Pervijze (french: Pervyse,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

''Pervyse'') is a small rural

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the

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 languag ...

province of

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

, and a part ("

Deelgemeente A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section ( French) is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 J ...

") of the municipality of

Diksmuide (; french: Dixmude, ; vls, Diksmude) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, N ...

. Pervijze has an area of 12.23 km² and almost 900 inhabitants. Before the municipal mergers in 1971, Pervijze was an independent municipality. In 1971,

Lampernisse Lampernisse is a small village in Diksmuide, a part of Belgium. The village hosts a Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , captio ...

Oostkerke Oostkerke (Dutch, 'East church') is a town in Diksmuide, West Flanders, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherl ...

and Stuivekenskerke were added to the municipality. In 1977 Pervijze became a part of Diksmuide. During World War I, Pervijze was situated near the

Yser Front The Yser Front (french: Front de l'Yser, nl, Front aan de IJzer or ), sometimes termed the West Flemish Front in British writing, was a section of the Western Front during World War I held by Belgian troops from October 1914 until 1918. The front ...

and was destroyed. Two British nurses,

Elsie Knocker Elsie Knocker, later Baroness de T'Serclaes, (29 July 1884 – 26 April 1978) was a British nurse and ambulance driver in World War I who, together with her friend Mairi Chisholm, won numerous medals for bravery and for saving the lives of tho ...

and

Mairi Chisholm Mairi Lambert Gooden Chisholm of Chisholm, MM, OStJ (26 February 1896 – 22 August 1981), known as Mairi Chisholm, was a Scottish nurse and ambulance driver in the First World War. She, together with her friend Elsie Knocker, won numerous me ...

, became known as "The Madonnas of Pervyse" in the British press. In Brussels (more precisely in Etterbeek), there is a street called "Rue de Pervyse" and "Pervijzestraat".

Gallery

File:0 Ferme - Sud de Pervyse 1916.JPG, Farm destroyed during the battle that took place in June 1916 south of Pervyse. File:Pervijze, parochiekerk Sint-Niklaas en Sint-Katharina oeg78495 foto2 2013-05-12 11.02.jpg, Parish church of Sint-Niklaas en Sint-Katharina

References

External links

Private website on Pervijze

BBC website showing the location of the village: ''British 'angels' who braved WW1 trenches'' 5 August 2014, Accessed 5 August 2014
Populated places in West Flanders Sub-municipalities of Diksmuide {{WestFlanders-geo-stub