Remembrance Cross: the story of Valeran van de Kerckhove

In the early morning of 26 August 1914, the second day of the breakout of the Belgian troops from the fortress of Antwerp, a platoon of the 4th Lancers took up a concealed position in the vicinity of the Puttenberg mill. There are no Germans to be seen in the village. Sergeant Valeran van de Kerckhove was sent out with a few others to reconnoiter the situation at the Laak and Demer bridges. However, the German infantry had taken up a concealed position on these bridges and our sergeant was fatally hit by a bullet. Valeran was taken by his comrades to the field hospital in the monastery. Because there were too many German soldiers stationed around Aarschot, it was decided not to advance further into the city and in the afternoon the retreat was ordered. The sergeant would die around 6:00 p.m. that evening and be buried in the cemetery around the church. A total of 16 soldiers of the 4th Lancer Regiment were reported missing that day and three were wounded.
After the war, Valeran's mother erected a monument to her son at the place where he was struck. The family even bought a crypt in the cemetery. This was later moved to the current cemetery, against the wall with the boys' school. The sergeant's parents and brother were also buried here.
Until long after WWII, there was an annual memorial mass at the cross and a family member came all the way from Tournai to attend the ceremony.

Jan Rymenams