Belgian National Remembrance Committee

Patron: H.M. the King of the Belgians

Non-profit-making association n° 870 009 074.
Statutes published with the Belgian Official Gazette ('Moniteur Belge' - 'Belgisch Staatsblad', November 26, 2004).

Registered by the Federal Home Office of Belgium (nr. 125)

Head-office: Rue des Petits Carmes 24, B-1000 Brussels.

Founded: 1972.

Secretariat:
Jan Van Rijswijcklaan 275 bus 10, B-2020 Antwerp.
Fax: +32-3-237 67 81.
Fortis Bank: account 001-4441080-11.
E-mail: jp.schellekens@gmail.com
Webmaster: Bertrand Gaiffe
Website: http://www.ww1-ww2-commemorations.com

Version française, cliquez ici !   Nederlandse versie, klik hier!

Board of Directors:

A delegation of the Board lays a wreath on the grave of the Unknown Soldier in Brussels on 3 December 2005.

Past Members (deceased):

Organisations associated with the Committee:

In Belgium :

Cercle Royal Mars & Mercure Belgique Bruxelles	Cercle Royal Namurois des Anciens d'Afrique - Namur	Jewish Museum of Resistance and Deportation Mechelen
National Union of Veterans of His Majesty King Léopold III Hageland Area - Langdorp		Société Royale des Officiers Retraités Bruxelles

In France:

• Association du Poilu de la Marne

Sponsors:

In Belgium:

• Westerlund Group - Antwerp, provides specialised logistics services for the pulp and paper industry
• Proviron - Hemiksem & Oostende, Chemicals manufacturing company active in the field of speciality chemicals, both as producer and toll manufacturer.
• Dr. Henri Willaert, M.D. - Antwerp

AIMS of the Belgian National Remebrance Committee (BNRC)

• to assemble informations on our Internet site http://www.ww1-ww2-commemorations.com concerning the places and dates of ceremonies commemorative of the two world wars,
• to provide assistance to Belgian and Allied ex-serviceman political prisoners and deportees, members of the Resistance, civilian and Holocaust victims;
• to help organise national or international commemorations of the two world wars,
• to organise visit of battleields and monuments of 1914-18 and 1939-45,
• to organise conferences on topics related to the two world wars,
• to assemble a national dataase about monuments and sites in Belgium commemorating of the individual sacrifices or events of the period 1939-1945,
• to develop a network of associations capable of sponsoring memorials and events in Belgium.

ACTIVITIES of the BNRC (1972 - 1st September 2006).

CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES (Assitance to ex-service(wo)men and families)

Examples:
• Securing pensions for widows of former members of the Resistance and former political prisoners;
• Finding employment for veterans;
• Enabling hospitalising of former prisoners of war and members of the Resistance;
• Organising official recognitions for widows of members of the Resistance;
• Organising financial support for re-housing of widows of ex-servicemen;
• Organising hospitalisation, visits, and repatriation of British ex-servicemen unwell whilst in Belgium;
• Visiting ill and handicapped ex-servicemen or political prisoners;
• Enabling hospitalisation of invalid Belgian war orphans;
• Organising travel to Sweden of former Belgian political prisoner saved by the 'Bernadotte action';
• Attending hearings of witnesses, such as that of Dr. Scharff at the Antwerp Court of Justice, at the trial of presumed war criminals (in this case S.S. Rottenführers Friedrich Wilhelm and Alfred Grams);
• Searching for British war graves at the requests of families.

The "BELGIAN REMEMBRANCE FUND".

• In collaboration with "Royal British Legion", this programme enabled British war widows, parents and orphans who lacked the financial means to do so independently, to visit the grave of their loved one in Commonwealth war cemeteries in Belgium by organising their travel, accommodation, catering, religious services and so on. This programme was handed over to the Royal British Legion in 1985.

EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES.

General examples:
• In the concentration camp Nazi of Fort Breendonk:
• Organising guided tours of the battlefields of the Somme, Ieper (Ypres), Verdun, Fort of Eben-Emael, etc;
• Delivering speeches at commemorative ceremonies (such as Zeebrugge for the raid of April 25 in 1918; the central prison of Leuven; Leeds; London for the 150th anniversary of the independence of Belgium; Dunkirk; Copenhagen graves of Belgian soldiers; Århus; RAF Museum in Hendon, etc.).
• Donating books about Belgium during the two World Wars to the libraries of the Museum of Resistance of Copenhagen, several Swedish schools, and to public libraries of Gothenburg and Mellerud (Sweden),
• Belgium:
• Contact day in Antwerp promoting the medico-psychological assistance of war victims in Belgium and the Netherlands;
• At former Nazi concentration camp of Fort Breendonk:
1. preparation, guided tours and follow-up of school visits and of Belgian, Danish, British and Swedish associations;
2. translation into Swedish of official guide to the concentration camp;
3. organisation of the annual Protestant Road of the Cross on Good Friday (with participation of Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish churches).
• Conference on 'The Belgian civil population in 1940-1945' at the Swedish Association ('Svensk Samling') in Antwerp;
• Conference on 'The efforts of the Danish Merchant Navy and Naval Forces from 1940 to 1945' at the Danish Seamen's Church in Antwerp;
• Delivery of speech at the last official anniversary of the Raid on Zeebrugge (April 25, 1918);
• Delivery of speech at the handing-over of a SAAB Draken of the Swedish Air Force to the Army Museum of Brussels;


SAAB Draken displayed at the Royal Army Museum in Brusels

• Application for the Cross of Honour of the Belgian National War Veterans Association for two British ex-servicemen who saved a Belgian artillery officer under enemy fire between Veurne and Dunkirk in May 1940;
• Delivery of speech (incl. slides) on 'Dunkirk 40 years later' at the Association of Polish ex-servicemen in Belgium;
• Application for the Cross of Honour of the Belgian National War Veterans Association for four survivors of the battle of Messines (October 31, 1914) from the London Scottish Regiment. Conference on "the Belgian civil population in 1940-1945" with Swedish Association (Svensk Samling) in Antwerp;
• Denmark:
• Conference on "Belgian Resistance in 1914-1918 and 1940-1945" and donation of books about Belgium during the two World Wars at the Freedom Museum ('Frihedsmuseet') of Copenhagen;
• Presentation (incl. slides) on 'Dunkirk, 40 years later' in the Freedom Museum of Copenhagen;
• Delivery of speech at the General assembly of Danish Resistance Fighters (Frihedskampens Veteraner) in Copenhagen and in Århus;
• France:
• Delivery of speech at the Town hall of Dunkirk and donation of an old map of the area as a token of gratitude for welcoming Belgian refugees in May 1940.
• Great-Britain:
• Delivery of speeches in Leeds on the 25th birthday of the Dunkirk Veterans Association 1940;
• London at the Annual assembly of the London Scottish Regiment and donation of war souvenirs for Regiment's Museum;
• London at the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Belgium; RAF Museum in Hendon; etc...
• Norway:
• Conference on 'The Belgian civilian population during the occupation from 1940 to 1945' for 'Belgiske Klubben' in Oslo (attended by the Belgian ambassador).
• Sweden:
• Conference on 'The Belgian civilian population during the occupation from 1940 to 1945' followed by discussion for:
1. The Association of British ex- servicemen in Sweden (Stockholm);
2. Göteborgs Högre Samskola (school); Lilla Edets Gymnasium (high school); Göteborgs Huvudbibliotek (central library).
• Organisation of the visit to Belgium of the Reserve Officers Association of Stockholm:
1. wreath-laying ceremony at the grave of the Unknown Soldier in Brussels;
2. visit to the Royal Army, Tank and Air Museum, Waterloo and Bastogne;
3. social gathering with Belgian reserve officers.

ORGANIZATION OF REMEMBRANCE CEREMONIES:

• Organisation of the official visit of the Bernadotte Association to Belgium (1995):
• guided tour of Fort Breendonk;
• inauguration of a plaque commemorating the rescue of more than 1,000 Belgian political prisoners from Nazi concentration camps by the Swedish Red Cross in 1945;
• reception at the Royal Palace presented by Her Royal Highness the Princess Astrid of Belgium;
• meetings with former political prisoners saved by the Bernadotte action and recovered in Sweden;
• establishing relations with the Belgian and Swedish press in Belgium and with the national and communal authorities;
• organisation of transport to Belgium of the last white bus (that transported political prisoners from Germany to Sweden in March and April 1945).
• Organisation of official visit of Bernadotte Association to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (2001) including commemorative ceremonies and visit of the Museum of the Resistance in Esch-sur-Alzette.


Hollerich Station (Luxemburg-City), from where Luxemburgisch Resistants and Jews were deported between 1941 and 1944. Nowadays Museum of the Deportation.

• Help with the organisation of travel to Belgium; the Netherlands (1984); Normandy (1984, 1989, 1994, 1999); ceremonies of Dunkirk (1980 and 1985) for the members of the Association of Danish ex-servicemen in the Allied Forces ('De Allieredes Danske Våbenfæller');
• Help with the organisation of travel to Belgium of the delegation of Danish and Norwegian ex-servicemen on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the evacuation of Dunkirk (accommodation; catering; transport; excursions in Houthulst, Ieper (Ypres) and Bruges);
• Participation to the annual commemoration of the crash of a RAF bomber plane with a Australian, British, Danish and New-Zealand crew near Langdorp.
• Denmark:
• Organisation of Remembrance Service at the Danish church on April 9, 1981 commemorating the occupation of Denmark and Norway (followed by film taken by members of the Danish Resistance during the second World War).
• Norway:
• Ceremony at the grave of a Norwegian Flying Officer in Dunkirk and of a Captain of the Norwegian Navy in Blankenberge.
• Commemorations of the battle of Messines (October 31, 1914):
• Organisation of the stay of "London Scottish Regiment" in Ieper (1975) for all members and ex-serviceman of the regiment,
• Organisation of the ceremonies in collaboration with the communal and military authorities: Beating the Retreat, religious ceremony in the Menin Gate, processions in Ieper (Ypres) and Messines, ceremony in the Memorial of the regiment in Messines, inauguration of the London Scottish room at the local museum, accomodation and catering, preparation of press packs.


Ted Bathurst, volunteer of The London Scottish Regiment, survivor of the Battle of Messines (Belgium) on the 31st October, 1914.

• Annual pilgrimage of Dutch ex-serviceman survivors of the bombing of U.S. Pavon (June 28, 1940):
• Organisation of stay in Calais (accomodation and cateringl) with the association of dutch ex-serviceman ("Oud-Wapenbroeders"),
• organization of the ceremonies in collaboration with the communal and military authorities of Calais and of Hemmes-with-Marck, in remembering the 154 Dutch soldiers victims of the bombardment.


Dutch War Veterans, survivors of the m.s. "Pavon", on the beach at Hemmes-les-Marck near Calais where the vessel was bombarded and beached, at the cost of 154 Dutch military personnel, on 28th May, 1940.

• Fraternisations:
• between Belgian, British, French, Dutch, Danish, Nowegian and Polishex-serviceman or political prisoners durings visits or ceremonies;
• First fraternisation in 1975 between 100 Danish and Belgian War Veterans in Antwerp:
1. ceremony at the War Memorial;
2. reception at the Town hall;
3. briefing concerning the Liberation of Antwerp Harbour in 1944;
4. naval excursion on the river Scheldt;
5. banquet, visit and reception at the barracks of the State Police Constabulary;
6. visit of the military cemetery and of the concentration camp of Fort Breendonk;
7. religious ceremony at the Danish church.
• Consultancy:
• Advising associations about the organisation of commemorative ceremonies (e.g. invitations; music; civilian or military protocol; religious services; etc...)

REPRESENTATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE AND WREATH-LAYING CEREMONIES:

• Belgium:
• National ceremonies at Fort of Breendonk;
• National Shooting Range in Brussels (which served as the execution place of members of the Resistance in the two World Wars);
• Memorial of the Resistance in Liege;
• Memorials of Ravensbrück in Brussels and Antwerp;
• Cromwell tank Memorial in Antwerp;
• Memorials at Ieper (Ypres) and Messines;
• Memorial and war cemetery at Lier;
• Memorial at Burcht;
• Ceremonies commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne and surroundings;
• Commemorative ceremony in Antwerp at the grave of members of the Resistance on the 40th anniversary of their execution (November 11, 1942).
• The Netherlands:
• Religious ceremony in the Nieuwe Kerk and at the National Monument in Amsterdam on the Day of the Fallen ('Dodenherdenking')
• Pilgrimage to the execution site of the Waalsdorpervlakte in The Hague;
• Annual commemorations on the Day of the Fallen (May 4th) in The Hague;
• Belgian participation to the annual parade of Liberation Day ('Bevrijdingsdag') annually on May 5th in Wageningen;
• Organisation of the Dutch participation in Dunkirk;
• Participation in the annual ceremony commemorating Belgian Prisoners of War killed and buried in Willemstad.
• Great Britain:
• Battle of Britain Memorial Service in Westminster Abbey;
• Channel Ports Meeting 1980 in Margate/Ramsgate;
• Visit to the RAF Manston base;
• Participation in the organisation of the 150th anniversary of Belgian Independence in London;
1. organisation of travel of the Belgian delegation;
2. donation of a painting painted by Lieutenant General Boussemaere to the Director of the RAF Museum in Hendon;
3. religious and wreath-laying ceremony at the Guildhall in London.


The Stone of Remembrance, graves and the Cross of Sacrifice. A typical war cemetery cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. "Their name liveth for evermore" (Rudyard Kipling).

• Denmark:
• Organisation of the Danish participation to the 40th and 45th anniversary of the embarcation of Dunkirk;
• Wreath-lying at the Monument of the Danish Sailors in Nyhavn;
• Ceremony at the grave of five Belgian soldiers in Vestre Kirkegaard and at the Memorial Field ('Mindelunden') in Copenhagen.
• Norway:
• Ceremony and wreath laying at the site of executions ('Akershus') in Oslo;
• Organisation of the Norwegian participation to the 40th anniversary of the embarcation of Dunkirk.
• France:
• Participation in the inauguration in Malo-les-Bains of a commemorative plate to the Belgian fishermen having taken part in the evacuation of Dunkirk;
• Annual ceremonies commemorative of the battle of the Somme (1916) in Albert, Thiepval, Beaumont-Hamel, Fricourt, La Boisselle and Ulster Tower.


A delegation of the Committee lays a wreath at the Memorial to the Fallen of the city of Albert (Somme, France).

ANNUAL PILGRIMAGES OF THE "DUNKIRK VETERANS ASSOCIATION 1940":

For 25 years (from 1975 until the association was dissolved in 2000), the Committee has been acting as the Belgian Liaison Officer to the Hon. Secretary General of the association. Its duties consisted of:
• Preparations for and assistance to the ceremonies in Dunkirk and De Panne;
• Coordination of Belgian, French, Polish, Danish, Norwegian and Dutch delegations for the 40th and the 45th anniversary;
• Assistance with problems concerning local accommodation;
• Help to ill and invalid veterans and their families in hotels and hospitals;
• Official request and preparations of the presence of a Representative of H.M. the King of Belgium at the 40th anniversary;
• Preparation of press packs.


Last international meeting of the "Dunkirk Veterans Association 1940" in Dunkerque, June 2000

RELATIONS WITH THE PRESS:

• Distribution of press articles and photographs concerning ceremonies organised by the Committee for the Daily Telegraph, the Swedish press in Belgium, La Voix du Nord, the Newspaper of the Combattants-Strijdersblad, La Semaine d'Anvers, VOX, Gazet van Antwerp, De Nieuwe Gazet, Volksgazet, Göteborgs Posten, etc...
• Interview with Swedish press concerning the British series 'Secret Army' on Swedish National Television.

Activities in 2006.

1. Participation in the annual ceremonies of the Day of Fallen ("Dodenherdenking") in The Hague (May 4th) and parade ("Vrijheidsdéfilé) on Liberation Day ("Bevrijdingsdag") in Wageningen (May 5th).
2. Representation of Belgium at the ceremonies commemorating the 90th anniversary of the battle of Somme (July 1st) in Albert, Beaumont-Hamel, Thiepval and La Boisselle.

   
   78.543 names of French, British and German military personnel killed during the Battle of the Somme are being read during 25 consecutive hours in Albert on 1st and 2nd July 2006, here by the Committee's Chairman.

3. On May 6th, a delegation of the Committee was received by the Governor of the Royal Hospital for Former Military Personnel (Koninklijk Tehuis voor Oud-Militairen) in Bronbeek, laid wreaths there at the various war memorials in the Dutch Indies and was shown around the historic Museum of the 300 years long Dutch presence in Indonesia. The afternoon was dedicated to the visit of the Airborne Museum Hartenstein in Arnhem, commemorating the combats in September 1944.

   
   Monument at Bronbeek near Arnhem, to the memory of the Fallen of the Royal Dutch-Indonesian Army (Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger), where a delegation of the Committee laid a wreath on 6th May 2006.

   
   Monument at Bronbeek near Arnhem, to the memory of the young boys interned in concentration camps for boys (the so-called "Jongenskampen") during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia from 1942 till 1945.

4. Inauguration (July 2d 2006) in Thiepval, Somme, of a plate commemorating Lieutenant-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, the only Belgian who took part in the battle of the Somme and was awarded the Victoria Cross for outstanding leadership on July 2nd, 1916 (see the July Press Release).

   
   Commemorative plaque inaugurated on 2nd July 2006 in Thiepval.

5. Involvement in the organisation of the annual pilgrimage of Dutch War Veterans to Calais and to ceremonies commemorating the bombardment of the m.s. "Pavon" on May 28th 1940.

   
   Blessing of the plaque by the Committee's Chaplain, Reverend Dirk Milio.

6. Participation to the Belgian delegation to the 72nd Belgian-British Parade at the Cenotaph in Whitehall in London on July 16th (see below).

   
   Part of the Belgian and British service personnel, standards, war veterans and sympathizers take up position at Horse Guard Parade before the ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall (London) on 16 July 2006.

Projects implemented from 1st september 2006 onwards.

1. Continuous development of the website www.ww1-ww2-commemorations.com
2. Development of 'Memorial' (list of sites and monuments of the Second World War in Belgium);
3. Construction of a new website assembling information for 'Memorial';
4. Introduction of a network of associations willing to sponsor sites, events and monuments;
5. Guided tours of the Fort of Breendonk concentration camp.
6. Organisation of the conference on "The Belgian army on May 10, 1940" by historian Jean Vanwelkenhuyzen.

APPLICATION FORM.