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My Grandma's maiden name was Thornley.She came from Nottingham.She met my Belgian Grandfather after he was gassed in the first world war and evacuated to the UK.She was a nurse.They married and had a son John born in Nottingham.They moved back to Belgium and had another son,Peter my father.
History then repeated itself when they fled the German invasion of Belgium in 1939.They spent the war in Peckham East London and survived the blitz.
My father joined the Belgian army in exile after lying about his age and took part in the Invasion of Normandy.He was one of the first to liberate his home town of Louvain (Leuven).Being met by a white shirt waving man on his return.Who turned out to be his brother and my uncle John.
My Belgian family has a missing Grandfather who was in Louvain in the spring of 1820 the partner of Anna Catharina Clareboets and father of Jean Francois Clareboets born 1/1/1821.