Woodside Cemetery was laid out in the style of the Pere Lachaise garden cemetery in Paris. Amongst many interesting memorials in the beautifully laid out cemetery, it’s possible to find a memorial to Belgian Refugees.

Around 20,000 Belgian refugees came to Scotland as part of the wider exodus of 250,000 Belgians who came to Britain.

The refugees arrived in Glasgow on trains and received a warm welcome. They were sent to various west coast towns. East coast towns were deemed unsuitable due to perceived security concerns. Paisley welcomed around 60 who were eventually able to live in self supported and private accommodation. A tree was planted in Barshaw Park, for King Albert’s fortieth birthday in 1915, by Paisley refugees to express their gratitude. Camille Berck, a former hotel keeper from Liège and refugee community leader said at the event:

“We shall never forget how we have been welcomed here…The proverbial Scottish hospitality has not lost its old reputation and Scottish kindliness is not a vain word. We ask them to believe that we are not ungrateful, and that we shall never forget them…we shall tell our children that the people of the British Isles came to help their parents in distress during this monstrous war.”

The Belgian refugees largely returned to Belgium after the war. In Paisley, the local refugee committee held a large farewell party for refugees the evening before their departure. Ref: “Departure of Belgian Refugees from Paisley,” Paisley and Renfrewshire Gazette, December 14, 1918, 3.

Although many of the refugees did in fact return to Belgium after the war, presumably these listed here on the memorial sadly died during their stay in Paisley and this seems to have included children.

The memorial can be found at position 7 on the Woodside Cemetery Heritage Trail.

A further photograph of the memorial.

Further reading on this topic can be found in this thesis.