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First search generally, then specifically. Example: don’t look for “François Van Damme”, but try “Van Damme” first and filter the search.
The person you are looking for does not appear? Try another spelling. Example: don’t only try “Vanwymelbeke”, but also “Van Wymelbeke” or “Vanwijmelbeke”.
Attention: the War Dead Register only lists Belgian fallen soldiers.  
The War Dead Register provides basic personal information (name, first name, date and place of birth, etc.) and does not contain military files (giving a complete overview of the military career). According to date of birth the files are kept either by the Royal Military Museum or by the Defence archives service. The files safeguarded at the Military Museum can be consulted on site (Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels). The files kept up till now by Defence are currently transferred to the General State Archives.
The date on which they will be once again available has not yet been determined.   

 

Archives of the Royal Military Museum 

Documentation Centre 
Parc du Cinquantenaire 3
1000 Brussels
E-mail : cdoc.klm-mra@warheritage.be   
Website: www.warheritage.be

The somehow crazy attempt – started in 2022 – to determine which Belgian soldiers actually died during the First World War is now entering its final stretch. Around 4,300 names still remain to be checked.

The final stages are also the hardest. For about 2,000 of them, there is hardly any information available about their civilian and military lives.

It is likely that they never died in combat, or may never have existed at all. The coming months will hopefully bring clarity.

The current count stands at 35,200 verified individuals. With the remaining 4,300 names, we reach 39,500. Much lower than any official figure ever published. Once again proof that sustained research is more valuable than any assumption.

The goal: to complete this project by Armistice and then move on to their comrades from the Second World War.