The Horrible Truth about Belgium

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The Horrible Truth about Belgium

• OR HOW MY FAMILY CAME TO CANADA

By Neill Vanhinsberg Foundations of Information
Technology LIBR 500 nvanhins_at_interchange.ubc.ca
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Vanhinsberg

• Dutch originally but moved to Belgium
• From the village of Hins on the Dutch/Belgian
  border
• Good things from Belgium include
• French Fries
• Chocolate
• Brueghel
• Beer

North Sea
Hins
Holland
UK
Belgium
France
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After moving to the UK in the late 1800s, my
great grandfather drank the family brickworks
into the ground

• Must have been that tasty imported Belgian beer

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Meanwhile in Scotland
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The gamekeeper who looked like George Bernard Shaw

• My great grandfather Worne bore a striking
  resemblance to the famous playwright
• Apparently he had a fiery red beard in his youth
  like Shaw
• He worked as a gamekeeper on an estate in
  Southern Scotland

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To prove they were Scottish my moms family
pranced about in kilts

• Or worse
• With bagpipes

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My grandmother had 4 sisters

• Olive Worne on the left with 2 of her sisters

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At the beginning of the 1900s, Vanhinsbergs
flocked to Canada

• Big chins were in on my dads side of the family

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Then World War One started

• My great uncle Fred was stationed in Egypt
• And known forever after as Fred the camel driver

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Even though he could play violin too

• White shoes or slippers were the preferred
  footwear in this band

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In 1928 the Scottish side of the family got their
act together and took it to Canada

• (I dont think they actually piloted the ship)

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Winter sports in Ontario

• My dad on the right with his brother Lou skiing
  in their back yard

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Then my parents met
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WORLD WAR TWO and rationing was instated

• My grandmother Wornes ration cards

For more information on rationing in WW2, type
in rationing in the search box at the Canadian
War Museum Web Page
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1944 and my oldest brother arrives

• Both sets of grandparents, my brother and my mom

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And the star of our show

• My favourite colour is still yellow

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All photos used are courtesy of my mom,Mysie
Vanhinsberg

• The photos were scanned and some were cropped
  slightly but only one had to be altered.