Vloethemveld – “A Long Night of Four Years and Four Days”

An evocation by storytelling collective De Op-Lichters
Saturday 17 October at 8 p.m. and Sunday 18 October at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Commemorating the liberation of Zedelgem and the surrounding area on 17 and 18 October 1918

In the mid-1970s, a group of young people calling themselves the Elfnovembergroep travelled through the Westhoek in search of elderly residents who had lived through the occupation during the First World War. They wanted to give a voice to ordinary people, whose stories are often overlooked in history books. Their collected testimonies were later published in the book Van den Grooten Oorlog.

One of the people they interviewed extensively was Julie Catrysse. But Julie did not come from the Westhoek. She was born in 1901 in ’t Veld, a small hamlet near Aartrijke, and was only 13 when the war broke out. In 1918, the Clarysse family moved to Kemmel, where there was plenty of work available during the post-war reconstruction.

Fortunately, we still have Julie’s moving accounts of the war years in and around Aartrijke — a period she described as “a long night of four years and four days.” Julie was repeatedly forced by the occupying forces to work in various locations: in Vloethemveld, where she had to “travakken” among the wattle weavers and charcoal burners; at the airfield in Aartrijke, where she witnessed sabotage; and at the food depot, where she always managed to “bend the rules” a little.

Using her testimonies as their guide, storytelling collective De Op-Lichters bring Julie Catrysse’s stories back to life in our rich local dialect, set against the backdrop of the Great War in and around Zedelgem. These are the stories of a brave young girl, born 125 years ago in Aartrijke, who carved out her own path in the midst of a world at war.

Vloethemveld, Kamphuis, Vloethemveld 10a, 8210 Zedelgem

Park at P2 (Diksmuidse Heirweg 6, Zedelgem) and follow the cobblestone path. At the end, turn right; the Kamphuis will be on your left. Cyclists can ride all the way to the Kamphuis.

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