We asked Hazard if it surprises him to hear that the football club he now represents played a significant part in aiding those refugees from his homeland all those years ago.



‘Yes and no because Belgium is not so far from England,’ he said. ‘I was a bit surprised because I didn’t know the story. I know there were a lot of French people who came to England but a lot of the Belgians, when they moved away, went to places such as Holland and France. But it’s always good to know about the history of your country so it was very interesting.



‘It was great to meet Julie because she told me what happened with her family and spoke to me about researching my heritage. I don’t think I have any family members who were living in England at that time. Obviously I remember my grandparents, for sure, but even the generations before all used to live in Belgium. It was a nice conversation though for a Belgian person like myself.



‘You can learn everything about the First World War when you are in school in Belgium,’ he added. ‘I moved away from Belgium at an early age to go to France, but also in France it’s a big part of the history of their country. The First World War is something you need to know about.’



Julie found it quite emotional to discover what the refugees have gone through. ‘I knew my relatives came here and that maybe it was something to do with the war, but I did not know why. They gave up everything to come here and to become stateless must be a horrible feeling.

