Day 125 - Left in the Dark, May 10, 1940 - Belgium!

"In May 1940, Dunkirk, the biggest Churchill defeat of the lot....Letters between Churchill and the French Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud, revealed the ugly truth that Churchill, himself, gave the secret order to Lord Gort, the British General in command of the British expeditionary force at Dunkirk, "Withdraw, fall back," or as Churchill put it, "Advance to the coast." That was Churchill's wording. "And you are forbidden to tell any of your neighboring allies that you are pulling out. The French and the Belgians were left in the dark that we were pulling out."

I just found the above information on the Internet.  Churchill's decision had a big impact on my family in Belgium fThe most profound thing I have learned from my Dad's memoir and subsequent readings is that life is very random!

From May 10, 1940 onwards my dad, his family and the Belgian and French people were left very much in the dark and initially had to rely to a great extent on their own resourcefulness to survive what they were confronted with as events continued to unfold ...........

Day 124 - Belgian Buchenwald Survivor!

Have just got back from a trip to Europe to visit my mother!  I was able to read a family tree book that she has in  her possession.  My maternal grandfather's family also came from Belgium and settled in London during World War One as refugees.  Yes, my mum and dad are related, which is something I had a bit of trouble coming to terms with until recent times! 

My grandfather on my Mum's side and my Dad's side were both Flemish!  The family tree book traces their common ancestors back to one man from Bruge, now Belgium, mid 1500's, who had four children.  Surreal to see photos of my ancestors staring out at me through the generations! 

I am not sure how this blog is going to continue and what form it is going to take - I will think about that later.  I am still jet lagged and consequently not thinking very clearly.

During my trip,  I visited Spain, France and Italy and was very close to Morroco.  I had time to reflect on some of the experiences my Dad mentioned about Morroco and World War II.  

I was very pleased to see a monument in the harbour at Ajaccio!, Corsica, dedicated to, Resistance Fighters from WWII.  I took some pictures - my dad would have liked that!!! I also visited Rome and Tuscany which included Florence and Pisa in Italy - loved that too!

I feel I should mention my maternal grandmother and her family as they also have had a great and interesting background.  The family tree book describes my maternal grandmother as a "cockney" - she was brought up in London, England - all her family and remaining family were can be very Londonish!!

My maternal grandmother spent a lot of her youth round and about The British Museum and The Strand in central London.  In an article in the, London, "Sunday Times",  my uncle described his mother as a feisty lady - she was alive at the time and took offence to that description!!! 

It is very interesting through reading the family tree to learn about  ancestors from the past.  It would appear that some family patterns and (dare I say, idiosyncracies)  and characteristics have coincidentally!!!???? manifested themselves again and again in future generations, Surreal!!!!!!!!!!!

For new readers this blog starts at Day 1 and is the story of my dad's war experiences during World War II from a Belgian POW's perspective. 

Coindidentally, I met someone yesterday, who mentioned to me that he has never come across anybody who had a family member  who survived a German concentration camp experience and was not Jewish - he is 70 years old!

Day 123 - I have fixed the blog as sometimes it is not visible!

I apologize - sometimes this blog is or has been blanked out in white.  I have fixed it now - there seems to a bug in the system!

For anybody new,  Day 1 - Day 123 are blogs of my Dad's memoir.  Day 1 is the beginning of his story.  The blog is mostly about his experiences in the Second World War as a Belgian political prisoner in France, Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.  

Day 122- Finally settling down!

"My fiancee and soul mate now asked me to come and get married in England.  I was 25 years old!  On an earlier occasion,  with a ring I had purchased in Antwerp with my first month's wages, I had made a quick dash to England with an engagement ring - I was 25 years old! 


For our wedding day in England, the hall was booked, the guests invited and the cake brought over from South Africa - things still being short in England!


At the time, Belgium being slow with permissions due to Napoleonic Laws we had to post a notice in the town hall in Ostend, Belgium.  We also had to obtain special permission to get married.


In addition, we went to Church House, Borough of Westminster, London, England, where I swore on the bible and became an accepted Anglican.


My career in the Navy was over and I could now look forward to a shore life with all the responsibilities of a large family.  I ended up with four lovely girls and a boy.............................


Will be continuing this blog with my Dad's manuscript about our his adventures in South Africa and Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia)!