Joseph Droeven (1896–1945) was a Congolese soldier for the

Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and first person of African descent in the Belgian Army.

Early life

Joseph Droeven was the son of Florent-Jean-Mathieu Droeven, a Belgian colonial and gunsmith born in

Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...

, and Congolese woman named Chiacot. Florent first arrived in the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

on 6 May 1895. He fought against military mutineers during the

Batetela rebellion The Batetela rebellion (french: Révolte des Batetela) was a series of three mutiny, military mutinies and a subsequent low-level insurgency which was attributed to members of the Tetela people, Tetela ethnic group in the Congo Free State between 1 ...

in Luluabourg (current-day Kananga) in 1895. Florent acknowledged Joseph as his child, which was uncommon at the time, and took his child with him to Belgium when he returned. When Florent moved back to the Congo, Joseph stayed with his family in

Herstal Herstal (; wa, Hesta), formerly known as Heristal, or Héristal, is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. It lies along the Meuse river. Herstal is included in the "Greater Liège" agglomeration, which c ...

. In January 1910, Florent was murdered in

Mangai Mangai is a town in Kwilu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mangai lies on the southern bank of the Kasai River, at an altitude of 912 ft (277 m) National Geographic Atlas of the World: Revised Sixth Edition, National Geographic Soci ...

, Congo.

Career in the army

Ramskapelle - Railway station - Name stone 1914-1918

Joseph Droeven was schooled in Belgium. Out of the at least thirty-two Congolese soldiers of the Belgian Army during the First World War, Joseph Droeven was the only one who was a professional soldier instead of an army volunteer. Since his father acknowledged him, he was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

as well. He was enlisted as a professional volunteer at the grenadier regiment since 1913. He became a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

and, as such, some white Belgian soldiers were under his command. Droeven's first military action during the First World War took place during the siege of Antwerp towards the end of September 1914. In October, he followed his regiment towards the Yser river. During the

Battle of the Yser The Battle of the Yser (french: Bataille de l'Yser, nl, Slag om de IJzer) was a battle of the First World War that took place in October 1914 between the towns of Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, along a stretch of the Yser River and the Yperlee C ...

in October 1914, he fought at Ramskapelle near Nieuwpoort. When he had to go to the war front at

Pervijze Pervijze (french: Pervyse, English ''Pervyse'') is a small rural village in the Belgian province of West Flanders, and a part ("Deelgemeente") of the municipality of Diksmuide. Pervijze has an area of 12.23 km² and almost 900 inhabitants. Be ...

, however, he deserted and fled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Later life

Droeven was arrested as late as 1918 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. At the

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

, he cited hunger, the noise of the canons, and the failure of white Belgians to obey his orders as the reasons for his desertion. After the war, he led a normal family life. He is buried at the cemetery of Bourgeois in

Rixensart Rixensart (; wa, Ricsinsåt) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2018, Rixensart had a total population of 22,401. The total area is 17.54 km² which gives a population density of 1 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Droeven, Joseph 1896 births 1945 deaths Belgian Army personnel of World War I Belgian Congo in World War I Military history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Congolese military personnel of the Belgian Army during World War I