Figure 1.--This Belgian family was photographed in 1913, a year before the Germans invaded, launching World WarI. The boy looks to be about 5 years old and wears a white sailor suit with bangs. His sister wrars a white dress and hair band.

We have a portrait of one family taken in 1913, one year before the German invasion and another portrait 4 years later in 1917. The family consist of the parents and two children. In both instances the boys wears a white short pants sailor suit with traditional detailing. While his sailor suit does not change, his hair style does. His sisters wears a white dress with hairbows and or a hair band. Their father wears a white wing collared shirt in one portrait. Their mother wears a white blouse and skirt.

World War I

Belgian national life was devistated by the German World War I invasion and occupation. Most of the country was occupied throughout the War. British War propaganda pictured the Germans as modern huns in Belgium and this affected American thinking. The Germans while not barabarians, did severely administer Belgium. Thousands of children were orphaned and starvation was only averted by the delivery of aid by America which was neutral until April 1917. The Germans would live up to the picturepainted by the British in World War II. Even so behind the German lines, life went on for many families and we have a few portraits from this period.

The Family

We have no information about the family other than they had two children, the boy and girl seen here. The father looks to be a professional man.

Individuals

Father

The father's suits look quite similar. We note that he wears a wing collared shirt in one portrait. He appears to have aged considerably in the two photographs. We wonder what experiences he may have had. He may have been wounded. It looks like there is something wrong with his left eye. And his left sleeve looks almost like he has lost an arm. A HBC reader looking at the father writes, "If the first picture is from 1913 surely the other one has been taken much later. Perhaps just after the War in 1919 or 20?" HBC agrees that the father has aged considerably, but about 4 years looks about right for the children in the two portraits. We think that the father's War experiences are perhaps what make him look so much older.

Figure 2.--This Belgian family was photographed in 1917, 4 years after the first photograph and while the War was still going on. The father has aged notably. The boy looks to be about 8 years old and wears a white sailor suit with bangs. His sister wears a white dress and curls with a hair bow.

Mother

Their mother wears a rather palinn white blouse and skirt for both portraits. She had her hair done differently in the two photographs.

Son

The son in both instances wears a white short pants sailor suit with traditional detailing. While his sailor suit does not change, his hair style does. The styling of his sailor suit is almost identical, although he does not wear a scarfe in the 1917 portrait. The primary difference between the two umages is his hosiery and footwear. He wears high-top shoes and stripped socks in 1913. He wears three-quarter length white socks and low cut shoes. His long hair has bee cut by 1917. He still wears bangs bit the hair at the side has been cur and he has a side part.

Daughter

His sisters wears a white dress with hairbows and or a hair band in both portraits. She had added a sash to her dress in 1917 which looks to be a pastel color. She wore black socks in 1913, but in 1917, like her brother, she wears white three-quarter socks, in her case with strap shoes. I am not sure what color they were, but they may have been red.

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Created: July 12, 2002
Last updated: July 13, 2002