Bon Bella

Bella Thonet (nee Thornton) was born in Bearpark, County Durham at the start of the last century. During the first world war she met and married a convalescing Belgium soldier and at the end of hostilities went to live in Belgium with her new husband. They had a son Victor and ran the local village shop.

Her husband died in 1939 but Bela, who was fluent in French decided to stay on in Belgium where she had many friends.

As the Germans invaded Victor, who was in the Belgium Army, was taken prisoner and force marched into Germany to work in a labour camp. On the way Victor dived into a cornfield and escaped back into Belgium where he joined the Belgium resistance (FFI)

Meanwhile Bella packed as many of her belongings as possible into an old pram and joined a stream of refugees heading south through France and onto Spain. Before leaving, Bella who was a diminutive but fiercely proud Englishwoman took a white sheet, painted upon it the Union Jack and hung it from her home to greet the invading German Army.

On her return from Spain some months later Bella found that the Germans had taken their revenge and ransacked her home. Later Bella and Victor were reunited and they turned their shop into a barbers.

Bella and many other in the village were active in helping shot down British Canadian and US airmen. They were given food and clothes and hidden on farms.

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