Bisschoppelijk College

Did you know that the famous scientist Marie Curie once worked here? What is now the Episcopal College was serving as an improvised hospital from 22 October 1914 onwards. Ambulances carried people with war injuries every ten minutes through the red abbey door. The courtyard was full of injured soldiers. One of the volunteers in the College is doctor Frans Daels, a striking personality who is branded as a collaborator after the Second World War. He uttered a cry for help: there was an acute shortage of volunteers and work tools. He hoped that Marie Curie, with whom he previously had contact about cancer research with radiotherapy, could send some material. What turns out: on 5 December 1914, Daels not only saw a mobile radio car at the College, but also Marie Curie herself, together with her daughter Irène. In no time, the two finished their radiography. Marie takes x-ray or RX photographs of the soldiers and Irène developsed them. Henry Souttar, who worked as a surgeon at the hospital, wrote about the two Curies: "Mrs. Curie was a tireless worker. In a very short time she had taken RX photos of all the patients we applied. "

eos - maandblad over wetenschap