Settling In

Most of the Europeans who were graciously given refuge from Hitler's terror by the British were civilians who were lucky enough to be joined in exile by their national governments. These regimes were able to acquire resources in varying amounts from national treasuries and other overseas assets, as well as from sympathetic compatriots and organisations, usually in the United States and hard- pressed Britain.

The large group of Belgians was fortunate to have ample supplies of funds, individual initiative and an effective support network. These assets were stimulated by the revival in London of the Belgian government in late 1940. Building on previous efforts by the Belgian Parliamentary Office and embassy, Pierlot and his

administration created the Central Refugee Service, Belgian Institute and labour exchanges. Schools and cultural activities were also part of Belgian social services throughout Britain. Other exiled

nationalities established similar support systems. Belgian

achievements in generous benefit payments and in fishing activities were noted by the British, while the Belgians admired the volunteer spirit and the determination of their hosts.

* * *

Britain was not an easy place to live during the Second World War, especially for foreigners in London. Wartime shortages, German bombs and the aloof reserve of the English in general made the city a stressful home for newcomers. Selective hospitality based on social class and nationality meant that exiles often had to rely on each other as they tried to cope with a decline in London courtesies and mood due to exhaustion, as well as the British tendencies to "muddle through" problems involving education, housing and health (especially if it did not affect the upper class)

Londoners were least hostile to the Dutch, who benefitted from effective professional publicity and the respect given to their

queen. Many older citizens remembered First World War Belgian exiles as a "dirty lot," and so stayed biased against their 1940 successors. Philip Ziegler, London at War 1939-1945 (London: Sinclair-Stevenson, 1995), 94, 110, 171, 213-8; Clive Ponting, 1940: Myth and Reality

The initial chaos and inadequate bureaucracy of the Belgians developed into a much improved system by 1941, similar to the progression of their British hosts. After King Leopold Ill's

surrender in the summer of 1940, the Belgian exiles were frustrated by the souring of British opinion toward them and by the lack of assistance and direction from the disoriented embassy staff. To help fill the gap in official assistance, the BPO used their own funds to assist many Belgian exiles during the last half of 1940, set up a meeting place as a forum for venting frustrations, and founded the Diamond Polishing Company with skilled exiles from Antwerp.^®

The Belgian embassy's administrative information office and ad hoc emergency fund developed into the Service Centrale des Réfugiés

(SCR) by September 1940. One of the early tasks of this agency was c oordi n a t i n g with county and town committees to keep track of Belgians and their mail dispersed to over 400 locations in Britain. Most Belgian exiles were confused and uninformed about official Belgian activities and policies, so the SCR helped to create a

bilingual Belgian exile newspaper in December 1940. The Ministry of Information and the embassy argued over editorial control of the journal; a compromise allowed it to print apolitical Belgian news without being a stilted Pierlot or British propaganda sheet.

With the assistance of foreign donations and the British

Women's Voluntary Service, the SCR developed varied activities within a year, including a clothing distribution centre, four transit houses and a nationwide network of 145 liaison agents to keep in touch with Belgian exile families, schools, merchant marine and fishing crewmen

(London: Hamish Hamilton, 1990), 138-45; Kronacker, Souvenirs, 73. FO 371/24275: C7547 (de Sausmarez to Aveling, 3 Jul 40), /26335: C285 (Aveling to Eden, 10 Jan 41); Carlo Segers, Donnez-nous

un champ de bataille (Bruxelles: Pierre de Méyère, 1959), 22-3.

No Allied exile newspapers had complete editorial freedom. La

Belgique Indépendante/Onafhankelijk België was non-partisan, and

became less afraid to criticise the British or report government problems by 1944-45. FO 3 7 1 / | 24281: C9622 (FO (Lambert & Makins, 6 & 11 Sep 40); CREH, LK 2: 1 (22 Sep 41).

and military u n i t s . B y early 1942, the SCR took over the total cost of maintaining Belgian refugees while continuing to use British staff for the paperwork needed for those billeted by the Ministry of Health or in requisitioned houses. Belgian living subsidies exceeded the rates paid by British unemployment assistance, which concerned the British government. Many Londoners of all classes resented the charity and jobs given to Allied refugees. The other Allies did not begrudge the Belgians, as recipients were in a small group of the elderly and women with children; most Belgian men and women without children were working/"

The Belgian Red Cross was active in Britain from May 1940, and eventually set up a system of dispensaries, school clinics and free meals, social welfare and message services, ROW clothing drives and homes for expectant mothers, convalescents, invalids and the elderly. Belgian patients in British hospitals were visited by Belgian Red Cross volunteers and received small packages and a journal in French or Flemish every two weeks. Working with the British Red Cross, the Belgians sent nearly 2600 packages of food or clothing a year to their POWs in Germany, while by 1942 over 180,000 messages were transmitted or received annually between Belgians in Britain and the rest of the world."

The Belgians were the fourth largest group of exiled civilians in Britain, and were one of several governments who benefitted from British or other overseas assistance. The British Council helped to set up national cultural houses in London, and provided most of the funds for the Czech, Greek, Polish and Yugoslav institutes. The

Although 90% of the 1940 Allied refugees started their exile in London, many fled the 1940-1 German bombing attacks. By mid-1941, Allied exiles were evenly divided among London, S.E. England and the rest of Britain; most Belgians stayed near London. CREH LK 2: 1 (22 Sep 41); FO 371/29218: W10679 (CCWRHBF meeting, 19 Aug 41).

" FO 371/29219: W15280 (CSR-Ministry of Health (MOH) meeting, 5 Dec 41); HO 213/555 (MOH, 5 Dec 41 & 18 Feb 42). Example weekly benefits in post-1971 British pence for a single adult/married couple /infant: 90/150/20 (CSR) vs. 62/118/15 (MOH); P. Ziegler, London, 95.

CREH LK 3: 4-19; Marcel Wolf, "The Belgian Red Cross,"

Belgian Institute was the largest of the national houses with 1600 members, providing activities such as lectures, meals, English classes and concerts for exiles from both Belgium and Luxembourg. The national houses supported multinational activities as well, and their usefulness to Allied personnel in London even continued for a time after the war ended. **

Allied Red Cross activities cooperated closely with the British Red Cross and the St, John War Organisation's Foreign Relations

Department in helping POWs, notifying next-of-kin of Allied forces casualties, and providing civilian medical help in occupied and

liberated countries in Europe. One of their most difficult tasks was locating missing relatives because of forced wartime moves,

destruction of documents and the use of aliases. Allied casualties were given access to some British Legion facilities and free

prostheses from the Ministry of Pensions. The War Organisation even operated four Allied convalescent homes in Belgium between November 1944 and March 1946.^^ Funding for many of these worthy activities came from governments in Britain, the Dominions, exiles with adequate funds (Belgians, Dutch and Norwegians) and hardworking volunteer and charity agencies in Britain and the United States. Included among the prominent women helping Allied relief organisations was Margaret Biddle, wife of the helpful American ambassador to the Allied exile governments.

The total of alien civilians in Britain grew to over 274,000, divided as follows (thousands): Russians (44.1), Germans (42.5), Poles (19.2), Belgians (18.5), Austrians (14.5), Dutch (14.4),

Norwegians (12.3), etc. HO 213/588 (Census, 31 Mar 44); PRO, British Council (BW) 108/1 (Royal Institute of International Affairs, 17 Nov 42; BW, Oct-Nov 1942, 21 Dec 42, 1 Feb 43, Fall 1943, 11 Apr 44).

P.O. Cambray and G.G.B. Briggs, Red Cross and St. John War

Organisation 1939-1947 (London: Sumfield & Day, 1949), 81-3, 452-66

passim, 651-4; CREH LK 2: 1 (22 Sep 41).

CREH LK 2: 6 (1945); A.J. Liebling, "The Omnibus Diplomat,"

Profiles vol. 2 (Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1944), 89; Roger

Jacquemin, Le Chemin de Londres (Bruxelles: Renaissance du Livre, 1945), 152; B I , 24 Apr 41. The British Women's Volunteer Service and Belgian-American Relief Fund were especially important for 194 0-41 Belgian relief efforts; 1940-44 cash gifts to the Belgian Refugee Relief Fund totalled over £100,000. B I , 14 Dec 44.

For most Belgian exiles individually, life was lonely and difficult during the 1940-41 period when relief and labour agencies were still organising. The embassy backed the repatriation requests of four Belgian men in July 1940, but the Foreign and Home Offices opposed returns to occupied Europe due to probable repercussions affecting refugee policy and Allied recruiting. However,

applications five months later to return special case women and

children to Belgium or France were approved by the Foreign Office and A d m i r a l t y . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , by October 1941 all group repatriation plans had failed due to lack of transport or suitable havens; most of those involved would have to make the best of an indefinite stay in Britain.

In the summer of 1942, the Ministry of Labour signed agreements with the exile governments to manage centrally the placement of

Allied civilians into the British war industry work force. Anglo- Allied labour exchanges had been established in early 1941, primarily to place men and women in industrial trades and personal and domestic services. Willing Belgians gladly went to work or training centres for needed skills and English language instruction, and were looked after by powerful patrons, such as Camille Huysmans and Louis de Brouckère, with ties to top Labour party leaders. By October 1941, 82% of the men and 28% of the women eligible for work had jobs; 16 months later, the respective figures were 96% and 77%, Professionals and intellectuals had more trouble finding work. Research

laboratories and many universities had difficulty filling staff shortages with foreigners due to their work on secret government projects or their location in Alien Protected Areas. Poles, Czechs

FO 371/24285: C7777 (BelgEmbGB to Passport & Permit Office, 23 Jul; latter to FO, 26 J u l ; FO (Lambert), 31 Jul 40, /252S4: W12598

(Between Waldock & Steel, 20-22 Dec 40).

FO 371/26350: C2471 (FO (Mackenzie), 11 Mar 41), C11607 (FO (Grey), 28 Oct 41). In June 1941, the U.S. ended new visas for those with close relatives in occupied Europe, fearing the exiles could be coerced into spying. The Congo's humid climate and lack of suitable housing made it a poor choice for mass European settlement. FO 371 /29221: W7598 (Overseas Settlement Dept, 12 Jun 41), W7823 (BritEmbUS to FO, 18 Jun 41), /29213: C5064 (Spaak to Aveling, 21 Apr 41).

and Belgians in particular were affected by the tough policy on granting Aliens War Service Department work permits.**

While the adults were forming organisations or going to work, over 1200 Belgian children were going to Belgian and British primary and intermediate schools. Camille Huysmans, a former Minister of Public Instruction (among many other political offices), headed the committee overseeing Belgian education in Britain, and ensured that necessary help was available from the British Council, Ministry of Health and university faculties. Several hundred older students went to industrial trade schools in Hammersmith, a fishing school in

Brixham, and secretarial and administrative schools. Half of the male university students joined the armed forces in 1941, but a few of the men and most of the women continued their studies. Among the latter was Pierlot's daughter, studying British history at Oxford.

In keeping with the paraphrased maxim that all work and no play makes a dull exile, the Belgians made time for recreation in spite of wartime shortages and restrictions. Limited availability of petrol and tyres, laws against foreigners owning motor vehicles or detailed maps, and restricted access to much of the coast and southeast

England made travel very difficult. Armed forces clubs, dance halls and cinemas were available in some locations, but Belgian military personnel did not get much time off duty until 1942, after unit discipline and British attitudes toward aliens had improved. London was the entertainment mecca for both the military and civilians. Intellectual pursuits such as lectures, concerts by the Belgian Quartet, variety shows such as the On les aura revue cabaret and special exhibits such as the one for the 3 00th anniversary of the Flemish painter Van Dyck enriched the drab lives of many Londoners,

** FO 371/32202: W11116 (FO (Ward), 11 Aug 42); HO 213/514 (HO Aliens Dept, 21 Oct 40). Huysmans was the incumbent president of the Socialist International, while de Brouckère was a past one. By early 1943, over 10,700 Belgian men and women were part of Britain's labour pool. BI, 13 Feb, 6 Mar, 23 Oct 41, 11 Feb 43.

CREH, LP 5 (Onafhankelijk België, 29 Sep 42); BI, 14 May 42; Cammaerts, MS-800/II: 242 (Pierlot to Cammaerts, 29 Nov 43).

The Anglo-Belgian Club was formed in early 1941, and offered snacks, a library and English language c l a s s e s . ^

Less intellectual pursuits were also available. Inter-Allied military soccer teams were such a success that exile soccer leagues were formed. Less wholesome entertainment was provided by women such as the notorious "Piccadilly Commandos" who naturally congregated wherever there was a group of military personnel with money to spend. At least ten Belgian priests were listed in the London area for those who needed confession after a wild weekend or spiritual reinforcement after wartime trauma. Priests were also important for Belgian

Catholic masses (Te Deums) on special days such as National Day (21 July) and Armistice Day (11 November), as well as for the many funerals that are always part of war.^

Away from the glitz and blitz of London, the hum of war factories and the cramped camps of the military, lived a distinct group of Belgian families engaged in the vital work of fishing. The Belgian fishing fleet in Britain was the largest one (225 boats) from the Continent, and was spread out from the Dartmouth-Brixham area

(Devon) to Milford Haven (Wales) to Fleetwood (Lancashire). The smaller boats were based in the southern ports for fishing near the English coast, while the larger boats were in the north for better access to grounds near Iceland. With the most modern fishing fleet in Europe, the Belgians were a welcome addition to the critical effort to get food to crowded British cities. The Belgians were treated on an equal basis with British and other Allied fishermen with regard to fishing limits and grounds, although the British were concerned that the newcomers' old gear might not be suited for

Leon & Vera Devos, interview by author, tape recording, Swanley, Kent, 15 Aug 95; BI, 26 Dec 40, 27 Mar, 25 Sep, 18 Dec 41;

Vers 1'Avenir, 3 May 41. Other Anglo-Belgian clubs were also opened

outside of London; the London club was still active 50 years later. Belgian military soccer players were very successful, winning the Allied Nations Cup twice and playing a powerful British military team to a draw in 1944. David Reynolds, Rich Relations : The American

Occupation of Britain 1942-1945 (London: Harper Collins, 1995), 202;

different operations at their new fishing grounds." However, the 1100 energetic Belgians not only overcame most equipment problems on their 3-to-18 day fishing trips, but they also developed new

techniques and trained new crew members in Brixham at the

transplanted Ostend School for Fishermen. 125 students completed day and night courses there in seamanship, navigation, fishing

techniques, signals, engine maintenance and the Flemish language in the school, which had been established with the help of the British Admiralty and Board of Trade.

However, even a vital industry such as fishing could not escape intrusion by the military. Brixham was taken over by D-Day invasion shipping in January 1944, and Newlyn's fishing fleet was pre-empted in May. By mid-1944, over half of the fleet that had reached England from Flanders in 194 0 was on contract to the Admiralty for use in coast patrol, minesweeping, and boom and balloon barrage defence. The input of Belgian fishing crews freed British ones to join the Royal Navy, and soon Belgian fishermen were joining the Section Beige of the Royal Navy themselves." That part of the exiles' story is covered next in Part 4, where the first phase in creating new Belgian and British military forces after the defeats of 1940 is discussed.

Part 4. Forging a New Sword

Belgian military units, like their government, were latecomers to Britain compared to the other exiled Allies. The precedent of other Allied units, and the desperate circumstances that forced the

FO 371/24283: C7244 (FO-Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 12 Jun & 21 Dec 40), /29217: W5346 (Devon Police to HO, 17 Jan 41 & CCWRHBF to FO, 1 May 41); BI, 5 Oct 44; News from Belgium (NY) 2

(1942) : 22.

Boys as young as 13 went to the Brixham school to get qualified as members or mates of fishing trawlers. The smaller Belgian boats were the first to catch sprat close to the English coast, and they continued to work after the British fishermen had stored their lines for the season. BI, 10 Feb, 28 Dec 44; News 2

(1942): 22; Arthur Lamsley, "Belgian School for Fishermen," Message, no. 32 (1944): 25.

British to welcome them, must be reviewed first to provide a better perspective on all Allied forces in Britain.

The general principles of inter-Allied military cooperation between Britain and the exiled Allies were set up by the summer of

1940, easing the creation of the small units in the Belgian contingent later in 1940 (army battalion) and during 1941 (navy section and RAF squadron). Grouping individuals in national units in Britain in the Second World War was a natural development from the human tendencies to congregate with others of the same culture and to promote members' morale by accomplishing actions that would promote national pride (waving the flag, parades and ceremonies, shared danger in combat), By studying the process of preparing the Belgian exile contingent during the 1940 to 1944 period, one can gain a better general understanding of the limitations, hopes and

cooperation that were part of the rejuvenation of all of the Allied forces in Britain.

* * *

Precedent for distinct Allied units had been set in France by five Polish and Czechoslovak army divisions, and was transferred to Britain when elements of two of these divisions reached England in June 1940. Polish fighter squadrons had also served in France, and their survivors formed two RAF squadrons in time for the peak of the Battle of Britain (15 September 1940); they were joined by a Canadian and a Czech squadron as well. Five Polish Navy ships had also been based in Plymouth since September 1939. National military weakness after the Dunkirk evacuation motivated the British to assimilate foreign forces into a/coordinated defence against German attacks much more quickly than would have been possible or acceptable in less desperate circumstances.^

However, the British were still cautious with foreign military personnel, especially from countries that had been occupied by the

Thomas, Volunteers, 4-11; Richard Bickers, The Battle of

Germans and who had formally joined the Allied cause only after being invaded. British hesitation about Allied units in the summer of 1940 was understandable, but self-defeating. A British admiral summed up the problem very well :

Under existing conditions, allied aliens are generally left in