Pieter Dox

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Pieter Dox
Born
Petrus Joannes Maria Dox

(1898-05-07)7 May 1898
Lier, Antwerp, Belgium
Died26 November 1964(1964-11-26) (aged 66)
Watsa, Haut-Uélé, DR Congo
OccupationChristian missionary
Military career
Branch Belgian Army
Service years1916–1919
UnitOrne Woodchoppers
WarsWorld War I

Petrus Joannes Maria Dox (7 May 1898 – 26 November 1964) was a Belgian Flemish soldier during the First World War known for his opposition to the Belgian Army's French-speaking officers' discriminatory treatment of Flemish-speaking soldiers. His vocal criticism led to his dismissal from front line service and his reassignment to the Special Forestry Platoon, a penal military unit.

After the war, Dox moved to the Belgian Congo where he served as a Christian missionary for the next few decades. He was killed during the Simba rebellion in November 1964.

Biography[edit]

World War I[edit]

Dox (second from the left) in the Special Forestry Platoon in 1918[1]

Around 1914, Dox joined the Dominican Order as a novice. In 1916, despite a Belgian royal decree that only men born before 1897 could be conscripted, he was drafted to fight in the First World War.[2][3] As a member of the seminary, Dox had to serve in the medical corps, and after only a single month of training he was sent to the Western Front.[4]

He was critical of the French-speaking officers' attitude towards Flemish-speaking soldiers, and wrote letters on the subject. This led to his demotion to a penal military unit, the Special Forestry Platoon, on 30 March 1918, where he worked as a woodchopper as a form of penal labour in Orne, Normandy, France.[5][6] The military's official conclusion read: "Doubts regarding his patriotism. Has expressed hostility toward national institutes in a letter sent from neutral territory."[4][a] Dox was released eight months after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, on 10 July 1919.[7]

One of his brothers, Ludovicus Gommarus, died in a German prisoner-of-war camp.[8] His parents were also held captive by the German occupiers due to his father's participation in the resistance movement.[9]

Missionary in Congo[edit]

Dox took his religious vows in Ghent on 7 November 1924,[10] and moved to the Belgian Congo on 18 December 1928, to work as a missionary for the next 36 years under his priest name, Valentinus.[11]

He and his brother Frans, who was also a missionary, were killed in Watsa during the Simba rebellion on 26 November 1964.[12][13] In total, 15 Belgian missionaries were killed.[11] A square in their hometown of Lier was named after him and his brother.[14][15]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Translated from French: "Douteux au point de vue patriotique et avoir exprimé dans une lettre envoyée en pays neutre des sentiments hostiles aux institutions nationales."[4]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ De Vlaamsche houthakkers N.V. Ons Vaderland, Prentbriefkaart 1918 (in Dutch)
  2. ^ Didden 1997, p. 198.
  3. ^ De Zaeger 1995, pp. 22–23.
  4. ^ a b c De Zaeger 1995.
  5. ^ Didden 1997, p. 204.
  6. ^ Tom Simoens, CHTP-BEG - n° 23 / 2011. Van arrangeren tot renseigneren. Smaad en geweld Van militairen Tegen hun oversten tijdens de eerste wereldoorlog (in Dutch)
  7. ^ Didden 1997, p. 215.
  8. ^ Namenlijst gesneuvelde Lierenaars – Hooiktenaars (in Dutch) lier1418.be, projectgroep WOI
  9. ^ Didden 1997, p. 210.
  10. ^ Petrus Dox (in Dutch) odis.be, 25 October 2017
  11. ^ a b Zes paters als bij wonder aan de dood ontsnapt Newspaper article, 1964. (in Dutch)
  12. ^ Lamberigts et al. 2016, p. 98.
  13. ^ Een houthakker heeft ons verlaten (in Dutch) 't Pallieterke, 1968, p. 11.
  14. ^ Verklaring straatnamen (in Dutch) Lier.be, 4 February 2020
  15. ^ Gebroeders Doxplein (in Dutch) inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be

Bibliography[edit]

  • Didden, K. (1997). "De Houthakkers van de Orne". Wetenschappelijke Tijdingen (in Dutch). 56 (4): 195–219. doi:10.21825/wt.v56i4.13075.
  • De Zaeger, P. (1995). "Alfred van der Hallen (1901–1975) en het Vlaams-nationalisme". Lira Elegans (in Dutch). 5. Liers Genootschap voor Geschiedenis: 15–41.
  • Lamberigts, M.; De Caluwe, M.; Milh, A. (2016). Predikbroeders in woord en daad (in Dutch). Antwerp: Halewijn. ISBN 9789085283935.
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