Ely and the Belgian Refugees
As the German Army invaded Belgium, which they saw as their best route to Paris, dispossessed refugees fled ahead of them; those who could manage to do so made for the Channel ports and the sea crossing to Britain. Early in October 1914 the first three Belgian refugees arrived in Ely and stayed with friends on Fore Hill. They told how they had decided to leave Belgium when the Germans had shelled their family’s factory. Along with thousands of others they had got away through Ostend, and it was not until they reached England that they heard Antwerp had fallen; "the news grieved them considerably, as they believed the Allies would have succeeded in holding out against the Germans."
On 26th October 1914 the Ely War Fund Committee had its first meeting and nominated a special committee to deal specifically with the expected influx of Belgian refugees to the city. It was chaired by the Bishop (The Right Reverend Frederic Henry Chase) and led by several local clergy. The treasurers were Mr Joseph Frederick Markillie and Mr William Arthur Stonebridge (the local bank managers) and the secretary was initially Dr Bertram Thomas Leeds Barnett until he was called up, at which point the role was taken on by Canon John Hawke Crosby from the Cathedral. The War Fund Committee gave the Ely Belgian Refugees Fund a start-up grant of £100, and the Fund itself appealed to the public of the Isle of Ely for a further £200, which was considered enough to cover the first six months of operation. The organisers also asked for regular small monthly or weekly donations to be promised, as well as gifts of food and clothing and the loan of furniture.
Between thirty to forty refugees were expected to arrive in the area imminently. Advertisements were placed in the local paper asking for families to offer hospitality, and quickly Mr F. S. Boucher offered the rooms above his High Street shop, a house in Silver Street was donated, and Mrs Downie of Alton gave the committee the use of “Clare Villa” while Mrs Howard of Wanstead placed “The Limes” in Littleport at the disposal of the refugees.
When the refugees themselves arrived in England they were directed first to the clearing station in Aldwych. At the beginning of the War the disused roller skating rink at Aldwych had been taken over by the War Refugees' Committee for use as a facility to provide humanitarian and medical aid to Belgian refugees, many of whom spoke only Flemish. A shed outside became an improvised kitchen, while the rink itself became a food distribution centre. By November 1914 these huge premises were already full, and the Ely committee was faced with the problems of selecting “suitable” refugees from these rooms full of distressed people. Of course, some refugees made their way to Ely because they already had links with friends in the city.
In December 1914 the masters and pupils of Needhams School sponsored eight year old Gaston Roussol to attend the school. Gaston was living in the Silver Street Refugee Home with his mother - his father had died in Belgium.
A sub-committee of ladies, headed, until April 1915, by Mrs Tanqueray, were made responsible for seeing to the appropriate furnishing of the loaned houses and collecting donations. (When Mrs Tanqueray left the area it was Captain Luddington’s wife Dorothy who took on the leadership of this committee.) It was decided to place each of the four houses under the direct supervision of a member of the sub-committee, who became responsible for their allotted families. Teams of Ely ladies went collecting door to door for the Belgian refugees and everything donated was listed with the donor’s name and suitable thanks in the local paper. Some families chose to make weekly or monthly donations, while others donated household items, such as china, or provisions. As it became difficult to distribute the food effectively a central store was set up in Mrs Scott’s house in Lynn Road, although this was closed in Spring 1915 once the refugees were able to manage their own purchases. Coal merchants William Hawkes and Albert Cross supplied free coal for the refugees for the duration of the war. The city’s doctors also gave their services for free for the refugees.
In December 1914 the first official group of sixteen refugees arrived, with another eleven following in January 1915 and being accommodated at the Limes. The Aldwych Office had told Ely that the Belgians were to be treated as guests, but there was much debate locally as to whether they should be seen as recipients of charity or be found employment and an income. As the number of national and local appeals for funding increased it was decided that the refugees must become, as far as possible, self-supporting, and eventually all able-bodied refugees were found employment. The local people were then able to give up their system of “subscriptions” and the refugee families became eligible for grants.
The main refugee colony at Littleport opened in February 1915 in Mr William Cutlack’s house, “the Grange” and at various times this held between 22 and 40 refugees. Workmen such as tailors and carpenters were again plying their trade and the families were growing their own vegetables. A Catholic priest was in residence and acting as teacher to the children. Each family had their own room and they shared the main dining room. Collections were taken up regularly in the locality to support the group. Other individual families were temporarily placed in local villages such as Haddenham, Sutton, Wilburton, Soham, Isleham and Little Downham.
The newspaper of 2nd April 1915 noted that two Belgian girls had been admitted to Silver Street Girls School, and soon boys were also being sent to Needhams School; eventually a Belgian boy was to become head boy at Needhams and some of the Belgian girls were top of the class at Silver Street. King’s School and the Girls’ High School also took in Belgian pupils. In total 8 boys and 4 girls were given an English education. In November 1915 the newspaper carried a touching account of how some of the Belgian children took gifts and letters of thanks to the wounded soldiers in Ely’s VAD Hospital.
1915 was a very busy year for the Refugee Committee as the Belgians did not necessarily intend to stay on in Ely once they had re-established themselves. The original three refugees moved away to Glasgow, and during the year thirty-six people arrived in the City of Ely and thirty-nine left. In 1916 the last three refugees to stay in the city arrived, while nine left. The Silver Street house was able to be given up, although Mr Bidwell lent accommodation for some refugees instead.
By the end of the war a total of 53 refugees had been looked after in the city by the Refugee Committee (both short and long stays) while others had been hosted privately by the Bishop and some of the Cathedral Clergy, bringing the total assisted to exactly 60. Not all of the names of the refugee families are now known, but the following families stayed longer and became well known in Ely: Madame Paternostre with her son and daughter; Madame Hanssens; the Hertsen family; the Vermorckens; the Suetens. The Suetens stayed in a house on Ely's Market Square and were the last Belgian family to leave the city, in February of 1919. They placed a notice in the local newspaper to "thank all friends for the kindness shown to them during their stay".
At the end of the War the Ely Refugee Committee’s balance sheet showed:
Receipts: Subscriptions and donations £618 16s 9d; grants from Ely War Fund £151 9s 5d; grants from Ely and District General War Fund £300; sale of badges £33 12s 1d; Witchford £20 14s 3d; concert at Stretham £5 162 3d; sale of effects £32 16s 6d; workers’ savings £8 11s 7d; sundries 18s 1d. Total £1,172 14s 11d.
Expenditure: furniture £43 11s 3d; clothing £48 4s 9d; coals and gas £105 19s 8d; repairs and renewals £57 4s 11d; travelling £5 2s; housekeeping £789 14s; educational expenses £2 16s 6d; grant to Littleport’s Belgian Fund £25; insurances £3 17s 6d; newspapers & printing £11 15s 2d; rent £32 11s 6d; workers’ savings returned £8 11s 7d; allowances to refugees for returning home £25 11s; gravestone and burial fees for a Belgian child £5; sundries 15s 11d; donation to Belgian Disabled Soldiers’ Fund £7. Total £1,172 14s 11d.
It only remained for an advertisement to be placed in the Ely Standard of 21st February 1919 by the Ladies’ Committee, to say that anyone who had lent pieces of furniture for the use of Belgian refugees and wanted them back should apply to Miss Benson on Forehill or Miss Vye on Barns Road as soon as possible.
On 26th October 1914 the Ely War Fund Committee had its first meeting and nominated a special committee to deal specifically with the expected influx of Belgian refugees to the city. It was chaired by the Bishop (The Right Reverend Frederic Henry Chase) and led by several local clergy. The treasurers were Mr Joseph Frederick Markillie and Mr William Arthur Stonebridge (the local bank managers) and the secretary was initially Dr Bertram Thomas Leeds Barnett until he was called up, at which point the role was taken on by Canon John Hawke Crosby from the Cathedral. The War Fund Committee gave the Ely Belgian Refugees Fund a start-up grant of £100, and the Fund itself appealed to the public of the Isle of Ely for a further £200, which was considered enough to cover the first six months of operation. The organisers also asked for regular small monthly or weekly donations to be promised, as well as gifts of food and clothing and the loan of furniture.
Between thirty to forty refugees were expected to arrive in the area imminently. Advertisements were placed in the local paper asking for families to offer hospitality, and quickly Mr F. S. Boucher offered the rooms above his High Street shop, a house in Silver Street was donated, and Mrs Downie of Alton gave the committee the use of “Clare Villa” while Mrs Howard of Wanstead placed “The Limes” in Littleport at the disposal of the refugees.
When the refugees themselves arrived in England they were directed first to the clearing station in Aldwych. At the beginning of the War the disused roller skating rink at Aldwych had been taken over by the War Refugees' Committee for use as a facility to provide humanitarian and medical aid to Belgian refugees, many of whom spoke only Flemish. A shed outside became an improvised kitchen, while the rink itself became a food distribution centre. By November 1914 these huge premises were already full, and the Ely committee was faced with the problems of selecting “suitable” refugees from these rooms full of distressed people. Of course, some refugees made their way to Ely because they already had links with friends in the city.
In December 1914 the masters and pupils of Needhams School sponsored eight year old Gaston Roussol to attend the school. Gaston was living in the Silver Street Refugee Home with his mother - his father had died in Belgium.
A sub-committee of ladies, headed, until April 1915, by Mrs Tanqueray, were made responsible for seeing to the appropriate furnishing of the loaned houses and collecting donations. (When Mrs Tanqueray left the area it was Captain Luddington’s wife Dorothy who took on the leadership of this committee.) It was decided to place each of the four houses under the direct supervision of a member of the sub-committee, who became responsible for their allotted families. Teams of Ely ladies went collecting door to door for the Belgian refugees and everything donated was listed with the donor’s name and suitable thanks in the local paper. Some families chose to make weekly or monthly donations, while others donated household items, such as china, or provisions. As it became difficult to distribute the food effectively a central store was set up in Mrs Scott’s house in Lynn Road, although this was closed in Spring 1915 once the refugees were able to manage their own purchases. Coal merchants William Hawkes and Albert Cross supplied free coal for the refugees for the duration of the war. The city’s doctors also gave their services for free for the refugees.
In December 1914 the first official group of sixteen refugees arrived, with another eleven following in January 1915 and being accommodated at the Limes. The Aldwych Office had told Ely that the Belgians were to be treated as guests, but there was much debate locally as to whether they should be seen as recipients of charity or be found employment and an income. As the number of national and local appeals for funding increased it was decided that the refugees must become, as far as possible, self-supporting, and eventually all able-bodied refugees were found employment. The local people were then able to give up their system of “subscriptions” and the refugee families became eligible for grants.
The main refugee colony at Littleport opened in February 1915 in Mr William Cutlack’s house, “the Grange” and at various times this held between 22 and 40 refugees. Workmen such as tailors and carpenters were again plying their trade and the families were growing their own vegetables. A Catholic priest was in residence and acting as teacher to the children. Each family had their own room and they shared the main dining room. Collections were taken up regularly in the locality to support the group. Other individual families were temporarily placed in local villages such as Haddenham, Sutton, Wilburton, Soham, Isleham and Little Downham.
The newspaper of 2nd April 1915 noted that two Belgian girls had been admitted to Silver Street Girls School, and soon boys were also being sent to Needhams School; eventually a Belgian boy was to become head boy at Needhams and some of the Belgian girls were top of the class at Silver Street. King’s School and the Girls’ High School also took in Belgian pupils. In total 8 boys and 4 girls were given an English education. In November 1915 the newspaper carried a touching account of how some of the Belgian children took gifts and letters of thanks to the wounded soldiers in Ely’s VAD Hospital.
1915 was a very busy year for the Refugee Committee as the Belgians did not necessarily intend to stay on in Ely once they had re-established themselves. The original three refugees moved away to Glasgow, and during the year thirty-six people arrived in the City of Ely and thirty-nine left. In 1916 the last three refugees to stay in the city arrived, while nine left. The Silver Street house was able to be given up, although Mr Bidwell lent accommodation for some refugees instead.
By the end of the war a total of 53 refugees had been looked after in the city by the Refugee Committee (both short and long stays) while others had been hosted privately by the Bishop and some of the Cathedral Clergy, bringing the total assisted to exactly 60. Not all of the names of the refugee families are now known, but the following families stayed longer and became well known in Ely: Madame Paternostre with her son and daughter; Madame Hanssens; the Hertsen family; the Vermorckens; the Suetens. The Suetens stayed in a house on Ely's Market Square and were the last Belgian family to leave the city, in February of 1919. They placed a notice in the local newspaper to "thank all friends for the kindness shown to them during their stay".
At the end of the War the Ely Refugee Committee’s balance sheet showed:
Receipts: Subscriptions and donations £618 16s 9d; grants from Ely War Fund £151 9s 5d; grants from Ely and District General War Fund £300; sale of badges £33 12s 1d; Witchford £20 14s 3d; concert at Stretham £5 162 3d; sale of effects £32 16s 6d; workers’ savings £8 11s 7d; sundries 18s 1d. Total £1,172 14s 11d.
Expenditure: furniture £43 11s 3d; clothing £48 4s 9d; coals and gas £105 19s 8d; repairs and renewals £57 4s 11d; travelling £5 2s; housekeeping £789 14s; educational expenses £2 16s 6d; grant to Littleport’s Belgian Fund £25; insurances £3 17s 6d; newspapers & printing £11 15s 2d; rent £32 11s 6d; workers’ savings returned £8 11s 7d; allowances to refugees for returning home £25 11s; gravestone and burial fees for a Belgian child £5; sundries 15s 11d; donation to Belgian Disabled Soldiers’ Fund £7. Total £1,172 14s 11d.
It only remained for an advertisement to be placed in the Ely Standard of 21st February 1919 by the Ladies’ Committee, to say that anyone who had lent pieces of furniture for the use of Belgian refugees and wanted them back should apply to Miss Benson on Forehill or Miss Vye on Barns Road as soon as possible.
Belgian refugees arrive at Victoria Station London-September 1914 © IWM (Q 53305)
See also:
Pathe Newsreel of Belgian Refugees
See also:
Pathe Newsreel of Belgian Refugees
Belgian refugees pose outside the Grange at Littleport. The Belgian flag flies proudly over their temporary home.
