Archives
Defence has extensive archives related to World War One. Documents, maps, photos and films are preserved with care in several places in Belgium:
(Library, archives, card-index system, print collection, photos, data bank with individual records)
During World War One the “Service Photographique de l’Armée belge” (Photographic Service of the Belgian Army) made a huge photo collection. Some 40,000 photographic glass plate negatives and positives are being preserved in the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History and for the most part, they have never been printed. The museum commits itself to digitize all these photos and to put a first series online by the summer of 2014 with a geographic and thematic description.
The complete collection should be available by the end of 2015 and will in this way paint a unique picture of Belgium and of the Belgian Army during World War One.
Jubelpark, 3/ Parc du Cinquantenaire
1000 Brussels
Tel :02 737 79 34
(Maps, aerial photos)
The National Geographic Institute is in the process of digitizing hundreds of historic war maps, among which a lot of trench maps. They become accessible through the Cartesius Project, that the Institute is currently developing in cooperation with the State Archives and the Royal Library of Belgium. A selection of these maps will also be put on the thematic site referred to as Defence 2014-2018, in addition to an application related to the war heritage that is still preserved in Belgium. To this end, the National Geographic Institute uses its most recent geo-tool: CartoWeb.
Nationaal Geografisch Instituut-Institut National géographique
Abdij ter Kameren 13-Abbaye de la Cambre
1000 BRUSSELS
Tel : 02 629 82 82
- The audio-visual archives of Defence, Peutie
UB Def
Kwartier Koningin Elisabeth-Quartier Reine Elisabeth
Eversestraat 1-rue d’Evere
1140 EVERE
Blok 6-Bloc 6
Tel : 02 701 4477
(Individual files of Belgian servicemen)
DGHR - HRA-E/N/Arch
Kwartier Koningin Elisabeth-Quartier Reine Elisabeth
Eversestraat 1-rue d’Evere
1140 EVERE
Blok 6C-Bloc 6C
Tel : 02 701 4529
The university library of Defence, Evere
(Photos, films)
DG Com / Div Crea
Kwartier Majoor Housiau, Blok F2-Quartier Major Housiau
Martelarenstraat 181
1800 VILVOORDE
Tel : 02 44 10632
The DG HR Archives of Defence, Evere