Following the outbreak of the First World War, Belgian was
invaded by Germany. many Belgians moved to England as refugees, including industrialist Charles Pelabon who would set up a munitions factory on the banks of Thames in East Twickenham. The term Belgian Village on the Thames was coined by writer under the
pseudonym Justin
Wallon. It describes the communities of Belgians who settled along the Thames. Richmond and Twickenham before the outbreak of war were affluent areas at the time separated from London physically and politically. Belgian arrivals came in limited number at the outbreak of war, with a larger wave following the
fall of Antwerp, directed to Richmond and Twickenham by the London War Refugees Committee, and a third and largest wave attracted by the munitions factory providing employment and community for Belgian refugees. Gérardy would place the number of Belgians in the community at a peak of 6000, although a more commonly stated estimate places it at around 2000. a memorial fund had opened to create a monument in memory of the community, which was finally erected in 2017. == References ==