The following message is sent on behalf of JFCBS Belgian Delegation:
Commemoration of the Belgian soldiers during World War I
During World War I, many Belgian soldiers attempted to avoid capture by Kaiser Wilhelm II’s forces by crossing the Dutch border.
Under the terms of Dutch neutrality, these soldiers were then kept interned at Belgian military camps for the duration of the conflict with many of them being put to work in the State’s coal mines, like the one located here at Camp Hendrik, now our base.
Unfortunately, a number of these soldiers succumbed to the “Spanish Flu” during the Great Influenza Pandemic that broke out in 1918.
100 years ago, in 1925, the local Dutch Government erected a memorial at Heerlen Cemetery to the 15 Belgian soldiers that perished locally.
In this way we commemorate them, keep their memory alive and perhaps most importantly, help to maintain their monument.
In order to do this, we are offering the Belgian version of the British “Poppy” or the French “le Bleuet”, the “Madelief/La Paquerette” or daisy in English.
They will be available via your local friendly Belgian JFCBS colleagues for the princely sum of 2 EURO each.
Please help us to preserve their memory and keep this monument in good order.
