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D. Laqua, ‘Belgian exiles, the British and the Great War: The Birtley Belgians of Elisabethville’

Laqua’s article, Belgian exiles, the British and the Great War: The Birtley Belgians of Elisabethville, is a good article for understanding Belgian and English relations during the First World War. The article’s central focus is the Belgian colony of Elisabethville in Birtley, a small self-reliant gated community, built to house predominantly conscripted Belgian soldiers unfit for service who worked in the nearby National Projectile Factory. Laqua seeks to show the idea of a complex relationship between the Belgian exiles in Elisabethville and the surrounding Birtley area, and through frequently citing historians such as Kushner and the use of primary newspapers, this is clearly articulated. Laqua further shows Elisabethville as a diasporic Belgian home front due to its blurring of boundaries between the home and battlefront.

In the beginning, there was an outpour of kindness and generosity towards the Belgians. There was great sympathy expressed towards them and their situation, so much so that in November 1914 a fundraiser was held to raise funds for the Belgian relief fund. These charitable pursuits bonded the Belgians in Britain to their homeland, the immigrant community as well as areas of captivity. Belgians provided activities to raise money for English causes as well. Charity, therefore, was a central part of the Belgians role in the war effort and it was certainly not one-way.

However, in 1916 there were visible tensions. After accusations against Belgians Private Stephenson, on the frontline, had to remind readers of the great sacrifice of Belgians. Laqua argues that this showed a multi-layered intersection between Belgium and British home fronts. Furthermore, due to the Belgian Military Authority, Belgians had to wear their uniform during their leisure time. This culminated in riots amongst the Birtley Belgians and resulted in the British military authority stepping in to relax standards, showing victimhood and heroism as debated features within the exile community.

Laqua then points to the Belgians social life in showing their interactions with the rest of the Birtley population.  Sport became an interlinking aspect as it was linked with charity, for example, the Belgian Swimming club holding a fundraiser for Belgian prisoner of war. However, these events came with hostility, with English residents noting their focus on alien policy.  To this, Laqua argues that Belgians were heavily restricted through the Aliens Restriction Act of 1914 as well as the Belgian Military Authority. Despite the restrictions, the Elisabethville Belgians did leave the community. The biggest attraction was Newcastle. Yet there were complaints regarding Belgians and English girls. The courts were involved to tackle Belgian and English relations as there were questions of Belgians causing prostitution, it is here where anti-alien attitudes arose. Yet Laqua shows that binational relationships were not impossible as records show 30% of marriages in Elisabethville to be binational. Therefore, although Elisabethville was different from other Belgian communities it still saw a great degree of intermarriage.

Concerns about Belgian socio-economic impact emerged at various intersects and Lauqa focuses his third section on this topic. The Belgians were stereotyped as lazy and dishonest by many but yet others believed Belgians to be good people. The responses were so contradictory that a local newspaper had to publish an interview with a Belgian worker to address concerns. Belgian exiles were helping Britain by doing work that was needed but yet there were calls that work was being taken from the English. Paired with the suspicion of Belgians driving down wages, it prompted W.T Kelley to write of Belgian optimism in 1917. Tensions persisted and they developed to encompass several areas from healthcare to food. It was always found, however, that these fears were unjust as Elisabethville was a self-reliant community.

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