It is on the corner of what is now a school in Chaussee St Pierre in Etterbeek.
It commemorates the men of the neighbourhood who fell during the First World War. It is quite an impressive memorial given that it appears to have been a local initiative, but then there are rather a lot of names there.
I walk past this little glimpse into history several times a week, as it is on my route to the European Parliament. There are often fresh flowers laying alongside, and I cannot help but wonder if any of the families of those names appear on the plaque still live in the area.
Today, January 19th, marks the 208th anniversary of the birth of arguably one of the greatest of all American soldiers, Robert E. Lee.
Volumes have been written about his exploits, and it is not possible to condense even a fraction of his achievements into one blog post. Suffice to say that despite facing overwhelming odds, and with poorly equipped Confederate armies, he inflicted painful and humiliating defeats upon the Union forces facing him during the American Civil War (or the Northern Aggression, as many Virginians still like to refer to it).
At various times he saw off the armies of McLellan, Pope, and even the legendary Ulysses S. Grant, despite being outnumbered and outgunned. It was to Grant, however, that he was to surrender, effectively bringing an end to the war. Lee had supported Breckinridge, Johnston, and Beauregard in trying to persuade Jefferson Davis to end the war honourably, and to prevent further loss of life. As such he is recognised today not just in the South, but across the US not only as a great soldier, but as a man of great honour.
I could write on this subject endlessly.....
Incidentally, if you ever visit Arlington National Cemetery, that big white mansion you will see was Lee's home.
I was saddened to learn of the death of Bob Montgomery, just a few days ago, at the age of 77.
Montgomery was a childhood friend and schoolmate of a certain Charles Hardin Holley - best known to the world as 'Buddy' Holly. A self taught guitarist, and a budding songwriter/composer, he was to establish a partnership with Holly that was to shape popular music for decades, even after Holly's death in February 1959.
They formed a duo - Buddy and Bob - performing in and around Lubbock Texas, in a then popular style known as 'Western & Bop'. Bass player Larry Welborn soon joined them, and radio appearances followed, with a regular spot on KDAV. It was 'Hi Pockets' Duncan at KDAV who first spotted the potential, and became their manager. . Buddy Holly now had his first trio. In those days, Montgomery general sang lead, but on the few recordings that survive, it is generally Holly we hear. (Possibly that is why they have survived).
Holly went on to form the Crickets, was signed to Decca, and the rest is musical history.
Montgomery did not fade into obscurity however, he continued to write with Holly, and I guess that the songwriter's royalties from tracks such as 'Heartbeat', 'Wishing', and the much covered 'Love's Made A Fool Of You' would run into substantial figures.
He also wrote for many other leading artistes - he penned 'Honey', which was a million seller for Bobby Goldsboro.
He was also a successful businessman, and at one point was vice-President of CBS records.
The album 'Buddy and Bob - Western & Bop' comprising early demos, recorded in Holly's garage in 1954-55, was released, I think in about 1979. I remember buying it at the time, and I still have it to this day. It is primitive, but exciting nonetheless. It also shows that even as a very young man, Holly could write beautiful ballads.
In the late 70's, Rockabilly venues were springing up all over London, and there was one particular track from the Buddy & Bob album that always caused a stir. And I found it on You Tube.
I know - Holly purists prefer undubbed versions, but I genuinely prefer the overdubbed version in this case. Maybe that is because I remember how as a teenager I put this on the turntable, and it was the first track I heard. Enjoy -
Larry Welborn, by the way, is still with us. The last photos I see of him were about 2 years ago, and he looked great. He lives in Oklahama, where for some time he ran his own recording studio, and I believe that he still performs with his own band.
I learn today that the world's last surviving Gloster Javelin is to be transferred to an aircraft museum. It is a beautiful looking aircraft.
I should point out here that the Javelin was a bit before my time - well almost....
There was an example at RAF Cosford when I did my training there, rather a long time ago. It was really basic stuff we did with it, like learning how to approach an aircraft on the flight line, basic safety procedures, and stuff like that. We had all sorts of stuff to pore over at Cosford, because as well as being a major training station it is home to a museum. It is always to a major indoor athletics facility.
However, that giant of English politics, Norman Tebbit, now Baron Tebbit of Chingford, actually flew the Javelin. I once spent a lovely afternoon with him in the House of Lords talking politics, Europe, and of course the RAF.
A lot of these old aircraft types survived for many years as 'gate guards' at RAF stations around the world. They were generally little more than shells, exposed to the elements for decades, but lovingly looked after. They cannot survive for ever though, and at least this last Javelin has found a safe home.
