Denise Dael porridge bottle

Denise's mother, 21-year-old Bertha Decaesteker, was heavily pregnant when she fled devastated Ypres with her mother and two sisters on January 2, 1915. Bertha's husband, Emiel Dael, had gone to the front as a professional soldier. The female members of the family made their way to Folkestone in the UK via Veurne and Calais. En route to their destination in Scotland, Bertha gave birth to her baby daughter Denise in Rugby. The squalid living conditions of the early months of the war left their mark on the newborn: Denise weighed just 2kg at birth. Five weeks later, her mother Bertha died of kidney failure. Denise's grandmother travelled with the newborn to Scotland to join the rest of the family in their refuge. In 1916, her grandmother returned with Denise to southern England, where her grandfather joined them and where she was reunited with her father, Emiel. Finally, in 1919, the family returned to Ypres via Antwerp and Poperinge.

Denise Dael's porridge bottle illustrates how objects can serve as a tangible testimonies to a Belgian escape story.

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