Plaquette BBC - 04-09-1944 - Radio Belgique

Fernand (Nand) Geersens (

Borgerhout Borgerhout () is the smallest district of Antwerp, Belgium. , the district houses 45,769 inhabitants on 3,93 km². It was an independent municipality until January 1983. The postal area code for Borgerhout is 2140. Geography Borgerhout is divided ...

, 21 October 1895 Ixelles, 9 February 1959) was the Dutch-language voice of Radio België, the channel of the Belgian National Radio Broadcaster (BNRO) during World War II which broadcast from London. He was known by the

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Jan Moedwil.

Career

Prior to his radio career, Geersens was editor-in-chief of the bibliophile review ''Boek en Kunst'' and had since the 1920s been affiliated with the . He was also active in Liberal organizations and was chairman of the Liberale Vlaamschen Bond. As of 1936, Geersens worked for in the expenditure department and was therefore not directly involved in reporting. At Radio Belgique

Victor de Laveleye Victor Auguste de Laveleye (6 November 1894 – 14 December 1945) was a Belgian liberal politician and minister. He also served as announcer on '' Radio Belgique'' during World War II. De Laveleye was a doctor in law, and was municipality Counci ...

was his counterpart and provided news bulletins for the French-speaking part of the country. Laveleye and Geersens collaborated on the first Radio Belgique broadcast on 28 September 1940. Geersen's catchphrase was a rhyming couplet with which he ended his broadcasts: "We do our best, without being lucky, will still get them, the traitors!" (''Wij doen ons best, zonder er op te boffen, toch krijgen we ze wel, de moffen!''). The Dutch broadcaster

Loe de Jong Loe or LOE may refer to: * Level of effort * Levels of evidence * ''Living on Earth'', weekly news program distributed by Public Radio International * Loe of Maui, semi-legendary king of Maui * Loe, Estonia, a village in Estonia * Loei Airport, IA ...

described Geersens's editorial style as "like a church organ playing with all the stops pulled out". When the " V for Victory" campaign was launched by the Belgian section at the BBC on 14 January 1941, it was first presented to Dutch-speaking listeners in a Jan Moedwil broadcast. In late 1944, during the Liberation of Belgium, Geersens expressed concern about how Belgium might recover from its occupation, noting that " r people, to a certain extent, are sick". After the liberation, an album of photographs and sketches was published in Brussels to celebrate his work for the BBC during the German occupation.Herman Sabbe, ''Jan Moedwil in woord en beeld'' (Brussels, Uitgeverij Loki, 1945).

Honours and awards

After the war, Geersens was appointed Officer of the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

in Belgium, Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau in the Netherlands and Honorary Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, which he received in recognition of his contribution during the occupation. His papers are held by the Liberal Archive in Ghent, Belgium.

References

External links

Archive inventory

Jan Moedwil/Nand Geersens
at Omroepmuseum VSZ
Jan Moedwil BBC WO 2 / 10/05/1941
broadcast of 10 May 1941 at Jozef Sterkens YouTube Channel.
België WO 2, Radio België, Jan Moedwil, Londen BBC 25/03/1943
broadcast of 25 March 1943 at Jozef Sterkens YouTube Channel {{DEFAULTSORT:Moedwil, Jan 1895 births 1959 deaths Belgian people in the United Kingdom during World War II Belgian radio presenters Liberal Party (Belgium) politicians People from Borgerhout BBC radio presenters