Belgian refugees

Following the creation of Belgium as a nation state, Belgian people have sought refuge abroad on several occasions. From the early days of independence and the threat of The Netherlands or France, to two World Wars and the Independence of Congo, Belgians have been on the run themselves, for various reasons, as refugees.

Annaberg-Buchholz (German pronunciation: [ˈanabɛɐ̯k ˈbuːx.hɔlts]) is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, in the Ore Mountains, and is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis. Annaberg, together with the neighbouring suburb, Buchholz, is the chief seat of the braid- and lace-making industry in Germany, introduced here by Barbara Uthmann in 1561, and further developed by Belgian refugees, who, driven from their country by the Duke of Alva, settled here in 1590.

When Germany invaded Belgium on 4 August 1914, after the Belgian authorities had denied German forces on their way to Paris free passage through Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany. This was a direct result of the London Treaty of 1830 (which had been recognised by the Netherlands only in 1839).

Because archive material of the hundreds of local Belgian refugee committees is scant and incomplete and because systems of registration were not waterproof (nor did they run from the very start of the conflict), it is very difficult to estimate the number of Belgians that have sought refuge in Britain during World War I. Estimations vary between 225,000 and 265,000. The estimation does not include the roughly 150,000 Belgian soldiers that have taken leave in Britain at one point in the war and an additional 25,000 wounded Belgian soldiers convalescing in Britain. The fullest account is given in 'Belgian Refugee Relief in England during the Great War' by Peter Calahan (Garland Publishing, New York and London, 1982).

Because of the tension present already before the First World War and reaching a turning point with the Easter Rising, it is difficult to have Ireland listed here as part of Britain, or not. Given the fact that the story of Belgians in Ireland during the war was a rather different one to those in Britain, not least because the major difference in numbers, Ireland is retained as a separate entity here.

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Wikipedia