Town to 'take on' care of WW1 refugee boy's grave

A history group has planned to replace the gravestone of a four-year-old refugee in North Yorkshire after it was damaged in a storm.

The grave, in Kirkbymoorside, belongs to Pieter Lietart, who fled to the area from Belgium during World War One.

According to the chair of Kirkbymoorside History Group, Steve Peet, Pieter died in February 1915 after becoming ill with diphtheria.

He was buried in All Saints churchyard but in December 2024, his headstone was smashed when a large tree fell on it during Storm Darragh.

After researching Pieter's story, the history group hopes to raise £1,600 to replace the cross on his grave and "ensure he is not forgotten".

The chairman said, "Eventually at the end of the war, Pieter's older brother and mother returned to Belgium.

"Kirkbymoorside took on this duty of care to look after his grave in 1915, which we've done ever since."

After it was damaged, local volunteers worked hard to clear the debris and uncover the story behind the grave.

"I don't think there's any possibility of repairing the original one because it was extensively damaged by the falling tree," Peet said.

"So we're looking at creating a brand new gravestone for him.

"We're hoping to raise £1,600 because gravestones are not cheap these days, so far we've raised £620 so we're sort of slowly making our way there."

Pieter was thought to be one of an estimated 250,000 refugees who arrived in Britain from Belgium at the start of World War One.

The history group traced his family back to Mechelen in the Flanders region and found that his father had died in battle.

They hope to find out if the young evacuee has any living relatives in the region and have been in touch with the town's mayor.

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