Figure 1.--An American Red Cross outing center on the coast near Dieppe, France, during 1918. Belgian school children were able to spend the few happy moments they know. International Film Service. Most of Belgian was occupied by the Germans in 1914 and when the war ended in 1918 they still controlled large areas. Notice that several boys wear sailor suits. Other boys wear smocks with Eton collars--one boy with a large floppy bow.

I believe that smocks were still commonly worn at Belgian schools in the early 20th century. Some were worn with Eton collars and floppy bows. Sailor suits were also very popular. Short pants appeared in Belgium with the Scout movement in the 1900s. I have no information on shorts being worn in Belgium before the advent of Scout shorts. Most boys at the turn of the century wore kneepants. Sailor suits were very popular for schoolwear. Shorts had begun replacing kneepants by the 1910s. School uniforms were not common in Belgium, but were required by some private Catholic schools.

HBC is not positive just where this photograph was taken. A HBC Dutch HBC reader assures us that the Belgian coast is very flat--one reader tells us that, "... the Belgian coast is a flat as a pancake". I'm not sure about the French coast around Dieppe. To HBC the background looks very much like Dover in England. The boys based on their clothes, however, are definitely not English school boys. Hopefully our French and Belgian readers will help pin point just where this photograph was taken.