Search tips


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

Cemetery details

Where?
Koningstraat, 1000 Brussel
 
View on map

 

 

Congress Column – Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 

The Congress Column in Brussels honours the National Congress that ratified the new Belgian constitution in 1830. On 11 November 1922 the Unknown Soldier is laid to rest in this very spot, and with this ceremony Belgium follows the example of its neighbouring countries. The Unknown Soldier embodies all war dead who have no known grave. 
A few days before the ceremony in Brussels five coffins with fallen soldiers from five different war sites are lined up in Bruges. The war-blind Reinold Haesebrouck designates the coffin of the Unknown Soldier, which is then transferred to the Gare du Midi in Brussels. An ultimate journey on an artillery carriage leads to the Congress Column where King Albert I pays a final tribute to the Unknown Soldier. The four other unidentified soldiers are given a final resting place in Bruges military cemetery.