Today is armistice day. Did you had any family who fought in the great war? (Greatgrandfather, 2nd gidsen, Battle of halen)
Today is armistice day. Did you had any family who fought in the great war? (Greatgrandfather, 2nd gidsen, Battle of halen)
19 comments
I dont know about WW1, but my great grandfather fought in the resistance in WW2. At some point he had to flee to Boulgogne-sur-Mer to avoid imprisonment
I live close to Halen, its weird knowing the farmhouses from where the Belgians mowed down all those German troops and horses are still around
geat-granduncle who died in the war, they were pulling straws who’s turn it was to get supplies, he won but took the place of the guy who pulled the short straw because he had a family and then got shot, got a street named after him which is nice
Both of my fathers’ grandfathers were killed. One in 1914, one in 1918.
My greatgrandfather was in the resistance, got caught blocking a railway and served time in a labour Camp.
Great grandfather survived the war but lost his best friend at the IJzer.
Great grandfather who fought at de Yzer and lived with a metal plate in his head afterwards. He died in world war II when Lille Trainstation was bombed.
Probably, I do know my great grandparents were smugglers and moonshiners who made some nice money back then.
My great grandfathers on both sides of the family, both made it through the war. We don’t now that much about their experiences though. One moved to the Netherlands after the war, and the other refused to speak about it when he came home. Became a quiet man.
My great grandfathers on both sides of the family, both made it through the war. We don’t now that much about their experiences though. One moved to the Netherlands after the war, and the other refused to speak about it when he came home. Became a quiet man.
Great Uncle was a Sargeant in the army. Died in October 1918. Less than a month before the end of the war. Spent 4 years at the front.
I have a portrait of him on the wall on my office. I take a look at it every time I feel like I’m having a bad day. Because my shitty day probably doesn’t hold a candle to what that man went through
My grand father on father’s side fought during ww1. He was from Weijer but lived in Brussels. He was in charge of the horses (artillery) and a translated the orders between the officers (french) and the soldiers (flemish). He fought in the Yper region and got gassed but survived. Unfortunately he died when I was very young and don’t really recall anything. According to my father, they fought heavily and he came back traumatised.
Well, my great grandfather fought in the belgian army (land component) and he even went to Germany in WW2
My great granduncle was also in the belgian army, however he was a POW
I know of a great-great-grandfather and a great-grandfather fought.
The first smuggled himself over the Belgian-Dutch border in late 1915 – early 1916. At the front he got assigned to an artillery regiment. The reward for his two years of loyal service was being functionally deaf even if his discharge said “Injuries: none”.
The second was in the infantry (conscript or voluntarily, I don’t know) and at some point got rewarded for his courage with a lung full of poison gas. During convalescence in France he met his future wife, so he got at least something good out of it I guess.
Had a great-uncle or great grand-uncle or wtv that was in Flandres as an official painter in 1917
My great-granduncle died during World War I and has his name on the memorial of the commune (“Morts pour la patrie”). Unfortunately, I know nothing about the circumstances nor the exact date.
My maternal grandma’s grandpa went to war in 1914, when he had a one-year-old (my great-grandma) and he was expecting a second daughter (grandma’s aunt). He returned in 1918 so he didn’t meet his second daughter until she was four years old.
Apparently he suffered a lot from PTSD, so I cannot imagine how difficult it must’ve been for my great-great-grandma, raising two babies while your husband is away and then probably taking care of them by yourself when he’s back. I truly hope she had some support from friends or her family, but unfortunately we’ll never know for sure.
lost a great-great uncle to the war with Russian Empire, at the Galician front. I like to think he survived (the body was never found), settled down with a nice local girl and didn’t too badly in life.
My great grandfather was injured at the head in Ypres during a patrol. He survived and followed a career in the army (he was sent in Congo after the war). However his wounds never healed and he died during the fifties. I always have his helmet (Adrian model) at home
My great granduncle was also in the army during the ww1. He was also a military musician who compose le chant des chasseurs ardennais https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aGdc5lPDSes