Belgian railway workers killed during the First and Second World Wars. Another ceremony took place at the Place de l’Albertine next to the statues of King Albert and Queen Elisabeth, followed by a reception at the City Hall. The events coincided with the arrival of the British Torch of Remembrance.
Halifax tragedy
Jacqueline Daugnaix-Whitfield laid a wreath on behalf of the branch on 12 November 2017 at a memorial honouring 14 Australian and French airmen killed when two Halifax bombers crashed near Thynes on 21 November 1944.
The Dumon sisters: Belgian Resistance heroines
Micheline (‘Michou’) Dumon, a notable figure in the Belgian Resistance with her sister Andrée, died at her home in Saint-Siffret, France, on 16 November 2017, aged 97. The pair were couriers for the Ligne Comète (Comet Line), which helped hundreds of allied airmen and soldiers to escape from occupied Belgium in the Second World War. Micheline married Pierre Ugeux, a French major in the Special Operations Executive, in 1945 and later became president of the Amicale Comète, the group of former Comet agents. She was survived by two daughters, Nicole and Brigitte, and a son, Guy. Another son, Stefan, predeceased her.
Micheline and her husband Pierre Ugeux on their wedding day
Sister Andrée ('Nadine')
Andrée speaking in a TV documentary about the Ligne Comète
in October 2022 when she was 100 years old
Micheline’s sister Andrée (‘Nadine’) was betrayed and arrested with their parents Eugène et Marie in August 1942. Tortured at St Gilles prison, Andrée was deported and ended up in Ravensbrück and Mauthausen before being liberated. Andrée married Gustave Antoine, built a successful textile business and had two children. She published her memoir, Je ne vous ai pas oubliés (I have not forgotten you), in 2018. She died in Nivelles on 30 January 2025, aged 102. She was survived by her son Jean.
Never too late to join
Membership Secretary Jean-Pierre Pede informed the committee that 92-year-old Jean Carlier had joined the branch following its Spring Tea on 19 March 2018.
Andrew bows out
Brigadier Andrew Fisher, President since 2006, stood down in March 2018. He also served as Acting Chair for 18 months. Paying tribute to Andrew, Welfare Committee Chair Colin Puplett said: “He will be remembered for instilling a sense of comradeship and team spirit, his sense of humour and ensuring that the branch committee had a clear description of each member’s duties and responsibilities. Andrew was not afraid to discuss difficult questions such as what to do to counter the falling branch membership … or how social media could be used to promote the Brussels branch. He was a champion of ensuring that HQ were well aware of the particular conditions in which overseas branches operated.”
Looking back on his tenure, Andrew said: “I was living in Eupen [near the German border] and enjoyed coming over each month for our meetings. I remember the strong sense of comradeship among the members. They were very close to each other and a very efficient group who did a great job looking after the British veterans. I was proud to represent the branch.” As well as leading many commemorative events, Andrew was also an an enthusiastic historian and an accomplished cartoonist whose works often appeared in The Wipers Times.
One of Andrew's cartoons, from the July 2015 edition of The Wipers Times
Darren takes over the helm
Commodore Darren Bone was elected as the branch’s new Chair on 26 March 2018, succeeding Andrew Fisher who had held down the dual roles of President and latterly Acting Chair. With over 33 years in uniform, Darren was appointed Secretary to the NATO Military Committee in July 2017 and was previously Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands, based in the Falklands. During a varied career, both at sea and in strategic planning, he also served in the Ministry of Defence, the UK’s Joint Headquarters, Afghanistan, and worldwide on maritime operations. Among the highlights of his career was navigating the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Darren moved to Brussels with Jessica, his wife of 30 years and a former WRNS officer, whom he met when both were training at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.
Commodore Darren Bone
Committee 2018
The branch committee in 2018 was as follows. President: Andrew Fisher. Chair: Commodore Darren Bone, Treasurer: Sally Baxter, Secretary: Andrée Ferrant, Membership Coordinator: Jean-Pierre Pede, Welfare Committee Chair: Colin Puplett, Welfare Secretary: Brenda Puplett, Poppy Appeal Organiser: Ann Morley, Newsletter Coordinator: Michael Whitburn, Electronic Communications: Alan Puplett, Friends of the Fallen: Jacqueline Daugnaix-Whitfield, Events Coordinator: Kate Andrews, Chaplain: Canon John Wilkinson, Standard Bearers: Freddy Roiseux, Jean-Pierre Blanckaert, 2nd Standard Bearer: Alan Puplett, Website and Historian: Greg Ruthven.
Farewell, Fernand
Long-serving Brussels-born member Commandant Fernand Delcourt passed away on 2 March 2019 at the age of 98. He was pre-deceased by his wife Thérese.
Zeebrugge commemoration
Chair Commodore Darren Bone laid a wreath to mark the centenary of the Zeebrugge Raid (23 April 1918). HRH The Princess Royal and Terry Whittles, the Legion’s National Chair, attended the commemoration. The Royal Navy lost nearly 600 dead and wounded in the attack on a U-boat base when a smokescreen was blown offshore. On 9 May 1918, a second raid on Ostend was hampered by sea fog. Despite the heavy losses and questionable gains, both raids demonstrated daring, with the award of eight Victoria Crosses (VCs) at Zeebrugge and three at Ostend.
Farewell, Joan
Joan Anselot-Crawshaw, widow of Noël Anselot, passed away on 6 May 2018. She was 94. Joan served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and 602nd Company of the Royal Army Service Corps Northern Ireland Command during the Second World War. She was married to Noël for 71 years. The funeral took place at the Pro-Cathedral of Holy Trinity in Brussels, to which the Anselots donated a stained-glass window above the entrance doors. Joan was laid to rest in Redu.
Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux and Commodore Darren Bone at La Roche
Hotton 2018
The annual commemorations at Hotton and La Roche on 6 May 2018 were blessed with superb weather, ensuring a larger than usual turnout. The branch delegation was led by Chair Darren Bone and Andrew Fisher. The church service was conducted by Père Herman Kusola and Canon John Wilkinson. Andrée Ferrant, Jean-Pierre Pede and Alan Campbell, representing the British Embassy, gave readings. Colonel François Roberti-Lintermans gave the address at the war cemetery.
Poppy Red
Commodore Darren Bone and Reverend Canon John Wilkinson led the annual commemoration at Evere on 16 June 2018. The war cemetery looked at its best with all the rose bushes in bloom. The Military Wives Choir Belgium sang Poppy Red, a specially commissioned work, recorded on their new album to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War. Wreaths were laid by Sabine Platteuw, representing the Ambassador, and Air Commodore John Maas for RAFA.
BBQ success
The Welfare Committee hosted a successful fund-raising barbecue in the gardens of Saint Anthony’s Church Hall in Kraainem on 9 July 2018. Nearly 50 members and supporters enjoyed the event. George Bowring was chef de cuisine and Denise More’s savoury egg dish was a hit. Margaret Lysak encouraged everyone to join in a sing-song
Tributes to Michael Rose
Members paid warm tributes to Michael Rose, former Membership Secretary and Vice-Chair, who passed away in Béziers, France, on 19 July 2018. He was awarded the RBL Golden Badge in 2013 for services to the branch for over 30 years. Despite being a Scot, Michael enlisted in Belgium’s Para-Commandos and served in Rwanda-Burundi with fellow member Erich d’Hulster. “He was an intelligent, courteous, meticulous person, with a great sense of fun. He will always remain in our hearts,” said Erich. Michael was also Vice-Commodore of the Brussels Yacht Club. Secretary Andrée Ferrant wrote: “Michael was a man of the sea, a passionate sailor who loved to participate in regattas. But his family came always first: his dear wife Siodhbhra and their son Gordon to whom he was devoted.”
Brenda Knight
The branch was also saddened by news of the death of Brenda Ghislain Knight on 26 July 2018, at the age of 101. Brenda served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) during the Second World War. On her centenary, Brenda received a signed photo from the King and Queen of the Belgians, and a telegram and photo from Buckingham Palace.
74th anniversary
Andrée Ferrant, Alain Brogniez, Ethel Pede-Moffatt and Jean-Pierre Pede represented the branch at the 74th anniversary commemoration of the Liberation of Brussels on 3 September 2018. Andrée laid a wreath at the City Hall.
European tribute
Darren Bone, Jean-Pierre Pede and Freddy Roiseux represented the branch at the fifth Belgian Memorial Day, marking the centenary of each year of the First World War, on 21 September 2018. The ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier commemorated all victims, military and civilian. The British, US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Ambassadors, as well as Military Attachés representing India, South Africa and Germany, gave readings. The event was held under the patronage of the European Parliament, whose President Antonio Tajani sent a message. Jean-Pierre signed the Belgian National Remembrance Committee livre d’or, together with Général-major Pierre Neirinckx, representing King Philippe, Colonel Jean-Pierre Schellekens, the Remembrance Committee’s President, Denis Leponce, Maître d’Armes, Delphine Scelles-Hocquard, soprano, and Charles Houtart, Administrator.
Pupletts step down
Colin and Brenda Puplett stepped down as Chair and Secretary of the Welfare Committee on 8 October 2018, citing frustration over the RBL’s financial rules which were not, in their view, sufficiently adapted to the needs of overseas branches. Chair Darren Bone thanked the couple for their dedication and energy over nearly 14 years, and especially their determination to tackle the threat of social isolation among elderly members. Darren also praised Colin’s brother Alan, the branch’s former Deputy Standard Bearer and electronic communications coordinator, who also decided to step down.
NATO Poppy Appeal launch
Chair Darren Bone launched the 2018 Poppy Appeal at the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels on 23 October 2018. The purpose-built HQ, on the site of Belgium’s first airfield, covers 254,000 square metres and was designed to accommodate nearly 4,000 military and civilian staff. The outer glass and steel structure, resembling interlocking fingers, symbolises NATO unity. The launch, boosted by the presence of the Military Wives’ Choir Belgium, was a great success.
Heverlee hosts centenary
Heverlee war cemetery was the setting for the branch’s Remembrance Sunday service on 11 November 2018, which coincided with the centenary of the Armistice. Chair Darren Bone and Reverend Canon John Wilkinson led the multinational commemoration, which attracted a strong turnout including the Military Wives’ Choir Belgium and representatives of the scouts and guides. Darren thanked Kate Andrews and Andrée Ferrant for their flawless organisation.
New faces
Darren Bone welcomed three new members to the committee at the AGM on 1 December 2018.
Zoe White, a member of NATO’s International Staff and former officer in the Royal Signals, served in the Army for 17 years, in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. She was awarded the MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2008 for her work on electronic force protection measures to counter improvised explosive devices.
Phil Hyde, an Administrator at the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), spent 23 years in the Royal Navy on nuclear hunter-killer and Trident-missile submarines. His time ashore was mainly spent in fleet command and control headquarters, specialising in communications.
Dennis Abbott, journalist and author of this history, worked for UK tabloids The Sun and Daily Mirror before arriving in Brussels in 2000. He edited European Voice and was a spokesperson for the European Commission for six years before joining public relations firm Burson as managing director for communications. He served in Iraq in 2003 as a reserve officer and media handler with 7 Armoured (the Desert Rats) and 19 Mechanized Brigade.
Jacqueline Daugnaix-Whitfield stood down as Friends of the Fallen Coordinator.
Committee 2019
The branch committee in 2019 was as follows. Chair: Darren Bone, Vice-Chair: Jean-Pierre Pede, Secretary: Andrée Ferrant, Treasurer: Sally Baxter, Membership Secretary: Jean-Pierre Pede, Poppy Appeal Organiser: Ann Morley, Events Coordinator: Kate Andrews. Members: Zoe White MBE, Dennis Abbott, Phil Hyde. Chaplain: Reverend Canon John Wilkinson, Standard Bearer: Freddy Roiseux.
Hotton 2019
Darren Bone led the commemorations at Hotton and La Roche-en-Ardenne on 5 May 2019. The service at Hotton church was conducted by Père Herman Kusola and Reverend Canon John Wilkinson. Ambassador Alison Rose and Secretary Andrée Ferrant gave Bible readings. Burgomaster Jacques Chaplier led the town’s delegation. The Ambassador, Burgomaster and Commodore Bone laid wreaths at the war cemetery. Alain Brogniez read the names of the Fallen and Phil Hyde read a lesson. The commemorations continued at the 51st (Highland) Division memorial at La Roche.
First female National Chair
Una Cleminson BEM TD was elected as the Legion’s first female National Chair on 9 May 2019. Previously Vice-Chair, Una volunteered for the the RBL at 16, collecting for the Poppy Appeal. During her military career she was a Major in the Territorial Army’s unit field hospital and worked for 18 years as a sister at a hospice in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.
Grand performance
At the invitation of Chair Darren Bone, the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines, Plymouth, performed an open-air concert in the Grand Place on 3 June 2019 to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The band also played at NATO headquarters in the presence of American Legion National Commander Brett Reistad. The Legion’s new National President, Lieutenant General James Bashall, made his first overseas visit for the occasion. He also paid his respects at Heverlee war cemetery, joined by Commodore Bone and Phil Hyde.
Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines rocking the Grand Place
Evere faithful
Commodore Darren Bone opened the branch ceremony at Evere on 15 June 2019. Ambassador Alison Rose and Secretary Andrée Ferrant gave readings. The service was conducted by Reverend Canon John Wilkinson. The Ambassador and Defence Attaché, Group Captain Justin Fowler, were among those laying wreaths. Kate Andrews and her son laid a wreath on behalf of the branch.
Piron 2019
Andrée Ferrant, Jean-Pierre Pede, Ethel Pede-Moffatt and Freddy Roiseux represented the branch at the annual Brigade Piron commemoration on 3 September 2019.
Three hats for J-P
Jean-Pierre Pede, Vice-Chair and Membership Secretary, took over as interim Treasurer on 6 September 2019, following Sally Baxter’s move back to the UK. The committee recorded its thanks to Sally, who succeeded Paul Boorman in November 2017. Kate Andrews also stepped down after three years as Events Coordinator. Chair Darren Bone expressed the committee’s gratitude for her work, supported by husband Matt. Phil Hyde volunteered to succeed Kate.
Breendonk ceremony
Andrée Ferrant, Erich d’Hulster and the author represented the branch at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Fort Breendonk in Willebroek on 18 September 2019. King Philippe and hundreds of schoolchildren took part in the commemoration. The former SS camp held around 3,600 prisoners during the Second World War. More than 300 were executed, tortured to death or died due to inhumane treatment. Paul Lévy, a former Breendonk inmate, recognised its Nazi commandant Philipp Schmitt in Rotterdam at the end of the war. Schmitt was tried in Antwerp and shot by firing squad on 8 August 1950, the last person to be executed in Belgium. Lévy later became a director at the Council of Europe and was instrumental in selecting its flag, which became the emblem of the European Communities and European Union.
Ambassador’s tribute
New British Ambassador Martin Shearman opened the branch’s Remembrance service at Heverlee war cemetery on 10 November 2019 with a thought-provoking reflection. Wreaths were laid by military representatives from the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Poland, the Royal Air Force Association and members of the scouts and guides. Lieutenant Colonel Dick Ovey (bugle), Robbe Claes (trumpet) and Scott James (pipes) added a poignant touch to the occasion.
Chair Darren Bone and the Military Wives' Choir Belgium
launching the 2019 Poppy Appeal at NATO headquarters
Poppy Appeal success
The November 2019 Poppy Appeal, launched by Chair Darren Bone and the Military Wives’ Choir Belgium at NATO, raised more than €11,000. One of the biggest single fundraisers was Liège-based retired teacher Jackie Farbridge, who collected €825 with the support of pupils from Lycée de Waha and other local schools. Roger George of Stonemanor British Shop in Everberg collected more than €1,000, taking his store’s contribution to more than €13,000 in a decade.
Pegasus Walk
On 5 January 2020, members took part in the Pegasus Remembrance Walk, organised by member Michel Bourland. A ceremony was held to mark the 75th anniversary of the three-day Battle of Bure, in which the 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion and 2nd Battalion Oxford and Bucks sustained heavy losses in hand-to-hand fighting. A commemoration was also held at the nearby Belgian SAS monument, close to where Lieutenant Paul Renkin and Privates Emile Lorphevre and Claude Hennequin de Villermont were killed on 31 December 1944 when their jeep was hit by a grenade.
Andrée addresses the crowd at Bure
Pegasus Walk organiser Michel Bourland (Joël Delvaux)
Resistance hero dies
Former member Arsène Davreux – “Raymond” to his comrades in the Armée Secrète – passed away in Rochefort on 23 January 2020. He was 96. Arsène was one of the branch’s most decorated members: his honours included the Chevalier de l’Ordre de Léopold I, Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Couronne, Chevalier de l’Ordre de Léopold II and Médaille d’honneur avec Palme d’Or. Arsène’s funeral took place at the Collégiale Saint-Monon de Nassogne on 27 January followed by burial at the Cimetière de Hargimont.
Arsène, 'Raymond' in the Armée Secrète
Committee 2020
The branch committee in 2020 was as follows. Chair: Darren Bone, Vice-Chair: Jean-Pierre Pede, Secretary: Andrée Ferrant, Treasurer: Jean-Pierre Pede, Branch Community Support: Dennis Abbott, Poppy Appeal Organiser: Ann Morley, News and Events Coordinator: Phil Hyde, Web Coordinator: Zoe White MBE, Facebook Coordinator: Alain Brogniez, Chaplain: Reverend Canon John Wilkinson, Standard Bearer: Freddy Roiseux, Member: Steve Grant MBE.
Goodbye sweetheart
Vera Lynn, the Second World War “Forces Sweetheart” famous for her recordings of We’ll Meet Again (clip) and The White Cliffs of Dover, died on 18 June 2020. She was 103. Dame Vera was guest of honour at the branch’s Poppy Ball in 1973.
Darren retires
Commodore Darren Bone stepped down as Chair in September 2020 on his retirement after 35 years in the Royal Navy. Paying tribute, Zoe White praised his “outstanding job across all areas of the branch while holding down one of the busiest roles in NATO HQ”, adding that he had worked tirelessly to raise the branch’s profile.
Zoe steps up as first female Chair
Zoe White, who joined the committee in 2018, became its first female Chair in September 2020, succeeding Darren Bone. “It is a privilege to be a part of a strong and enthusiastic branch and to be able to work closely with an exceptionally committed and driven committee,” she said.
Zoe deployed in Afghanistan
Distanced ceremony
Members gathered at Evere on Saturday 2 October 2020 to hold a socially-distanced Remembrance service. Usually held in June, the ceremony was postponed due to the Covid lockdown. In the presence of Ambassador Martin Shearman and Defence Attaché Group Captain Justin Fowler, the service was opened by Chair Zoe White and led by the Reverend Canon John Wilkinson. Wreaths were laid by the Ambassador, Zoe, Erik Ramakers and Nadine Clarisse from CEAC-ECOS (La Confédération Européenne des Anciens Combattants/De Confederatie van de Europese oud-strijders), and Stephen Hanson, a retired Canadian Air Force officer, on behalf of the Royal Air Force Association.
François Roberti-Lintermans
The branch was greatly saddened to learn of the death of one of its most distinguished Belgian members, François Roberti-Lintermans, on 17 November 2020 – a week before his 96th birthday. In the Second World War, when still a teenager, he tricked his way out of a Gestapo jail by pretending to be related to Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler’s foreign minister. Rejecting his father’s advice to return to his studies, François instead made his way to the Ardennes and, after obtaining false identity papers, joined the “Marathon” network which set up forest camps where Allied airmen were kept hidden to evade capture. Troops from the US 4th Infantry Division gave him a jeep, a machine gun and uniform. Later, François joined the newly formed 4th Battalion of the Belgian Fusiliers. After the war, he enlisted as an officer cadet and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Belgian Army. His chief interests were sport and history. He ran a tennis school and also enjoyed fencing, swimming and sailing. His story is told on the branch website.
A young François (Het Laatste Nieuws)
François (right) with Pvt Goodie
of the US 4th Infantry Division
(Margaux Roberti-Lintermans)
Diolch, Mervyn
Former member Mervyn Evans passed away on 22 November 2020 in Braine-l’Alleud, aged 97. From Treforest in the South Wales valleys, Mervyn was 21 when he landed with his Royal Signals unit on Juno Beach in 1944. He met his Belgian wife-to-be in Warneton and, after marrying on 30 April 1945, they made their life in Belgium – though Mervyn never lost his Welsh accent. He was laid to rest in the veterans’ lawn of honour at Sainte-Anne cemetery in Waterloo. His son Peter put a Welsh flag in his coffin, with these words: “Thank you, Dad, for all you have done for humanity and for your family. You will remain forever in our thoughts and in our hearts.”
Cards sent by pupils at the International School of Belgium (Wayne Johnson)
Christmas cheers
In December 2020 pupils from the International School of Belgium in Aartselaar sent a parcel of Christmas cards and letters for the branch’s Second World War veterans – proof of the special bond between the “greatest generation” and the youngest generation. Their much-appreciated Christmas messages were encouraged by Head Wayne Johnson after the success of a similar letter-writing initiative by the school to mark Remembrance.
Isabelle, daughter of Gp Capt Peter Townsend
Greetings from Isabelle
In a message to the branch on 18 January 2021, Isabelle Townsend, eldest daughter of Battle of Britain ace and former Vice-President Peter Townsend, wished a “Happy 100th anniversary to the Royal British Legion”. The actress and former fashion model revealed that her father’s books, Duel of Eagles, Duel in the Dark and his autobiography Time and Chance, were being re-published. A documentary on another of his books, The Postman of Nagasaki, was also in the pipeline.
Heritage with a modern twist
The Royal British Legion updated its branding and logo on 26 January 2021, describing the new palette as being “grounded in British heritage with a modern twist”. In a message to members, HQ stated that the previous brand identity was “no longer fit for purpose for the digital world”.
A new logo for the digital world
We’ll miss you, Claire
Claire Whitfield (née Stroobant), a former committee member and welfare secretary, passed away at Saint-Michel Hospital in Brussels on 27 February 2021. She was 94. Paying tribute, Secretary Andrée Ferrant said: “Claire was very present and active in all the events our branch organised. She loved parties, meeting people,and sharing experiences. Claire was always smiling and happy to help. She was a pearl whom we will miss very much.”
Centenary Awards
Chair Zoe White announced on 25 March 2021 that three members had been selected to receive RBL Centenary Awards in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the branch: Eric Johnson, Standard Bearer for 56 years, from 1956-2012; Andrée Ferrant, Secretary since September 2009; and Ann Morley, Events Coordinator from 2010-2012 and Poppy Appeal Organiser since September 2012.
Life member Eric received news of his award on 2 April – his 96th birthday – from Vice-Chair Jean-Pierre Pede. Eric’s daughter Kathleen and son-in-law Bob were present for the special moment. “Eric was surprised, but extremely touched, by this announcement,” said Jean-Pierre. “During his active life, he was devoted to the RBL and, as he says, ‘British from head to toe and always ready to serve’. He felt very honoured.”
Commenting after receiving her centenary badge, Andrée said: “It is so much appreciated. I’m so grateful for all the good moments and friendship which I have shared with so many people during these 12 years.”
On receiving her award, Ann said: “I am so proud to have been nominated and selected. It is a great pleasure to be a part of the organisation and enjoy your support.”
HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip in 1954
(Archives New Zealand)
Death of HRH Prince Philip
The branch was deeply saddened to learn of the death of HRH Prince Philip at Windsor on 9 April 2021. He was 99, two months short of his 100th birthday. A life member of the RBL, the Prince was the devoted consort of HM Queen Elizaeth II, the Legion’s Patron, for 73 years. He served in the Royal Navy from 1939-52, earning a mention in despatches as a sub-lieutenant on HMS Valiant during the Battle of Cape Matapan in the Mediterranean. Serving on HMS Whelp, he witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. The Prince was created Duke of Edinburgh upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth in November 1947 and retired from the Navy after her accession to the throne in February 1952. His Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme inspired millions of young people to do voluntary service. Born on Corfu on 10 June 1921, the Duke’s father was Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and his mother, Princess Alice, was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Prince Philip outlived his four older sisters, one of whom, Princess Cecilie, was killed with her husband Georg and two of their children in an air accident near Ostend in November 1937.
Farewell, François-Marie
Member François-Marie Jacobs, a Belgian SAS veteran, passed away on the same day as HRH Prince Philip. He was 95. Serving with B Squadron in the final months of the Second World War, François-Marie took part in operations in the vanguard of the Allied push into the Netherlands and Germany. After the Nazi surrender, the Belgian SAS was involved in a counter-intelligence mission aimed at capturing high-ranking SS and Wehrmacht officers, Gestapo, collaborators, concentration camp guards and other war criminals. His unit captured Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler’s Foreign Minister, Admiral Karl Dönitz, Hitler’s successor, and General Ernst Schaumburg, former commander of Paris, among others. François-Marie spent his civilian career in the automotive sector. After retiring in 1990, he moved from Antwerp to Champlon-Famenne. A widower – he lost his wife Gaby in 2019 – he regularly attended remembrance events. He was present for the January 2020 Pegasus Walk, on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Bure. Fellow member Michel Bourland described him as “a warm, friendly and, above all, modest man”. Secretary Andrée Ferrant added: “He was such a brave, humble and positive friend, who never complained.”
François-Marie Jacobs (left), Jean Pierre Blanquart, Freddy Roiseux, Alain Brogniez,
Andrée Ferrant, Didier Nollet and Michel Bourland at the Pegasus Walk, January 2020
Branch message to Her Majesty the Queen
The funeral of HRH Prince Philip took place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, on 17 April 2021. The three branches of the armed services played a prominent role in the ceremony, held in a scaled-back form due to Covid. The service was watched by millions worldwide.
Chair Zoe White sent the following message of condolence to HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family:
“It was with much sadness that the Royal British Legion Brussels Branch received the news of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh’s death. Prince Philip dedicated his life to the service of his country and the Commonwealth. Energetic, industrious and a life-long moderniser, he is remembered for his drive and dedication to public service over seven decades.
“A former Royal Navy officer who saw distinguished active service, he was a life-long member and supporter of the Royal British Legion. In particular, the Brussels Branch remembers Her Majesty and Prince Philip’s official visit to Belgium in May 1966 where branch members were honoured to join many elements of their busy programme, including the paying of respects at the Anglo-Belgian Memorial in Brussels’ Place Poelaert and the inspection of a guard of honour, composed of British and Belgian veterans in the Grand Place.
“A much-loved and respected figure, his commitment and devotion to The Queen was clear and unwavering through the good times and the bad. He was an example of enduring strength, stability and togetherness that has become even more relevant during the pandemic. On behalf of all members of the Brussels Branch, we celebrate his life and offer our deepest condolences to our Patron Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family. We will remember him.”
VE Day 76
Zoe White and Andrée Ferrant represented the branch at an event on 9 May 2021 organised by CEAC-ECOS (Confédération Européenne des Anciens Combattants et Militaires/Europese Confederatie van Oud-Strijders en Militairen) to mark the 76th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day. Under varying weather conditions, from sunshine to downpour, veterans laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After the ceremony, CEAC-ECOS offered drinks and the gentle hum of social activity was a boost to all after the worst of the Covid epidemic. Zoe was delighted to finally meet members Didier Nollet, attending with the Liberation Group, and Jean-Luc Deswaene.
VE Day 76 at the Colonne du Congrès
RBL 100
Members of the committee and their families took part in a ceremony, held under Covid restrictions, at Evere war cemetery on 15 May 2021 to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Royal British Legion. Chair Zoe White laid a wreath at the Cross of Sacrifice, with the following inscription: “Brussels branch marks 100 years of support to our Armed Services community. We pledge to continue this sterling service for the serving, veterans and their families. We will remember them.”
Andrée Ferrant, Jean-Pierre Pede, Ethel Pede-Moffatt, Viviane Pede, Alain Brogniez, David Bizley, Laura Houlgatte Abbott and the author were also present
Alain Brogniez, Zoe White, Jean-Pierre Pede, Ethel Pede-Moffatt, Andrée Ferrant,
the author, Laura Houlgatte Abbott and David Bizley at Evere (Viviane Pede)
Zoe and Standard Bearer Freddie Roiseux later took part in a 100th anniversary commemoration at the Menin Gate in Ypres, organised by Ypres Branch and the Last Post Association. Wreaths were laid by Ambassador Martin Shearman, Mayor Emmily Talpe, the Chairs of the three Belgian RBL branches, the Last Post Association and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Ypres branch President Christophe Onraet and Chair Patrick Buerms were superb hosts.
The three Belgian branches finally meet at Ypres
Standard Bearers from Brussels, Ypres and Antwerp
Freddy Roiseux at Ypres on the RBL's 100th birthday
Zoe: My Legion
Chair Zoe White was profiled in the centenary edition of the Legion magazine in May 2021. In the article, Zoe spoke about her background, moving from Britain to Gibraltar in her teens, and her 17 years as an officer in the Royal Corps of Signals. Zoe spent most of her military career on operations, with three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, one in Kosovo and one in Northern Ireland.
In the article, Zoe told how her predecessor as Chair, Commodore Darren Bone, invited her to join the branch after she was appointed to the international staff at NATO headquarters. “The Brussels Branch is absolutely unique. I had made the assumption – incorrectly – that it would be comprised mainly of British people, ex-serving personnel. I was delighted to find out that actually the branch is probably about a 50/50 split between Belgians and Brits,” she commented.
The centenary edition of the Legion magazine
Zoe with youngsters in Basra in 2003
After taking over the leadership of the branch in September 2020, as the first female Chair in its history, Zoe explained that it was important for her to change her title to Chair from Chairman. “I wasn’t sure whether I would get any resistance, but everyone was really receptive. What I still find surprising, though, is the use of Chairman, rather than the gender-free term Chair, across the RBL. If we want to appeal to all people, we have to be relevant for the future and not label things in a gendered way. Our language needs to reflect our values.” Zoe highlighted her priorities: recruitment – “making sure that we keep the branch alive by having more, and more diverse, people in it” – as well as more social and commemorative events, including battlefield tours, and a special event to mark the branch’s own centenary in 2022.
Isières memorial
Mireille Picron, Laura Houlgatte Abbott and the author represented the branch at a ceremony at the British memorial in Isières cemetery on 19 May 2021. The event was led by Mayor of Ath Bruno Lefèbvre, with veterans from the Union Picarde Commando Parachutiste led by President Jean-Paul Saussez and Deputy Secretary Benoît Crasset. Readings were given by Francis Populaire and Aimé Delmée.
Instigated by a teacher after the war, the memorial commemorates nine men buried in the cemetery, eight from D Company, 4th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment, and one from the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry. They were killed in action nearby on 18-19 May 1940 at the Battle of La Cavée during operations to cover the withdrawal to Dunkirk. Reports suggest they were directed into the ambush by a fifth columnist who was later hanged.
The men buried at Isières are: Pte Douglas Atherton, 22, Pte Arthur Hoggett, 20, Pte Thomas Johnson, 20, Capt Kenneth Lucking, Pte Percy McCormick, 21, Cpl George Nursaw, 33, Pte Sydney Taylor, 25, 2nd Lt Major R. Williams, 24, and Pte Robert Wallis, 24. The inscription on Pte Atherton’s headstone is especially moving: “We oft repeat his name, what would we give to see him smile and hear his voice again.” Several members of D Company were later captured at Wormhout. They were among 80 British and French POWs executed in a barn by troops from the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler on 28 May. Hauptsturmführer (later General) Wilhelm Mohnke and Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich were blamed for the massacre, but neither were ever charged with the crime.
Sacrifice never forgotten
The branch’s ceremony at Evere on 26 June 2021 attracted a large turnout, including representatives of European and Belgian associations. After a welcome from Chair Zoe White, Ambassador Martin Shearman spoke of the enormous sacrifices made in the cause of freedom. In the First World War, 880,000 British forces gave their lives, 6% of the adult male population. In the Second World War, 384,000 British soldiers were killed, as well as 70,000 civilians.
Padre Nia Williams from SHAPE’s European Joint Support Unit led the service in the absence of Canon John Wilkinson. The Military Wives Choir Belgium, conducted by Nigel Ward, sang beautifully in their first appearance since the start of the Covid pandemic.
Andrée Ferrant read the 67th Psalm, a fitting call for “salvation among all nations”. The author paid tribute to two heroes buried in the cemetery, F/Sgt George Thompson VC and Brussels-born Major Robert Mélot MC. Vice-Chair Jean-Pierre Pede read the names of fallen including men from the Royal Army Service Corps, in which his father-in-law, Harry Moffatt, served.
The Military Wives Choir in fine voice, conducted by Nigel Ward
Didier Nollet, wearing a traditional bowler, paid tribute to François-Marie Jacobs, who had recently passed away. His moving words, delivered in English, French and Dutch, were received with spontaneous applause. Eight-year-old Oscar read In Flanders Fields, also receiving well-deserved applause.
Following the Exhortation, read by Zoe, wreaths were laid by the Ambassador, Defence Attaché Group Captain Justin Fowler, Mireille Picron and Patrice Lotiquet for the branch, as well as Nadine Clarisse for CEAC-ECOS (Confédération Européenne des Anciens Combattants et Militaires / Europese Confederatie van Oud-Strijders en Militairen) and Tibor Albert, Vice-President Western Europe, United Nations Peacekeepers’ Association (Association Internationale des Soldats de la Paix).
Didier Nollet delivers a multilingual tribute to François-Marie Jacobs
Mireille Picron and Patrice Lotiquet laid the wreath on behalf of the branch
Denise More-Thys
Denise More-Thys, one of the branch’s longest serving members, passed away in Brussels on 26 June 2021. She was 92. Denise was the widow of Harry More MBE, former Chair and President of the branch, who died in 2015. She left a daughter, Evelyn, and son Anthony, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Vice-Chair Jean-Pierre Pede wrote in tribute: “Harry and Denise joined the Brussels branch in 1960. Both were active members of the committee. We will remember Denise as a very elegant lady, always smiling; a very positive and warm person, and always one of the first to offer to help. She was friends with all and always had a good word for people. Denise was the eternal optimist, even towards the end of her illness she did not let it get her down and expressed the positive hope that things would get better.”
Denise and husband Harry
Townsend medals sold
Eleven medals and flying logbooks belonging to former branch Vice-President Peter Townsend fetched £260,000 (€300,000) at a London auction on 21 July 2021. The decorations included his Distinguished Service Order (DSO), Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and Royal Victorian Order (CVO). Townsend originally sold the collection and donated the proceeds to a charitable fund for vulnerable children in November 1988. They were “lying around in a bag at the bottom of a drawer ... I thought it would be sensible to put them to use”, he recalled. The medals were re-sold in 2004 before going under the hammer for a third time at auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb. The purchaser was a private collector.
Gp Capt Peter Townsend's medals
His flying logbook (©Dix Noonan Webb)
Heartfelt tributes for Eric
Eric Johnson BEM, the branch’s Standard Bearer for a remarkable 56 years, passed away on 10 August 2021. He was 96. Tributes poured in for the Normandy veteran, who was one of the last links between the wartime generation and the modern membership.
Chair Zoe White paid tribute to Eric’s “selfless commitment and incredible service to both the RBL and his country”, adding: “My thoughts go to all his close friends and family during this tough time.”
Vice-Chair Jean-Pierre Pede, a long-time friend of the Johnson family, said: “Eric was an incredible man, always ready to help, always singing wartime songs. But woe betide anyone touching his Standard! On parade, he was always immaculate in black waxed, highly polished shoes and white gloves. He knew and executed every detail of the Standard Bearer drill to perfection. Eric is a man you could never forget. He will always stay in my memories. He was the perfect example of a young man who proudly served his country and, later, the Royal British Legion. At the start of our meetings, he would raise a glass to the Queen. At the Poppy Ball, the British Ambassador or RBL President of the time would count on him to choose the decorations and music to entertain the members. He also very much liked to cite Winston Churchill during get-togethers with friends.”
Former President Brigadier Andrew Fisher echoed Jean-Pierre: “Eric was one of those individuals that one doesn’t easily forget. He bore the Legion’s Standard with great dignity and pride on many occasions and was an active and significant contributor to our branch’s work.” For Ed Read Cutting, former Chair, Eric was “one of a kind who will be much missed”. The Reverend Ann Babb, former Chaplain, summed him up as “a gentleman and hero”.
Eric in his final year, aged 96
Eric at the Waterloo Campaign Monument in Evere, 2012
Several tributes highlighted Eric’s sense of fun and love of singing: “One of our first memories of him was when we went to Hotton and Eric got a coach full of veterans and wives singing songs from WW2. He was unique – they threw away the mould when Eric was born,” said Colin Puplett, former Vice-Chair.
For George Bowring, son of the late Ken Bowring, Eric was “a jolly good fellow”. Michael Whitburn, son of former Chair Reg Whitburn, added: “Eric was a thoroughly sociable and outgoing person, who loved a sing-along and never missed an opportunity to share his enthusiasm for Vera Lynn’s hits.”
Former website coordinator Greg Ruthven added: “Eric was the one who got me to join the branch. I stood in for the Ambassador, laying a wreath at Evere, the first year we moved to Brussels. He saw my RAF tie and asked if I was also in the military. When I said yes, he took his poppy pin off his jacket and put it on mine and said ‘You’ll have to join us now’. It was an honour to have met Eric.”
In addition to his wartime decorations, Eric was awarded the Legion’s Gold Badge in January 1982 and the British Empire Medal (BEM) in HM Queen Elizabeth II’s 1990 New Year Honours List for services to the RBL and British Embassy in Belgium, where he worked as a driver for nearly 23 years. He was awarded life membership of the Legion in July 1997, the Voluntary Service Medal in November 2008 and the RBL Centenary Medal in March 2021.
Eric lost his beloved wife Monette in May 2013. He left a daughter, Kathleen, a member of the branch, son-in-law Robert Vanderbiest, grandson Stephane and two great-granddaughters, Chloe and Clara.
In a heartfelt eulogy at the funeral, Kathleen said family and friends were “everything” to her dad. “The time has come to join Mam. She has been waiting for you for many years. So too are your good friends Harry, Marika, Harry, Jacky, Renee and all your friends of the RBL Brussels branch. Enjoy yourselves up there – but keep an eye on us all!”
Kathleen paid special thanks to Ethel Pede-Moffatt, daughter of Eric’s close friend Harry Moffatt, for helping her in caring, phoning and visiting Eric over the years.
The funeral service, held at Zemst on 18 August, was conducted by branch Chaplain the Reverend Canon John Wilkinson. Chair Zoe White and a large representation from the committee, as well as other friends, were present. Rest in peace Eric, we will remember you.
77th anniversary
The branch was well represented at the 77th anniversary commemoration of the Liberation of Brussels on 3 September 2021. Wreaths were laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Ambassador Martin Shearman, representatives of the city of Brussels, the author on behalf of the branch, as well as Nadine Clarisse for CEAC-ECOS (Confédération Européenne des Anciens Combattants et Militaires/Europese Confederatie van Oud-Strijders en Militairen) and Tibor Albert, Vice-President Western Europe of the United Nations Peacekeepers’ Association (Association Internationale des Soldats de la Paix). The British Torch of Remembrance was represented by its President, Chris Russell.
Brigade Piron commemoration
Chair Zoe White and Second World War veteran Count Henri d’Oultremont led the branch delegation at the annual commemoration at the Brigade Piron monument in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean on 6 September 2021. Jack Van Sprang laid a wreath on behalf of the branch, which was also represented by Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux and members of the committee. Count d’Oultremont and fellow veteran André Liégeois laid flowers on behalf of the Brigade Piron. Catherine Moureaux, burgomaster of Molenbeek, opened the ceremony and welcomed the guests who included French Ambassador Hélène Farnaud-Defromont, UK Defence Attaché Group Captain Justin Fowler and his French counterpart, Colonel Hubert Stahl.
Battlefield Tour – Ypres
The group at Tyne Cot Cemetery
Some 30 members and supporters of the branch took part in a battlefield tour to Ypres on 11 September 2021. Organised by committee member Steve Grant with local guide Christophe Deconinck, the tour took in sites in and around the Flemish town. The visit started at the iconic Menin Gate, the memorial to nearly 55,000 Commonwealth soldiers whose bodies were never found or identified. The next stop was Essex Farm Cemetery, the last resting place of 1,200 servicemen including 15-year-old Joe Strudwick and Thomas Barratt VC. The cemetery was built on the site of an advanced dressing station where Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae of the Canadian Army Medical Corps wrote In Flanders Fields in May 1915 in tribute to his friend Lieutenant Alexis Helmer. The group also visited the German cemetery at Langemarck, where more than 44,000 are buried, Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery, and Hill 60, where mines in tunnels were detonated under German positions, resulting in thousands of casualties and leaving still clearly visible deep craters.
The visit ended back at the Menin Gate with the Last Post ceremony. Chair Zoe White laid a wreath on behalf of the branch, together with member Jean-François Husson and Jane Sidebottom, chief of staff to Ambassador Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby, head of the UK Mission to the European Union. The tour raised €320 for the Legion.
Christophe Deconinck talking through Hill 60
Jean-François, Zoe and Jane after laying wreath at the Menin Gate
Sir Anthony Seldon and the Western Front Way
The RBL was represented by Ypres Chair Patrick Beurms and the author at a civic lunch in Nieuwpoort on 15 September 2021 to welcome historian Sir Anthony Seldon at the end of his 1,000 km trek on the Western Front Way. For the final stretch, Ambassador Martin Shearman and UK Defence Attaché Group Captain Justin Fowler joined the historian, who completed the walk in 35 days.
The route was inspired by Alexander Gillespie, a 2nd Lieutenant in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders during the First World War. In a letter to Montagu Rendall, headmaster at Winchester College, he wrote: “I wish that when the peace comes, our government might combine with the French Government to make one long avenue between the lines from the Vosges to the sea. I would like to send every man, woman and child in Western Europe on pilgrimage along that Via Sacra, so that they might think and learn what war means from the silent witnesses on either side.”
Seldon discovered the letter while researching a book. Moved by the young officer’s words, he set out to follow the route of the trenches from the Swiss frontier to the Belgian coast. “I just thought ‘let’s go for it’, let’s get young people from every country, in Europe and beyond, to walk or cycle the path. Let’s do it for international cooperation, friendship and peace. I hope the path will one day be as popular as the walk to Santiago de Compostela,” he declared.
Three months after sending the letter, Gillespie was killed on the first day of the Battle of Loos on 25 September 1915. His younger brother, Lieutenant Thomas Gillespie also died in action at the Battle of La Bassée on 18 October 1914. Both have no known grave. The Path of Peace, Seldon’s account of walking the Western Front Way, was published on 3 November 2022.
2Lt Alexander Gillespie, who inspired the walk
Ambassador, Defence Attaché, RBL representatives and dignitaries greet Sir Anthony
Sir Anthony signs the livre d'or
Followed by RBL Brussels representative
Sir Anthony's account of his walk
(Evelien Legein and Atlantic Books)
Ode à la Résistance
Andrée Ferrant represented the branch at the unveiling of a new sculpture at Fort Breendonk, the infamous former SS camp at Willebroek, on 26 September 2021. Ode à la Résistance, created by artist Tom Frantzen, symbolises oppression, with figures of women, children, resistance fighters and a man releasing a dove crushed under a jackboot. The ceremony was addressed by Ludivine Dedonder, Belgium’s Minister of Defence, Edmond Eycken, President of the National Confederation of Political Prisoners, and Koen Palinckx, Chair of the War Heritage Institute.
Andrée and the new memorial at Fort Breendonk
The Belgians Remember Them and Wilfred Burie
The branch was represented at a ceremony in Rebecq on 29 September 2021, commemorating aircrew who fell during the Second World War and the Belgian Resistance. Organised by archivist Wilfred Burie and “The Belgians Remember Them” association, the event was attended by VIPs, local people and schoolchildren.
The memorial was erected in memory of the crew of an RAF 550 Squadron Lancaster, shot down on 28 May 1944. Sgt Eli Molnar, from Ontario, was the sole survivor. He was hidden until the liberation. The Gestapo later arrested 22 villagers, seven of whom were deported to concentration camps. Louis Deneyer, Giovanni and Giuseppe Vecchiato never returned.
The branch was represented by Andrée Ferrant, who laid a wreath, Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux, Jack van Sprang, and the author, who joined Wilfred in a joint reading of his poem Elégie aux Héros du Silence.
André Flahaut, Belgium’s former Minister of Defence, spoke of his concern about far-right denial and revisionism, drawing attention to a controversial “Latvian Beehive” monument, erected in 2018 at Zedelgem, close to where 12,000 Latvian Waffen-SS were held as POWs in 1945-46
Freddy and Andrée at the Rebecq memorial
The late Wilfred Burie
VIPs present included the Ambassadors of Canada (Alain Gendron), New Zealand (Diana Reaich), South Africa (Tokozile Xasa), Netherlands (Pieter Jan Kleiweg de Zwaan), Czech Republic (Pavel Klucký), Norway (Per Strand Sjaastad), the Acting Ambassador of Ireland (Eddie Brannigan), and Polish Consul (Kacper Szyndlarewiczl), as well as Defence Attachés for the UK (Group Captain Justin Fowler), the US (Colonel Edward J. Dupont), France (Colonel Hubert Stahl), Australia (Wing Commander Jesse Laroche), Canada (Lieutenant-Colonel Marie-Claude Osmond), South Africa (Colonel Andrew Mafofololo), Russia (Colonel Igor Kolodin), Netherlands (Capitaine de Frégate Patrick Bekken and Colonel Talitha Born), and New Zealand (Colonel Ryan Mckinstry). Belgium was represented by Colonel Philippe Goffin, Commander of Florennes Air base, 2nd Tactical Wing, Colonel Jean-Didier Vande Zande, Commander 1 Wing, Colonel Olivier De Groote, Military Commander of Brabant Wallon, and Lieutenant-Colonel Philippe Ramaekers, former commander, 4 Engineer Battalion. Patricia Venturelli, Mayor, and André Deschamps, Alderman, represented Rebecq.
Wilfred Burie passed away unexpectedly on 4 April 2024. Sadly, his association subsequently closed.
Battlefield Tour – Yser
The Battle of the Yser (16-31 October 1914) was the focus of the branch’s second autumn battlefield tour, aimed at raising awareness of the 100th anniversary of the RBL and the branch’s 2022 centenary. Organised by Steve Grant with Flanders guide Christophe Deconinck, the visit took in sites linked to the Belgian Army’s heroic stand at the tip of the Western Front. Despite being outnumbered, the Belgians stopped the German advance by opening sluice gates to flood the ground and make it impassable for the enemy.
The tour began at the Yser Towers and Peace Gate at Duiksmuide, built to commemorate Flemish dead. The towers bear the letters AVV-VVK, standing for Alles Voor Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen Voor Kristus, or All for Flanders, Flanders for Christ.
Excellent viewing platform and map at the Trench of Death
The first tower, completed in 1930, became a shrine for the radical Flemish Movement, some of whose members were collaborators during the Second World War. No-one was caught when it was blown up in March 1946. A second, 84-metre tower was built near the ruins and opened in 1965.
The visit continued at the Trench of Death (Dodengang), where the Belgians sustained hundreds of losses. After a brief stop at the Peace Mill, the tour took in Vladslo German Cemetery, which contains 25,644 dead and the statues of The Grieving Parents by Käthe Kollwitz, created in memory of her son Peter, buried in front of the figures. At the Belgian Military Cemetery in Houthulst, Christophe highlighted the graves of Hector Brel, related to singer Jacques Brel, and two footballing brothers, Adjutant Ignace Evrard, 22, and Lieutenant Joseph Evrard, 24, who played for Cercle Brugge. Both were killed on 28 September 1918 and are said to have died in each other’s arms. The cemetery is also the last resting place of a large number of Italian POWs and Sous-Lieutenant Roger d’Udekem d’Acoz, related to Belgium’s Queen Mathilde. The tour, enjoyed by around 30 enthusiastic members and supporters despite the wet conditions, ended at the De Ganzepoot (goose foot) sluice complex and King Albert monument in Nieuwpoort. It raised €320 for the Legion.
Christophe explaining 'the Mousetrap' in the Belgian trench
Christophe tells the story of Grieving Parents memorial
The Grieving Parents at Vladslo German Cemetery
Ann, Dave and The Queen
Centenary Award winner Ann Morley and partner Dave Lees represented the branch at a service at Westminster Abbey on 12 October 2021 to mark the 100th anniversary of the RBL. Her Majesty the Queen, accompanied by the Princess Royal and National President Lieutenant General James Bashall, attended the ceremony. Readings were given by General Sir Nick Carter, Chief of the Defence Staff, and Colour Sergeant Johnson Beharry VC. The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, thanked “the tireless, dedicated, and distinguished work of all those who have lived out the Legion’s motto of ‘Service not Self”.”
The Road to Dunkirk
An exhibition of uniforms, weapons and artefacts linked to Dunkirk opened at the Musée Wellington in Waterloo on 15 October 2021. Organised by the Redcoats Society with the support of the branch, the exhibition told the story of “Operation Dynamo” and the rescue of nearly 340,000 Allied troops by Navy destroyers and civilian boats. Committee member Alain Brogniez provided several uniforms from his extensive collection for the exhibition. Chair Zoe White, Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux, David Bizley and the author attended a preview before the main opening. Zoe read the Exhortation and Kohima Epitaph after a welcome by Bernadette Raeymaekers, échevine and President of Les Amis du Musée Wellington, and Roland Denis, President of the Redcoats Society, a group dedicated to the study of British military history. Piper Alain Breysem performed The Heroes of St Valery, a lament composed by Donald MacLean, a veteran of the 51st (Highland) Division, which was forced to surrender after defending St-Valery-en-Caux so that more troops could be evacuated up the coast.
One of the exhibition’s highlights was a display of uniforms and medals belonging to Major General Albert Guérisse GC KBE DSO, the only Belgian to receive Britain’s George Cross for gallantry. A photo showed Guérisse, a military doctor, awaiting rescue on Dunkirk beach. He was later commissioned into the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) under the name of Patrick Albert O’Leary and supported the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Betrayed, he was tortured by the Gestapo and held at Mauthausen and Dachau. After the war, he rejoined the Belgian Army and served in Korea. His son, Patrick, loaned his uniforms and medals for the exhibition.
Modernising commemoration
Zoe White, Jean-Pierre Pede and Andrée Ferrant represented the branch at a reception hosted by Ambassador Martin Shearman at the British Residence on 10 November 2021. Entitled “The Belgo-British Defence Relationship; Remembering the Past, Looking to the Future”, the event gathered military representatives from Belgium, the UK and other NATO allies.
Rory Forsyth, CEO of the Western Front Way, highlighted the importance of modernising commemoration to ensure it flourishes. Vice Admiral Wim Robberecht, Chief of the Belgian Military Intelligence Service, spoke about the historic connections between the Belgian and British armed forces, and growing cooperation between the two countries.
Remembrance Sunday 2021
After an enforced break in 2020 due to Covid, the branch held its traditional Remembrance Sunday service at Heverlee War Cemetery on 14 November 2021. Led by the Reverend Canon John Wilkinson and Chair Zoe White, the commemoration was attended by around 250 people, including the Ambassador, senior military representatives, the Military Wives’ Choir and a strong turnout of scouts and guides.
Vice-Chair Jean-Pierre Pede read out the names of branch members and friends who left us in 2020-21: Ivan Brogniez, Octavie Bove-Liebert, Commandant Fernand Delcourt, François-Marie Jacobs, Eric Johnson BEM, Denise More-Thys, Victor Emmanuel Rasquin, Lieutenant Colonel François Roberti-Lintermans, and Claire Whitfield-Stroobant.
Kathleen Johnson read an emotional tribute to her father Eric, who served as Standard Bearer for 56 years. Speaking in English, French and Flemish, Kathleen recalled childhood memories of her dad preparing for the Annual Poppy Dance. “I could come with you in the afternoon, but not for the evening as I was too young. I had to stay with Bonne-Maman and was quite sad about it. I had to wait until I was 18. My friend Ethel Moffatt was luckier. Being older, she could go dancing! Your family, your friends and the RBL were everything for you. Thank you for being you, we will never forget you. Lots of love and kisses. And keep the flag flying!”
David Tripp, Head of the Welsh Government Office, delivered a tribute to Warrant Officer Albert Stanley “Tich” Palmer, one of 26 Welshmen who lie in the cemetery. Tich, from Cardiff, completed 58 sorties with 97 Squadron and 635 Squadron. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) in February 1944. He died, aged 24, when his Lancaster was shot down near Wavre on 20 April 1944.
Piper Alain Breysem and bugler Lt Col Richard Ovey
Ambassador Martin Shearman, member Anthony Rose, Jonah Awada, patrol leader 1st Waterloo (International) Scouts, and Emily Braggs, Ist Brussels Guides, also gave readings. The Military Wives Choir, conducted by Nigel Ward, sang We Will Remember Them and Carry Me, while bagpiper Alain Breysem played Flowers of the Forest, the traditional Scots’ lament. Bugler Lieutenant Colonel Richard Ovey played The Last Post and Reveille. Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux led the arrival and departure of the flag bearers with his customary precision.
Wreaths were laid by, among others, Lieutenant General E. John Deedrick, US Military Representative to NATO, Wing Commander Jesse Laroche, Australia’s Deputy Military Representative, Commodore Craig Wood, UK Deputy Military Representative, Brigadier General Radoslaw Jeżewski, Deputy Director, European Union Military Committee, Lieutenant Colonel Tomasz Bodziacki, Polish Military Representation, Group Captain Justin Fowler and Stephen Hanson for the Royal Air Force Association (RAFA), Geert Bekaert, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and Alan Green for the branch.
The commemoration was flawlessly organised by Phil Hyde, with support from Secretary Andrée Ferrant, Poppy Appeal Organiser David Bizley, Steve Grant and the author.
Zoe joins Irish in Europe tribute at Heverlee
Sheehan tribute
A wreath-laying ceremony organised by the Irish in Europe Association, with support from the branch, also took place at Heverlee on 14 November 2021. A delegation, led by Councillor Deirdre O'Brien, Chair of Fermoy Municipal District, paid its respects at the grave of Flight Sgt Edward Fanahan Sheehan, an air bomber serving with 51 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force.
The 29 year old was killed when his Halifax crashed during a mission near the Belgian-German frontier on 28 April 1944. The other victims, pilot Flight Sgt Patrick Keenan, 23, Sgt Leo Coughlan, 19, Sgt James Thomas, 19, Sgt Frank Brown, 22, and Sgt Edward Hastie, 19, are also buried at Heverlee.
Sheehan’s wife Mary was pregnant at the time of his death with their son, Michael. Two younger brothers were also killed in the war: Harry Sheehan, 24, a Lancaster wireless operator and gunner, was shot down on 13 May 1943, and Frank Sheehan, 26, an air gunner, was shot down on 2 October 1943. Older brothers Thomas, who served in the Canadian Scottish Regiment, and Michael, at sea on HMCS Laurier, survived. The Sheehans emigrated to Vancouver in the 1920s.
The Irish delegation included retired Irish army officer Commandant Leo Quinlan, son of Colonel Patrick Quinlan, famed for his role in the 1961 Siege of Jadotville, Niall Healy, representing Cork County Council, and Denis J. Buckley, International President of the Irish in Europe Association.
Colonel Quinlan was posthumously enrolled as Grand Marshal at the deferred Saint Patrick’s Day Parade of the Nations & Regions ceremony, hosted by Brussels Mayor Philippe Close. The Fermoy Shamrock Bowl was presented to the city in honour of the Sheehans.
Despite its official neutrality, up to 70,000 men and women from the Irish Republic, together with a similar number from Northern Ireland, served in the British Armed Forces during the Second World War. According to The Irish Times, 12,000 men from Irish families died fighting fascism. The worst losses sustained by a single family were the five Irish-American Sullivan brothers, from Waterloo, Iowa, who insisted on serving together and were all killed after USS Juneau was sunk by the Japanese on 13 November 1943.
Namur ceremony
Jean-François Husson led a well-attended Remembrance Sunday ceremony at Namur’s Belgrade cemetery on 14 November 2021 with the Fédération Royale des Militaires à l’étranger (FRME) and the Namur and British Military History association.
Thanking FRME Namur President Eric Dumeunier for mobilising a “rapid reaction force” of standard bearers, veterans and supporters, Jean-François highlighted the role of the RBL, Belgium’s historical links with Britain, and the importance of remembrance.
Citing Baron Henri Bernard, Belgian Resistance hero, SOE agent and professor at the Ecole Royale Militaire, he reminded the gathering that England and, later the UK, had never attacked or occupied Belgium. Indeed, since the Battle of Gembloux in 1578 – when the Scots and English fought alongside Belgians – to the two world wars, Namur has had a long military association with Britain.
Referring to the conflicts of the 20th century, Jean-François said the loved ones of those who did not return could take comfort in knowing that that the people they were defending – and their descendants – had not forgotten their sacrifice.
Some 245 British and Empire servicemen who died in, or as a result of, the two world wars lie in Belgrade Cemetery. Among them are Lance Corporal John Wylie of the Black Watch, who died the day before the 1918 Armistice, aged 20, and Private Stanley Duffill of the Leicestershire Regiment, who perished two days after it, aged 19. The youngest burial, Aircraftman 2nd Class J. Marshall, died aged 17 on 24 February 1919. Private Hugh Morris, 23, The King’s (Liverpool Regiment), died on 16 October 1919, almost a year after the Armistice.
Jean-François also highlighted the Belgian battalion which fought with the Gloucestershire Regiment at Battle of the Imjin River (22-25 April 1951) in the Korean War. The grave of Captain Jean Loquet, who died in 1952, was a reminder of a shared commitment under the UN’s colours.
Jean-François laid a poppy wreath on the grave of Sister Elsie Gladstone. She died in Namur on 24 January 1919 from Spanish flu, aged 32. Following a campaign led by Jean-François, a street was named after her in nearby Bouge on 19 December 2025.
The Postman From Nagasaki
A documentary featuring Isabelle Townsend, eldest daughter of former Vice-President Peter Townsend and inspired by his book The Postman Of Nagasaki, was screened at the Hiroshima International Film Festival on 19 November 2021. The book told the story of Sumiteru Taniguchi, a 16-year-old postal worker who suffered terrible burns when the atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. Peter Townsend met Taniguchi, who devoted his life to campaigning for peace and nuclear disarmament, in 1982. Isabelle was planning to meet Taniguchi herself when he sadly passed away on 30 August 2017, aged 88. The documentary, entitled The Postman From Nagasaki and directed by Mika Kawase, features voice recordings made by Peter Townsend. Isabelle also took part, via video link, in a performance entitled Together With Peter Townsend for Peace at the Hibiya Library and Museum in Tokyo on 22 November. The event, featuring musicians and actors, aimed, in Isabelle’s words, “to give life to my father’s words about peace”.
Gp Capt Fowler named President
Group Captain Justin Fowler
Group Captain Justin Fowler, UK Defence Attaché to Belgium and Luxembourg, was appointed branch President at the annual general meeting on 26 November 2021. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1991 and saw active service in Kosovo, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as postings in Germany, Italy, the Falkland Islands and Australia. From near Swindon and married to Deborah, he was also President of the Belgian Branch of the Royal Air Forces Association.
David new Poppy Appeal Organiser
The AGM, held online due to Covid precautions, confirmed David Bizley’s appointment as Poppy Appeal Organiser. He stated that the 2021 appeal had raised nearly €8,200 to date, with more still coming in. Nearly two thirds of the total came from collections at NATO (€3,000), Stonemanor (€1,700) and battlefield tours (over €600).
The committee was as follows: President: Group Captain Justin Fowler, Chair: Zoe White, Vice-Chair, Membership Secretary and Treasurer: Jean-Pierre Pede, Secretary: Andrée Ferrant, Poppy Appeal Organiser: David Bizley, Facebook Coordinator: Alain Brogniez, News and Events Coordinator: Phil Hyde, Battlefield Tours Ccordinator: Steve Grant, Community Support and Historian: Dennis Abbott, Standard Bearer: Freddy Roiseux, Member: Ann Morley, Chaplain: Canon Reverend John Wilkinson.
Thank you, Jacques
Jacques Chaplier, who welcomed the branch to Hotton for nearly a decade during his term as burgomaster, stood down after 33 years on the political scene on 23 December 2021. Members wished him well.
Sir Peter Westmacott, grandson of founder Chair
Vice-President Sir Peter Westmacott
Long-serving diplomat Sir Peter Westmacott GCMG LVO, grandson of the founder Chair of Brussels branch, Captain (later Major) Horace Field Westmacott, was invited to become Honorary Vice-President at the start of its 2022 centenary year.
Sir Peter served as Ambassador to the United States from 2012 to 2016 during Barack Obama’s Presidency. He was previously Ambassador to Turkey (2002-2006) and France (2007-2012).
Born in 1950 in Edington, Somerset, he was educated at Taunton School and New College Oxford, joining the Foreign Office in 1972. His 43-year diplomatic career included four years in Iran before the revolution and a secondment to the European Commission as a fonctionnaire en échange in 1978-80. From 1990-1993, he was Deputy Private Secretary to the then Prince of Wales.
Sir Peter’s paternal grandfather Captain H.F. Westmacott and his Belgian-born wife Andrée Gavage lived in Brussels from 1921-34. Their son Ian served in the Royal Navy for 21 years. He married Patricia Watney, a WREN, in 1942. After retiring from the Navy in 1960 he began a new career as a vicar. Sir Peter’s father died in 2003 and his mother in 2019, aged 100. Captain Herbert (Richard) Westmacott MC, son of Ian’s cousin Herbert (Pat) Westmacott DSO DSC and Bar, a Second World War submariner, was killed serving with the SAS in Belfast in 1980.
Sir Peter married Susie Nemazee in 2001. He has three grown-up children: Oliver, Laura, Rupert and a step-daughter, Safieh.
Tenby Memorial Committee
To commemorate the creation of the Free Belgian Forces in the Welsh town of Tenby in May 1940, the website https://www.tenbymemorialcommittee.be/ was created in January 2022 at the initiative of Colonel Baron Christian Houtart. With support from the RBL, Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmès, and military associations including Friends of Brigade Piron, a Tenby Memorial Committee was set up to organise commemorative events.
Visit to Wellington Museum
More than 20 members and supporters joined the first battlefield tour of the branch’s centenary year on 13 February 2022. The visit to the Wellington Museum in Waterloo, combined with the Road to Dunkirk Exhibition (details above), was led by committee member Alain Brogniez and Olivier d’Olne, with an introduction to the Battle of Waterloo by the author. Alain laid a wreath beside an exhibit commemorating the 97 British troops massacred by Waffen-SS at Le Paradis and 80 British and French POWs murdered in Wormhout. Only one man, Hauptsturmführer Fritz Knöchlein, responsible for the first massacre, was convicted of war crimes. The tour, organised by Steve Grant, raised nearly €100 for the Legion.
The RBL group outside 15th-century Saint Peter's Church in Leuven
Discovering Leuven
Organised by committee member Steve Grant, 22 RBL members and supporters gathered at Leuven train station on 12 March 2022 for the second tour of the centenary year. For three hours, guide Christophe Deconinck took the group around the city, admiring its remarkable art and architecture, and sharing some of its myths and legends.
The highlight was Saint Peter’s Church (Sint-Pieterskerk), an unfinished Brabantine High Gothic masterpiece. Its unique relics and art include The Last Supper by Belgian artist Dirk Bouts, painted between 1464 and 1468. The church also has a shrine containing the remains of Fiere Margriet (Proud Margaret), a young servant murdered by thieves in the 13th century. Her body was dumped in the River Dijle but floated back to the town and she was thereafter associated with miracles.
The group also visited the University Library: the original building was established a few years after the founding of the university in 1425. During the French occupation in 1797, Revolutionary forces removed thousands of its rare books and manuscripts. But worse was to come: the library was burned down twice during the two world wars in 1914 and 1940.
The more adventurous in the group also climbed the 1920s bell tower to enjoy a fine view of the city.
Saint Patrick's Europe Day Parade
Author, Oleksandra and Ciaran at the start of the parade
In the Grand Place (Photoresk & Bert Sohl)
The author was invited to carry the United Nations’ Siege of Jadotville battle flag, on behalf of the RBL, at the head of the annual Saint Patrick’s Europe Day Parade for Peace on 19 March 2022. Watched by hundreds of spectators and shoppers in Brussels, the procession sent a message of support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Oleksandra Kobernik, a Ukrainian trainee at the European Parliament, proudly carried her country’s flag, while Ciaran O’Riordan held the Irish Tricolour.
Accompanied by the Brussels Caledonian Corneymusers Pipe Band and LJM Street Band, the parade wound its way from Halles Saint-Géry to the Grand Place, where it was greeted by Irish Ambassador to Belgium Kevin Conmy and Ambassador Vsevolod Chentsov, Head of the Ukraine Mission to the EU.
Organised by the Irish in Europe Association, the day’s events began at the city’s Press Club with the investiture of poet Terry McDonagh as Grand Marshal. Anastasiia Vezhnevets, second secretary at the Mission of Ukraine, gave an impassioned account of the situation in her country.
Readings were given by military author Frank Ledwidge, grand nephew of war poet Francis Ledwidge, Gareth Lawrence, reading verse by Welsh bard Hedd Wyn (both poets were killed on 31 July 1917 at Pilkem Ridge and buried at Artillery Wood Cemetery near Boezinge), Frank Schwalba-Hoth, former Green member of the European Parliament, and host Denis J. Buckley, International President of the Irish in Europe Association.
Francis Ledwidge
Hedd Wyn
Hungarian violinist Dénes Dosztán played Irish folk tunes, while Lotte Van Humbeeck and Lynsey De Vos of Taradance performed Irish dances. The author read In Flanders Fields, with Audrey Brennan and Bert Sohl delivering the same verse in French and Flemish.
The UN battle flag belonged to the late Pat Quinlan, commander of Irish UN troops at the 1961 Siege of Jadotville in the Congo. His son Leo Quinlan, an artist and military veteran, brought the flag specially for the parade.
Air force anniversary
Steve Grant and the author represented the branch at a reception on 20 April 2022 to celebrate Belgo-British air force cooperation and the 80th anniversaries of 349 Squadron and 350 Squadron. Personnel from both squadrons, accompanied by Belgian Air Component commander Major General Thierry Dupont, attended the event at the British Residence, hosted by Ambassador Martin Shearman and Defence Attaché Group Captain Justin Fowler. RAF A400M trainers based with 15th Air Transport Wing at Melsbroek airbase were also present. Created as part of the Free Belgian Forces in the Second World War, 349 Squadron and 350 Squadron both took part in D-Day and operations in occupied Europe. After the war, they transferred to the Belgian Air Force but retained their original name. Now part of 10th Tactical Wing, they operate from Kleine Brogel Air Base in Limburg. Joseph Moureau, the last Belgian pilot to fly in the original 349 Squadron on D-Day, died in October 2020 aged 99.
Isotonic Stella
Chair Zoe White and David Bizley met a team from the RBL’s National Cyclists Branch – with a tray of beers – as they reached Leuven on their 10-day trip from London to Berlin. Led by REME veteran Paul Harding, the peloton set off on 29 April 2022. After an overnight in Ypres on 1 May, the initial plan was for Brussels members to join the pack at Ninove and escort them to the Parc du Cinquantenaire, however the route was amended. The isotonic effect of a Stella at Leuven proved a key aid to the team’s evening recovery. They made it to Berlin on 8 May – an amazing effort by all involved.
Going commando
The third tour of the centenary year took place in Namur on 7 May 2022. Organised by Jean-François Husson and Steve Grant, the visit began at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission section in the city’s Belgrade cemetery. Captain James Ward, decorated with the Military Cross with two Bars and the Distinguished Conduct Medal, is among the notable burials.
The group of nearly 20 members and supporters then visited the Belgian Commandos museum in Flawinne, with host Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Schepkens. The museum traces the unit’s story from its formation in Britain as 4th Troop No10 Inter-Allied Commando by Captain (later général-major) Georges Danloy KCVO MBE in the Second World War. It took part in operations on the Gustav Line in Italy, Vis (Yugoslavia), Walcheren (Netherlands) and Germany. Packed with exhibits including jeeps, a Goatley collapsible boat and array of weapons, the museum also covers the commandos’ operations since the war in Korea, Africa, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
Anthony Rose, Philippe Bragard and Jean-François Husson
Goatley collapsible boat in Commandos Museum
The group also visited Fort de Saint Héribert at Wépion, one of the nine forts erected to defend Namur in the late 19th century. Guide Philippe Bragard, professor of history and architecture at UC Louvain, explained how the fort was out-dated within years of its completion in 1888 due to advances in weaponry. He also highlighted another inconvenience: the lavatories were outside the perimeter. Not ideal during an attack!
The final part of the tour took in the Citadelle of Namur with its breath-taking underground galleries and magnificent views. The Citadelle was successfully besieged in 1695 by William III, who awarded the battle honour “Namur 1695” to 14 British regiments including the Coldstream Guards and the Royal Irish Regiment.
Fort de Saint Héribert
Gallery in the Citadelle of Namur
(Charlie Wilson and Steve Grant)
Teaming up with the US
A detachment from the US 23rd Engineer Battalion, visiting from Fort Lewis, Washington (Seattle), joined the annual commemoration at Hotton on 8 May 2022. Their forbears held the bridge over the River Ourthe during the Battle of the Bulge from 21-24 December 1944. Lieutenant Colonel Chris Loschiavo, a US exchange officer living in what was the wartime command post in Hotton, tells the story in this video.
Deputy Ambassador Chloe Louter, Andrée Ferrant and Jean-Pierre Pede gave readings during the church ceremony, conducted by Père Herman Kusola. Chair Zoe White laid a wreath. Burgomaster Martine Schmit led the town delegation.
The commemoration continued at the war cemetery, where Phil Hyde and David Bizley took charge of the logistics. Zoe welcomed attendees who included a guard of honour from the 7ème Compagnie de Ravitaillement & Transport, 4ème Bataillon Logistique, based in Marche-en-Famenne. Chloe, the author and town representatives laid wreaths.
Following an enjoyable lunch, members gathered to pay their respects, together with La Roche-en-Ardenne burgomaster Guy Gilloteaux, at the 51st (Highland) Division Memorial. Lisa Hyde, whose uncle Ron served in the 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry, laid a wreath. The act of remembrance was followed by coffee at Le Chalet.
David Bizley and Alain Brogniez at Hotton
Branch Chaplain Canon John Wilkinson
Deputy Ambassador Chloe Louter
Vice-Chair Jean-Pierre Pede
Author at Cross of Sacrifice
Personnel from US 23rd Engineer Battalion (Joël Delvaux)
European salute
Zoe White and Andrée Ferrant represented the branch at a ceremony to mark the 59th anniversary of CEAC-ECOS (Confédération Européenne des Anciens Combattants et Militaires/Europese Confederatie van Oud-Strijders en Militairen) on 9 May 2022. The organisation, which counts more than a million members, was set up in France to strengthen links between Allied combatants and former enemies.
Zoe at the Colonne du Congrès
Andrée also represented the branch
Centenary anniversary
Chair Zoe White sent a special message to members and supporters on 17 May 2022 to mark the centenary of the branch: “Happy 100th birthday to the Royal British Legion Brussels Branch. The history of our branch is strong and the future is bright. We have a vibrant membership, a dedicated committee team, an exciting plan for the years to come and an incredibly deep connection with this wonderful country of Belgium, where we will continue to honour the sacrifice and service of those who came before us. We will remember them."
How to celebrate? “I invite you all to raise a glass to the branch this evening, a fine Belgian beer of course!”
Return to Isières
On 19 May 2022 the village of Isières remembered nine soldiers who died during the fighting withdrawal to Dunkirk. The event was organised by Patrice Lotiquet, a good friend of the branch, together with Henri Boutriaux, Claude Flament and Aimé Delmée of the Fraternelle de la Résistance d’Isières, and the Union Picarde Commando Parachutiste (UPCP).
UPCP President Jean-Paul Saussez welcomed the RBL delegation which included Zoe White, Andrée Ferrant, Mireille Picron and Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux. Colonel Guy Dobbelaere, representing Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder, Mayor Bruno Lefebvre, aldermen and local councillors were present, with the Harmonie de Meslin l’Evêque and local children, whom Jean-Paul described as “the relay of the duty to remember”.
After researching the war diaries of The Cheshire Regiment, Zoe and Andrée followed the route taken by D Company of the 4th Battalion, from Brussels to Waterloo, Halle, Enghien and, finally, Ath. Records show that the unit was ordered to take and hold a position on the Dendre river. Unfortunately, they sustained severe casualties between 17-19 May 1940, with eight men from D Company and one soldier from 1st Battalion Ox and Bucks Light Infantry killed during the Battle of La Cavée.
In the best French she could muster, Zoe explained the role of the Legion and the story of the nine men. After the laying of flowers, Mireille Picron made the “call to the dead”, with a bell ringing after each name, followed by a minute’s silence, the Last Post and ringing of Aux Champs by two trumpeters from the Musique des Guides. The ceremony ended with God Save The Queen and La Brabançonne. With no linguistic harm done to Belgo-Anglo relations, the parade repaired to a local bar for refreshments, food and singing.
The British graves at Isières
The ceremony underway at Isières
Ostend at Anchor
Members joined the Military Wives Choir Belgium for a visit to Ostend on 23 May 2022 to commemorate the crucial role played by civilian vessels during “Operation Dynamo”, the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk. The “Ostend at Anchor” event was hosted by David Murr, Commodore of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. Mick Gentry and Jane Percival provided a guided introduction and the group visited many of the vessels in the flotilla including Breda, Lady Lou, Mimosa and White Marlin. In all, around 12 Little Ships were present. The choir sang two sets of songs from the deck of Breda and Prunella (Thames Vintage Boat Club) to an appreciative crowd enjoying fine spring weather. After the performances, all were invited onboard Mimosa, at the kind invitation of owner Bernie Rowe, for drinks and snacks.
All aboard: Anthony Rose, Zoe White, Jack Van Sprang, Phil Hyde,
Andrée Ferrant and Jane Percival getting into the Dunkirk Spirit
Western Front hike
Steve Grant, Laura Houlgatte and the author joined diplomats from the UK Mission to the European Union and NATO on a two-day walk along the Western Front Way to coincide with Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations on 3-4 June 2022. After travelling by train to Ostend and then to Nieuwpoort by tram, the near 20-strong group covered 38 kilometres to Ypres on the first day. Twelve walkers continued on the second day, following the line of the trenches around the Ypres Salient to Armentières in France, a distance of nearly 30km. The team paid their respects at the war cemeteries at Menin Road South and Sanctuary Wood. A third day’s 18km hike was abandoned due to heavy rain and the party took the train to Lille instead. The earlier arrival provided an opportunity for the dozen who did not head straight back to Brussels to visit the house where Charles de Gaulle was born. The walk was organised by Peter Boyle, Political Officer (Council) and Lucinda Armstrong, First Secretary at the UK Mission. Lt Col Katherine Prudhoe, International Military Staff Gender Advisor, and Royal Navy Commander Lyndsey Netherwood represented NATO.
In a Flanders field
At Sanctuary Wood
Laura and Katherine cross the border
Hardy souls at Lille Europe (Pictures: Steve Grant and author)
Battle of Waterloo tour
More than 20 members and supporters braved scorching temperatures to join the fourth tour of the year on the famous battlefield of Waterloo. The visit took place on 18 June 2022 – the 207th anniversary of the Duke of Wellington’s epochal victory over Napoleon.
The author, a Waterloo guide, described the battle’s key phases from the defence of Hougoumont, to the charge of the Household and Union brigades, the French cavalry’s attempts to break the Allied squares, and the decisive arrival of Blücher’s Prussians.
The group visited the Panorama, a kind of cinema of its day depicting Ney’s cavalry attacks, then climbed the 226 steps of the Lion Mound, with its breathtaking views, before exploring the superb Mémorial museum.
Re-enactors depicting the Dutch-Belgian van Bylandt brigade
The author making a point on the Lion Mound
The 28-tonne lion
Re-enactors and the Mound
(Pictures: Charlie Wilson and David Bizley)
After a lunch at the Brasserie Le Wellington, the group followed the pathway to Hougoumont Farm, where hundreds of re-enactors were camped, helping to bring the story to life. Hougoumont was the scene of a “battle within the battle”, fought between the British Guards and their allies against diehard French assaults led by Prince Jérôme Bonaparte.
Steve, a Coldstream Guards veteran, talked about the importance of the site to his regiment and of a previous visit with former British Chancellor George Osborne, who unlocked government funding for the farm’s restoration ahead of the 2015 bicentenary.
At the end of the tour the group had the opportunity to chat to members of Waterloo Uncovered, the charity which combines archaeology with veteran wellbeing support and recovery.
Peter and Tina's wedding
Peter wearing his campaign medals
Peter with Joan (David Caggiari-Pallett)
Farewell, Peter
Peter Pallett, a long-time member of the branch, passed away on 25 June 2022. He was 98. Born in West Bromwich, the second son of a milliner and printer, he enlisted as soon as the Second World War broke out, aged 17, though he claimed he was a year older. Peter trained as a driver but was sent to the infantry. He served in the 5th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment and saw action in Africa, Sicily and Italy. “He dodged U-boats in the Atlantic, walked across Africa, got up to shenanigans in Cairo, got lost behind enemy lines in Sicily, walked up the boot of Italy and fought at Monte Cassino,” said his grandson David. Towards the end of the war, Peter was stationed at a POW camp in Naples. It was there he met Tina, an Italian interpreter. They married in Sorrento.
After the war, the couple settled in Sutton Coldfield and had two daughters, Rosemary and Anne. Life in post-war Britain was not easy but Peter had a strong work ethic. He washed cars at a Ford dealer, Chambers of Sutton, and ended up as manager. When both his daughters married Italians, Peter and Tina moved to Taranto in southern Italy to be close to them. They opened the London School of English in 1979, running the business for six years. The school still exists under its original name.
Peter and Tina moved back to Britain for a time and then to Belgium, where they settled. “They were wonderful, doting grandparents,” said David. Married for 57 years, Peter was distraught when Tina passed away in 2002. After a long mourning period, he finally “unleashed” himself, in his grandson’s words. In the last 20 years of his life, Peter made many friends and met a new companion, Joan Murray. “He was a warm and happy man, strong as an ox, full of great stories and a great sense of humour. I am extremely proud to be his grandson,” said David.
In addition to his daughters, Peter left four grandchildren – David, Vivian, Velentina and Richard, and five great-grandchildren Elena, Isaac, Alice, Dylan and Leon.
Waterloo Uncovered
In the first two weeks of July 2022, the author volunteered on an archaeological dig with Waterloo Uncovered, a charity founded by two Coldstream Guards officers, Charlie Foinette and Mark Evans, to support veteran wellbeing. The battlefield excavation, involving British and Belgian archaeologists, together with veterans and students, unearthed only the second skeleton found on the site, close to Mont-Saint-Jean Farm, the location of Wellington’s Allied field hospital (History Hit report). Experts believe human bones were dug up and ground for use as fertiliser or for whitening sugar in the decades after the battle. Ambassador Martin Shearman and novelist Ken Follett visited the excavation.
The skeleton unearthed at Mont-Saint-Jean Farm
Author with musket ball found with a metal detector
(Chris van Houts and Hans Marxen)
Last of the 'Woodpeckers'
Captain David Cable, who served with the RAF’s 136 Squadron in the Far East during the Second World War, passed away on 3 August 2022. He was 98.
Brought up in Iraq, the son of a British engineer and an Iraqi mother, David joined the RAF in 1941, aged 17, after claiming he was older. In April 1945, 136 Squadron moved from their base at Minneriya in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to the remote Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean, from where the RAF planned to attack Japanese-held targets in South-East Asia. Fourteen Spitfires were shipped in crates to the islands and assembled in less than 24 hours.
David was the last survivor of the Squadron, affectionately known as “Woodpeckers” after their call-sign. In 2015, accompanied by son Michael and daughter Natalie, David attended the 70th anniversary VJ (Victory over Japan) Day celebrations in London, where he enjoyed a lengthy chat with Prince (now King) Charles.
After the war, David became a test pilot and joined BEA (British European Airways) before transferring to Sabena in 1952. He served for more than 30 years on its African, American and Far East routes. It was at Sabena that David met his Belgian wife, Liliane, a stewardess. He later set up his own air cargo company, BIAC, and worked as an aviation consultant.
David, who lived in Woluwe Saint-Pierre, lost Lilian in 2017. He is survived by his children Michael, Leslie-Anne, Isabelle and Natalie, as well as seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Film director John Danvoye, a nephew, shot interviews with David about his wartime experiences.
David (sat on propeller) with his squadron
Ready for inspection
With best friend Paddy Clifford
With Sabena pilots (David far right)
With Liliane
David in the cockpit
Wearing campaign medals
With Natalie on VJ Day anniversary
Meeting King Charles
Woodpecker insignia
(Pictures: Michael Cable)
Last of the Belgian SAS
Jaak Daemen, the last surviving member of the Belgian SAS, passed away in Leopoldsburg on 6 August 2022, aged 97. He saw action during “Operation Larkswood”, aimed at encircling German forces in the Netherlands, and was involved in the capture of Admiral Karl Dönitz, who led the Nazi regime after the suicide of Adolf Hitler.
100 members in sight
After a very long wait, the branch held its first in-person committee meeting since the start of the Covid epidemic on 12 August 2022. The team convened at the home of Zoe White and David Bizley for a discussion focused on planning for upcoming activities, in particular the Poppy Appeal, the branch’s 100th anniversary Tea Party and commemoration at Evere.
Jean-Pierre Pede announced that membership had leapt substantially, with the target of 100 members in 2022 well in sight. After a couple of hours of strenuous discussion, it was time for the second agenda item: the BBQ. David’s efforts in the kitchen were much appreciated as the evening turned into a catch-up over food, wine and tales of the summer. New members Phillipa and Peter Chapman enjoyed the feast, together with Andrée Ferrant, Lisa and Phil Hyde, Ann Morley and Dave Lees, Alain Brogniez, Steve Grant and Canon John Wilkinson.
Cheers! Every committee meeting should look like this
1111km by 11/11
Member Rob Vaughan set a target of cycling 1111km by Armistice Day 2022 in aid of the RBL. Rob’s rides took him to war cemeteries across Belgium and he commemorated a casualty in each, telling their story via his Just Giving page.
The Welsh retired civil engineer, often accompanied on the trips by wife and fellow member Eleanor, set off towards his target on 16 August 2022. Among the first cemeteries Rob visited was Esquelmes, near the French border, where he sought out the grave of Private Thomas Costello of the Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey), 1/5th Battalion. Thomas was killed in action, aged 18, during the withdrawal to Dunkirk on 21 May 1940.
Rob placed a poppy wreath with a card from Thomas’s sister, who had contacted the RBL, asking if we could leave a message on her behalf. The card read: “My dear brother … on your 99th birthday I still remember you as 18 years, never to be forgotten. God rest your soul, your loving sister, Queenie xxx
Rob has a military background. His father, Lieutenant Islwyn Vaughan, served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War, initially on the Atlantic and Mediterranean convoys. He saw action at Dieppe, helped land the US 2nd Ranger Battalion at Pointe Du Hoc on D-Day, and took part in “Operation Infatuate” in Walcheren.
Rob’s grandfather, Private Samuel Vaughan, served with the 9th Royal Welch Fusiliers in the First World War. He was wounded three times at the Battle of Loos in 1915 but survived.
Rob with his bike
At Pte Costello's grave
Poignant card
Lt Islwyn Vaughan (Pictures: Rob Vaughan)
Quick march for Henri, 97
Count Henri d’Oultremont, who enlisted in the Brigade Piron in 1944, proudly took his place in a parade on the 78th anniversary of the Liberation of Brussels on 3 September 2022. Surrounded by re-enactors in the uniform of the famed Belgian unit, the 97-year-old marched with the energy of a 17-year -old, from Place de la Liberté to the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, then to the memorial to the Mouvement National Royaliste resistance group and the Hôtel de Ville, where the participants enjoyed a well-earned drink and sandwiches.
The parade was accompanied by the Brussels Police Band and historic military vehicles.
Chair Zoe White led the branch delegation, which included Vice-Chair Jean-Pierre Pede, Ethel Pede-Moffatt, Ann Morley, David Lees, Brenda Puplett, Colin Puplett, David Bizley, Alain Brogniez, Rodolphe Lancksweert, and the author. Zoe read the exhortation and Kohima Epitaph at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, while the author laid a wreath in the Hôtel de Ville.
Chloe Louter, Deputy Ambassador to Belgium, Defence Attaché Group Captain John Dickson and Chris Russell, former President of the British Torch of Remembrance, also took part in the parade. Geoffroy Coomans de Brachène, Brussels Capital Region MP and city councillor, thanked the branch for its support. The commemorations were directed by Brussels Capital Military District Warrant Officer Denis Leponce.
Count Henri marches with Brigade Piron re-enactors
Inspecting the troops
Jeep displaying route followed by the Welsh Guards
on 3 September 1944 (Alain Draye and author)
Molenbeek commemoration
The annual Brigade Piron commemoration at the national monument in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean took place on 5 September 2022 and was, as ever, well attended. Andrée Ferrant read the Exhortation and Kohima Epitaph, while Alain Brogniez laid a wreath. The branch was also represented by Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux, Count Henri d’Oultremont, Jack van Strang and the author. Dr Catherine Moureaux, Burgomaster of Molenbeek, opened the ceremony and welcomed the veterans, members, schoolchildren and VIP guests who included British Ambassador Martin Shearman, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to NATO Stephan Müller, French Defence Attaché Colonel Hubert Stahl, Commander of Brussels Capital Military Region Lieutenant-colonel Christ Maseure, and former mayor Françoise Schepmans.
Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux
Didier Dufrane (son of Pierre Dufrane), President of
the Fédération Royale Nationale des Amicales de la Brigade Piron,
with veterans Henri d'Oultremont, André Liegeois,
and Xavier Verzin, and Patrick Robbens
Burgomaster Catherine Moureaux joins Henri and
André with local schoolchildren (Ronny Michaux)
Death of HM Queen Elizabeth II
HM Queen Elizabeth II passed away on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. She was 96. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of a British monarch. She was head of state in 15 countries and head of the Commonwealth, home to 2.5 billion people, from Canada to Australia. Only two days before she died, the Queen welcomed her 15th UK prime minister, surpassing the 14 who served under George III.
As a 19-year-old princess, she attended the RBL’s Festival of Remembrance in 1945 and served as Patron of the charity from her accession on 6 February 1952 until the end of her life. As Queen, she attended the Festival of Remembrance on all but three occasions.
“Her Majesty has been an inspiration to us all, from her unwavering sense of duty to her devotion to a lifetime of service. Her enduring dedication to the Armed Forces will be deeply missed and never forgotten,” said RBL National Chair Jason Coward, echoing the feelings of members worldwide. Branch members signed a book of condolence at the Ambassador’s Residence in Rue Ducale.
Her Majesty the Queen (RBL/Darren Baker)
Battlefield tour: Ypres #2
A year on from the branch’s previous battlefield tour to Ypres, more than 20 members and supporters took part in another visit on 10 September 2022. Organised by Steve Grant and guide Christophe Deconinck, the tour concentrated on sites which were not covered ithe first time.
The itinerary included the football memorial near the site of the Christmas Truce, the grave of George Llewelyn Davies, who inspired J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, and the Bayernwald Trenches, a restored section of a German trench dating from 1916.
The group also visited the Pool of Peace (Lone Tree Crater) at Spanbroekmoelen, created from a crater left by a huge explosion detonated under a German position by the Royal Engineers’ 171st Tunneling Company on 7 June 1917. The crater later filled with groundwater. In the 1920s, the site was purchased for Toc H, the Talbot House charity, by philanthropist former Lord Mayor of London and Castrol Oil magnate Baron Wakefield of Hythe. It has been a memorial since.
The visit also took in the Peace Tower at Messines, which commemorates Irishmen who lost their lives in the First World War. The 34-metre high tower was unveiled by Irish President Mary McAleese on 11 November 1998 in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II and King Albert II of Belgium. The battlefield tour ended with the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate.
Football memorial near the site of the Christmas Truce
RBL group at the Pool of Peace
The Bayernwald Trenches
Interior of the Menin Gate (Charlie Wilson and Zoe White)
Death of Roger Ellis
Members were saddened by news of the passing of Second World War veteran Roger Ellis on 13 September 2022, less than a week after celebrating his 104th birthday. Roger was 25 when he landed on Sword Beach in Normandy. He served in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The funeral took place on 16 September at Uccle crematorium. Roger left two sons and a daughter, Daniel, 76, Francis, 70, and Michelle, 59.
Royal memorial service
Despite inclement weather, members turned out in force for a thanksgiving service for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the Pro-Cathedral of Holy Trinity Brussels on 17 September 2022. The live-streamed bilingual ceremony, largely led by branch Chaplain the Reverend Canon John Wilkinson, celebrated the Queen’s devotion to duty, humanity, courage and life-long commitment to Christianity.
The Right Reverend Dr Robert Innes, Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, gave a moving address, focusing on the Queen’s achievements and her sense of humour – which he witnessed in person as an Honorary Royal Chaplain.
The branch was represented by Zoe White and David Bizley, Jean-Pierre Pede and Ethel Pede-Moffatt, Andrée Ferrant, Steve and Joanna Grant, Philippa and Peter Chapman, Mireille Picron, Robert Vanderbiest and Kathleen Johnson, Jack van Strang and the author.
The UK Embassy to Belgium was represented by Ambassador Martin Shearman and Deputy Ambassador Chloe Louter. Ambassadors Alain Gendron (Canada), Symone Betton Nayo (Jamaica) and Carol Robertson, Consul General of Australia, also paid their respects.
The readings were given by the UK Ambassador and Grace West, a lay minister. Prayers were led by the Reverend Jean Bosco Turahirwa, Assistant Chaplain, Reverend Eric Foggitt, Minister of the Church of Scotland in Brussels, Reverend Canon Professor Dr Jack McDonald, Associate Chaplain and President of the Central Committee of the Anglican Church in Belgium, and Heather Roy, a lay minister. The service ended with God Save The King and La Brabançonne.
The order of service
Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II
The state funeral for HM Queen Elizabeth II took place at Westminster Abbey on 19 September 2022. National President Lieutenant General James Bashall CB CBE represented the RBL and 72 Legion Standards, led by the National Standard Bearer, were lowered in salute at the Cenotaph during the funeral procession.
Online payments welcome
In a message to committee members – via WhatsApp – on 16 October 2022, forward-thinking Poppy Appeal Organiser David Bizley announced plans to buy two online payment terminals. “I am confident they will be a very popular addition to payment options for our planned collection dates at Stonemanor, Leuven and Brussels and will add value to the appeal. We can also use them at other events and year after year. Payments will go straight into the branch account,” he said. The idea met with a unanimous thumbs-up.
Bastogne tour
Bastogne was the setting for the branch’s final – and most popular – centenary year battlefield tour on 22 October 2022. Nearly 40 members and friends enjoyed a superb day in the Ardennes, which began with a visit to the 101st Airborne Museum, housed in a former officers’ mess in Avenue de la Gare. Guide Commandant Johnny Bona showed the group a picture of Adolf Hitler, taken by his official photographer Henrich Hoffmann, outside a house in the same street, where the Führer met General Gerd von Rundstedt on 17 May 1940 after the invasion of Belgium.
Hitler at Bastogne in 1940, in the same street as the museum
Johnny Bona's briefing at 101st Airborne Division Museum
Hitler launched his Battle of the Bulge counter-offensive in December 1944 with the aim of seizing Antwerp and forcing the allies into peace talks so he could concentrate on the Eastern front.
Taking the group through the key moments of the Siege of Bastogne, the guide spoke movingly of his meetings with US veterans, including Vincent Speranza of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, who filled his helmet with beer from a bombed-out café to quench a wounded comrade’s thirst. A German flag he “liberated” in Berchtesgaden, near the Eagle’s Nest, is displayed in the museum. Speranza passed away in Illinois on 2 August 2023, aged 98.
Flag 'liberated' by Vincent Speranza
After a tartiflette lunch in Place McAuliffe, named after 101st Airborne commander General Anthony ‘Nuts’ McAuliffe, the group explored the main battlefield sites on Second World War jeeps and trucks. Accompanied by guides Paul Van Deale, Lionel Colla and a team of drivers, the route took in the Mardasson Memorial, the Wood of Peace, the Easy Company monument (erected with support from Band of Brothers’ producer Tom Hanks among others), the foxholes at Bois Jacques, and the German war cemetery at Recogne.
Luckily, the weather was perfect throughout – so different to the freezing conditions endured during the battle.
Guide Lionel Colla and restored Sherman tank in Place McAuliffe
Inside a jeep
Now this is fun
Poppy wreath in foxhole at Bois Jacques
The visit ended at the guides’ HQ, an old forge in Mabompré, where David Bizley officially launched the 2022 Poppy Appeal before the group was invited to enjoy some fine Wallonia beers and sandwiches ahead of the coach trip back to Brussels. Hats off to Steve Grant for organising another splendid tour.
Launch of the 2022 Poppy Appeal at the old forge in Mabompré
(Pictures: Steve Grant, Rob Vaughan, author and US National Archives)
Stonemanor success
Stonemanor, the British store in Everberg, welcomed Poppy Appeal volunteers on the last weekend of October and first weekend of November 2022. Chair Zoe White and Poppy Appeal Organiser David Bizley set up a table crammed with RBL goodies, including pin badges, bags, lanyards and jewellery, as well as baby socks and decorations handmade by Ann Morley. For the first time, the new online payment terminal was deployed alongside traditional collection tins. Volunteers over the two weekends also included Andrée Ferrant, Ricky Rose, Colin and Brenda Puplett, Alain Brogniez, David Lees, Anthony Rose, Philippa, Peter and Caitlin Chapman, Laura Houlgatte and the author. Collections were also held at Churchill’s pub in Brussels and Sint-Pieterskerk in Leuven.
David and Alain
Colin, Brenda and Alain
Laura and the author
Alain and Dave
Andrée, Ricky and David in Leuven
Poppies and Bleuets
Our NATO Poppy Appeal volunteers, including David Bizley, Group Captain Stu Andrews and Norman McNair, teamed up with the French delegation to sell poppies alongside the “bleuets de France”, from 31 October 2022.
Intent cordiale: teaming up with the Bleuet de France at NATO
Duty of remembrance
In a broadcast on 5 November 2022 for West Flanders francophone regional TV station Notélé, Mireille Picron talked about why remembrance still matters. Filmed at the Chièvres airbase museum and British memorial in Isières, Mireille underlined the importance of making young people aware of the scale of sacrifice in the world wars. A former French language teacher at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Mireille also spoke of the warm welcome she received on joining the branch.
Mireille speaking during her interview with Notélé
You did it, Rob
He did it! Rob Vaughan completed his 2022 Poppy Appeal challenge of cycling 1111km to war cemeteries across Belgium between mid-August and Armistice Day. Accompanied by wife Eleanor, Steve Grant and Lieutenant Colonel Katherine Prudhoe, Rob hit his target on 5 November 2022 with a 50km round-trip from Brussels to Halle communal cemetery, the site of the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station during the First World War. Among the 108 Commonwealth burials is the grave of Randolph McMahon MC. Originally from Sydney, Randolph enlisted as a private and reached the rank of Lieutenant. He saw action at Gallipoli and the Somme, receiving the Military Cross for a daring counter-attack at Demicourt on 15 April 1917. He survived the war but, while on leave in Brussels, he caught Spanish flu and died on 23 February 1919.
Mission accomplished: Rob, Eleanor, Steve and Katherine
Woluwe commemoration
Alain Brogniez represented the branch at Armistice Day commemorations in Woluwe Saint-Lambert on 11 November 2022. Attended by Mayor Olivier Maingain and members of the Belgian Para-Commando Old Comrades’ Association, the ceremonies began at the monument aux morts in Square Joséphine-Charlotte. Children laid wreaths on behalf of the VIPs and the branch. Says Alain: “It was a pleasure to see such motivated kids. At the lawn of honour in the old cemetery, we stopped at every veteran’s grave. I laid a cross at the grave of Jacques Ortmans (1924-94), who joined the Belgian SAS Squadron in 1944. I was privileged to meet him in the Eighties at the Cinquantenaire Air Museum.”
Heverlee: Queen and Ukraine remembered
The branch held its centenary Remembrance Sunday service at Heverlee War Cemetery on 13 November 2022. Led by Reverend Canon John Wilkinson and Chair Zoe White, the ceremony was attended by nearly 150 people, including senior military representatives and a large number of scouts and guides.
Ambassador Martin Shearman paid tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II, who was patron of the RBL throughout her reign, and also praised the work of the branch during its 100 years of existence.
Vice-Chair Jean-Pierre Pede read the names of branch members and friends who sadly left us in 2021-22: Peter Pallett, who fought at Monte Cassino, Captain David Cable, who served with the RAF’s 136 Squadron, and Normandy veteran Roger Ellis.
A poignant contribution came with a reading by Ukrainian teenager Dmytro Soloviov, a refugee from the conflict with Russia and member of 1st Waterloo International Scouts. His words, spoken in English and his native tongue, were greeted with spontaneous applause. Daphne Apuzzo and Elise Dalli of 1st Brussels Guides led a prayer for peace.
Martin Johnson, EU Director at the Scottish Government Office in Belgium, also spoke movingly, recalling that two of his great uncles lost their lives during the First World War.
The Military Wives Choir Belgium, conducted by Nigel Ward, sang We Will Remember Them and Poppy Red. Bagpiper Alain Breysem played Flowers of the Forest, the traditional lament during the laying of the wreaths, and Lieutenant Colonel Richard Ovey played The Last Post and Reveille. Branch Standard Bearer Freddy Roiseux led the arrival and departure of the flag bearers.
UK Ambassador Martin Shearman
General Jérôme Goisque
Ambassador Ariadne Petridis and General Claude Van de Voorde
Cross of Sacrifice
David's tribute
Flags lowered during the two-minute silence (Rob Vaughan and David Bizley)
As well as the British Ambassador and Martin Johnson, wreaths were laid by Brigadier John Oldroyd, UK Deputy Military Representative to NATO and the European Union, Eleanor Vaughan, Head of the Welsh Government Office, Ambassador Ariadne Petridis, Permanent Representative of Belgium to NATO, Lieutenant General Claude Van de Voorde, Military Representative of Belgium to NATO, Vice Admiral Scott Bishop, Military Representative of Canada to NATO, Lieutenant General Jérôme Goisque, Military Representative of France to NATO and the EU, Colonel Jason Bridges, US Delegation to NATO, Wing Commander Jesse Laroche, representing the Australian delegation to NATO and the EU. Colonel Baron Christian Houtart represented the Tenby Memorial Committee.
Wreaths were also laid by Stephen Hanson on behalf of the Royal Air Force Association and Philippe Lefèvre for RBL Brussels branch. Poppy Appeal Organiser David Bizley laid a wreath in memory of his grandfather, Lance Serjeant Albert Sidney Fendt, who served with the 2nd Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment and was killed in action in Burma on 24 January 1945. James Franey, European correspondent for the Daily Mail, received a wooden cross in memory of his grandfather, John Franey DFC and bar, who passed away aged 100 on 10 November. John, who served with 100 Squadron and 105 Squadron, also flew with Bomber Command’s Pathfinder Force, marking targets for D-Day. He was one of the few to complete more than 100 missions during the Second World War.
The commemoration was impeccably organised by Phil Hyde and his team, including David Bizley, Anthony Rose, Ricky Rose, Steve Grant, Joshua Harris and Rob Vaughan. After the ceremony, members enjoyed a lunch at the Bleu Blanc in Oud-Heverlee.
John Franey DFC and bar: obituary in The Times
Whopping Poppy Appeal
Reporting on 7 December 2022, Vice-Chair and Treasurer Jean-Pierre Pede announced that the 2022 Poppy Appeal had raised a whopping €12,863 – with some collections still coming in. The committee congratulated Poppy Appeal Organiser David Bizley and all the volunteers including Jackie Farbridge who, as every year, collected across schools in the Liège area, raising €607, and Mireille Picron, who brought in €513 from her neighbourhood in Isières. A further €2,000 was raised from collections at NATO.
Centenary AGM
The annual general meeting at in Tervuren’s Den Engel bar on 6 January 2023 was combined with a centenary celebration, delayed due to death of Her Majesty the Queen. David Bizley reported that recent donations meant that the total raised during the 2022 Poppy Appeal had swelled to more than €13,000, with the year’s battlefield tours contributing €1,195. Vice-Chair Jean-Pierre Pede recommended that the annual membership fee should remain at €25. The branch was just one short of 100 members, with an average age of 63.
Rodolphe Lancksweert updated members on events planned by the Tenby Memorial Committee, which commemorates the formation of the Free Belgian Forces, including a seminar at UCLouvain (Université catholique de Louvain) on 3 February and a remembrance weekend in Tenby on 23-24 September 2023.
Michele Davison and Philippe Lefevre were elected as joint recruitment officers. Michele, 58, an ombudswoman for the city of Brussels, is the daughter of Michael Davison, a Royal Tank Regiment veteran who took part in the liberation in September 1944. He met her Belgian mother, Maria Van Beveren, and stayed after they married in 1947. Michele’s great-grandfather, Lance Serjeant David Griffiths of the 7th Battalion Border Regiment, was killed in the First World War and lies in Brandhoek Military Cemetery near Ypres.
Philippe, 24, a security and defence consultant, pledged to help target new younger members.
Michael Whitburn and Scott Wilson took up the reins as joint newsletter coordinators
Michele Davison
Michele's father on duty
Serving in Bielefeld in 1947
Michele's parents on a visit to England when
Maria first met her new in-laws in 1948
Youth target: Philippe Lefevre
At the end of the AGM, Chair Zoe White invited members to enjoy some bubbly and a slice (or two) of a wonderful cake, procured by Alain Brogniez. Zoe thanked members for their support and Jean-Pierre Pede raised a toast to King Charles III.
Members at the centenary AGM at Den Engel in Tervuren
Zoe cuts the 100th birthday cake (David Bizley)
Close-up of the cake (David Bizley)
To the next 100 years!
Without its dedicated volunteers and supporters, with Belgians accounting for around half of the local membership, it is doubtful the branch would still be flourishing after 100 years. The friendships it has fostered – not to mention more than a few marriages (in 1956 the Daily Express reported 6,000 British-Belgian couples tied the knot after the war) – are proof of the enduring Anglo-Belgian relationship, despite the occasional bump in the road. Here’s to the next 100 years!
