The German invasion of Belgium in 1914 resulted in the largest arrival of refugees in British history, as people fled the conflict and reports of violence against civilians. Around 3,000 refugees passed through the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney during the First World War (1914-18), with around 100 Belgians settling here for a longer period of time.
Introduction
Following the invasion of Belgium in August 1914 and reports of the mass murder of civilians, around 1.5 million people fled the country.
In Britain, people were horrified by news of these war crimes, and found the armed resistance of the Belgian civilians inspirational. A letter in the Hackney Gazette appealed to a widespread desire “to assist the gallant and self-sacrificing Belgian nation in its hour of need.” In September 1914 the British government invited Belgian refugees to come to Britain, with 250,000 accepting. At its peak in October, as many as 3,000 a day arrived in London.
“I shall never forget those days. Children half naked, were rushing and screaming about the streets, and what with the horrors of the war and the Zeppelins dropping bombs, it was simply awful. We couldn’t sleep night or day for fear of what would be happening next.”
Russian woman from Ghent, staying at a refuge in Mare Street, 1914.
Escaping to Britain
Daily steamer ships carrying 1,000 people each evacuated the port city of Antwerp. For others, the trip was more dramatic.
On hearing that the German army was marching on the Belgian coastal city of Ostend, residents escaped using their own fishing vessels. The journey to cross the English Channel took 3 days, with no shelter from the elements on small open boats crowded with up to 60 people. Throughout the journey there was the constant fear of enemy capture, hitting a sea mine, or shipwreck. On successfully reaching Britain many were temporarily housed by the Salvation Army at 259 Mare Street, previously a Women’s Social Receiving Home.
Providing refuge in Hackney
Within a couple of days of London’s Metropolitan Asylums Board being asked to house refugees at the start of September 1914, 80 Belgians were housed in Hackney Wick casual ward (a short stay homeless shelter) on Gainsborough Road. This became a temporary home for the poorest escaping from Louvin, Malines and Antwerp. The Hackney Wick refuge continued to provide 200 beds until 1916, during which it became an isolation ward to assess those refugees suspected of being in contact with infectious diseases.
The Hackney Workhouse infirmary and casual wards housed another 300 people. Hazelville Road Workhouse, Shoreditch was also made available. The Salvation Army used 259 Mare Street as a temporary refuge for destitute Belgians. No.2 Sutton Place became ‘Mrs Ormiston Chat’s Home for Refugees’ and the Baptist Tabernacle on Chatsworth Road was hired for temporary accommodation for 80 children.
The Homerton Corps Band and Songsters performed for those temporarily staying in Gainsborough Road. Musicians from the Hoxton Market Mission provided entertainment at the large refugee camp at Alexander Palace, Haringey, although the French and Flemish speaking audiences couldn’t understand the English lyrics of the comic songs.
Who were the ‘Belgian’ refugees?
Not all the refugees were Belgian nationals. At Mare Street the Salvation Army provided separate facilities for Russian families arriving from Belgium. Among those who found refuge in Hackney were people who had settled in Belgium after being previously displaced from elsewhere, such as 45 Portuguese nuns who had fled the 1910 Portuguese Revolution who stayed at the Hackney Wick casual ward.
Amongst the refugees coming to Britain were 6,000 Russian and Polish Jews, who may have settled in Belgium to escape Tsarist persecution. Caring for these arrivals fell to the existing Jewish communities and The Jewish Hostel on Amhurst Road is named amongst organisations supporting the Belgian Refugees Committee for Hackney.
Belgian Refugees Committee for Hackney
In 1914 the Mayor of Hackney, Stanley Johnson, created the Belgian Refugees Committee for Hackney. Through appeals in the Hackney Gazette, it asked residents to provide accommodation for Belgians in their own homes, for which the committee would cover any out-of-pocket expenses.
The committee helped to support around 100-150 Belgian refugees to settle in Hackney long term throughout the war, staying in various houses and hostels across the borough. John Napleton, chaplain of the French hospital in Victoria Park and a committee member, was responsible for making weekly payments to those it supported. Numerous community fundraising efforts supported this work, including Belgian Flag Days in 1915 and 1916, and a 1916 Christmas Day collection raising £197 for ‘necessitous Belgian children’.
Less is known about provisions for refugees in the then neighbouring boroughs of Shoreditch and Stoke Newington, but it appears similar efforts were being made. An entertainment ‘for the Belgian refugees in Stoke Newington’ was attended by 180 Belgians, including 70 children. 200 worshippers are recorded attending Flemish language Mass services held weekly at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, Bouverie Road.
What was the experience of Belgian Refugees in Hackney?
Some differences in clothing made it possible to identify arrivals from Belgium. The women tended not to wear hats outside, unlike their British counterparts. The men from Ostend in their distinctive fisherman clothes caused excitement on Hackney streets, as locals were curious about the new arrivals and eager to express their sympathy. However, in general the refugees blended in with their new neighbours and the primary challenge was the language barrier to understand and communicate with English locals.
Some Belgians arriving in Hackney were wounded soldiers, who after being treated by local doctors offering their services for free, returned to fight on the front line. For those that stayed, there were anxieties both nationally and locally about ‘aliens’ taking over jobs and businesses from British men who had enlisted in the army. Recommendations were given that ‘no Belgian should be given work for which British labour was available‘ and that no goods made by refugees should be sold in this country. Some employers were cautious, such as the Hackney Guardians who in 1915 ‘as an experiment’ appointed two young Belgian women as ward maids at the Hackney Workhouse Infirmary.
Despite this, shortages of labour meant that most Belgians seem to have been able to secure employment – including in the munitions factories – and economic independence. An 1918 inquest records how 27 year old Solomon Tas earned £3 10s per week, for which he didn’t pay income tax, but he did pay 3s 6d weekly for rented accommodation on Mare Street. Like Solomon, many refugees based in Hackney worked as diamond cutters, polishers, dealers or jewellers, reflecting Antwerp’s famous links with the diamond trade.
Despite being classed as ‘friendly aliens’, life in Britain for Belgians was closely monitored and restricted. In 1916, Maria Adriaessen, a waitress at the Spurstowe Arms, Greenwood Road, was fined for taking 28 days to register her moving into Hackney.
Returning Home
On 11 November 1918 the war ended. By 1921 more than 90% of Belgian refugees in Britain had returned home.
Although many Belgians in Hackney had managed to save their own money during their time in Britain, the Belgian Refugees Committee for Hackney felt they shouldn’t have to pay for their own repatriation when they were probably returning to find their homes destroyed. John Napleton arranged for the return of the remaining refugees.
The last Hackney refugees left Tilbury docks by ship for Antwerp on 6 May 1919. In November that year, the Mayoress of Hackney was awarded the Medaille de la Reine by King Albert of Belgium in recognition of her services to thousands of Belgian refugees.
“As I leave London, I come to thank you wholeheartedly for the cordial hospitality which I received from the committee on my arrival at Clapton, and for the sympathy and devotion which you showed us.
I take away the best memories of England, and ask you to believe in my deepest gratitude for the comfort and the generous help that we have received in your noble country.“
Letter from an ‘F.A’ to the Belgian Refugees Committee for Hackney (translated from French).
