Next week marks one of the most solemn days in Europe – Armistice Day. It commemorates what some know as the Great War, a conflict that was far from “great” for the tens of thousands who perished in it Much of WW1, of course, is a war that took place in Belgium and this is…
Photo by Chris van Houts Attempts to unearth grisly “secrets” from the Battle of Waterloo are, it has emerged, also helping military personnel come to terms to with their own health issues. A team of experts and members of the armed forces from different countries, including the UK, are this week digging at…
Flanders and the rest of Belgium will this weekend mark the 80th anniversary of its liberation in the Second World War with several events, including in Ypres, the town forever associated with conflict. Ieper, also known as Ypres in West Flanders, is an area that saw intense fighting throughout the First World War. Known to…
Photo by Sonia Dauer on Unsplash With the outbreak of World War II on September 1, 1939, the world entered one of the most terrifying and destructive periods in its history. This global conflict resulted in the deaths of approximately 70-85 million people, which was about 3-4% of the world’s population at the…
Photo by Chris Van Houts It is hard to imagine it now with the site long since turned into farmland but when Napoleon Bonaparte was famously defeated by the Duke of Welling at Waterloo in 1815, the bitter conflict left a battlefield covered with thousands of corpses and badly injured soldiers. But what happened to…
It’s a word invariably used after every Olympics – the famous legacy left by hosting the world’s premier sporting event. Paris is the latest to now be left pondering on what long term benefits may emerge from what most agree was its recent highly successful hosting of the Games. But have you ever wondered what…
Photo by Lāsma Artmane on Unsplash To mark the European Holocaust Memorial Day for Roma and Sinti, the Roma Foundation for Europe and its network members co-hosted a series of events to commemorate the estimated 4,300 Roma and Sinti who were murdered there 80 years ago on the night of 2 August 1944. …
Fancy finding out how life was lived at the time of the Battle of Waterloo? If so, a special event on the weekend of 22/23 June could be just for you. As well as a full scale re-enactment of the famous Battle visitors get the chance to “relive” life back then. More than 300 re-enactors…
“Ad Unum Omnes” – Bellerophon astride Pegasus riding to battle. On this night 80 years ago troops from the air landing brigade of the 6th Airborne Division of the British Parachute Regiment dropped by parachute and gliders behind enemy lines shortly after midnight east of Caen in Normandy. They were spearheading the invasion forces of…
Photo by Hamza Bouchikhi on Unsplash On 16 May 2003 the deadliest terrorist attacks in Morocco’s history took place in Casablanca, claiming the lives of 33 people and injuring at least a 100 more. One of the terrorists convicted of involvement with the attacks was Ali Aarrass, a Belgian citizen, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison after…
