Our family history

Our Ancestors of Messines, Belgium

I spent the majority of my trip in Belgium, in Messines: the smallest town in Belgium with a large history of war and a link to my Ancestry.

One of Messines greatest secrets is Adele of Messines . In 1027 she married Richard III, Duke of Normandy. After Richard’s sudden death later that year, Adele remarried to Baldwin V, Count of Flanders in 1028. Adele lived there and was buried under the church of Our Lady of Messines nearly a thousand years ago. Adele was the mother in law of William the Conqueror and….my ancestor (we are related to Adele through Clem’s wife Rawhiti de L’Isle – mentioned later)! Adele’s daughter’s name was Matilda and she married William the Conqueror, future King of England. Adele’s grandson married the Pope of time’s sister.

During WW1 the church which Adele was buried under was used as a hospital by the Germans.

Adolf Hitler was a corporal in the first war and was injured. He was nursed in a bed in the Crypt right next to her grave. During WW2 he returned to Messines to watch the war. Unfortunately, during the war, the Church, along with her grave was destroyed by the bombings, and in its place, a new Church was built with a crypt and a stone dedicated to Adele.

The Le Lièvres in Akoroa:

François Le Lièvre (12/01/1810- 12/07/1902) was one of the first Frenchmen to settle in New Zealand. Originally from Normandy, François first visited Akaroa in May 1837 while on board a ship called the Nil working as a harpooner and boat-steerer under Captain Smith. He left the ship and started working in the harbour of Akaroa with whaling ships for 1 year before returning to France.

In 1840, François Le Lièvre returned to Akaroa on the Comte de Paris along with several other French and German families who planned to settle there. François took with him a piece of a willow tree, which grew over the grave of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. He planted it in front of his property on the Rue Balquerie, Akaroa and to this day, a patch of Willows originated from the one of Napoleon’s grave grow by the French cemetery on L’Aube Hill.

Francois’ wife Justine Malmanche was from near La Rochelle, not from Normandy.

The Le Lièvres in World War 1:

“If Belgium is the Battlefield of Europe then the Messines Ridge could be the Battlefield of Belgium.”

Messines Ridge was the site of many battles over the last thousand years. Including the Battle of Messines in WW1. “Messines refers to a ridge south of the town of Ypres (Ieper today) captured by New Zealand forces. Thanks to careful planning, the capture of Messines Ridge was a stunning success and paved the way for the main attack later in the summer by removing German forces from the dominating ground on the southern face of the Ypres Salient. New Zealand suffered 3,000 casualties and 700 deaths at Messines (Mesen today).” – New Zealand WW100

The battle took place on the 7th June 1917 and lasted for two days. Many bombs were blown up under the ground, by the time the war was over, 42,000 people were either dead or injured from both sides.

My Great Great Uncle Cyril (26/353, 4th Bn. 3rd, New Zealand Rifle Brigade) was among those who died and his body was never found. Today he is remembered in the NZ Memorial for the Missing in Messines. His brother (my Great Grandfather) Clem Le Lièvre was non-fatally injured (a shot to the chest) a few months later in the battle for Gravenstafel Ridge on the 4th October during the Battle of Passchendaele.

Cyril and Clem before the war:

Cyril was born in Akaroa on 21/9/1887, and Clem on 16/11/1891 of Norman French and Irish Catholic descent, being grandsons of Comte de Paris settler François Le Lièvre. At age 20 Cyril moved with the family to the Wairarapa to Mangaramarama near Pahiatua where he milked cows and made cheese – there being no fresh milk collection. However, at the time of enlistment, he is recorded as being a Shepherd at Tikokino in Hawkes Bay.

Cyril was single when he enlisted and his sister Evelyn in the convent used to tell that he was intending to join the priesthood if he returned alive from the war. Cyril was in the 4th Battalion. 3rd, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, and his number was 26/353

By the end of the war, Cyril and Clem’s parents Eugene and Mary had moved to Whakatane. With Cyril’s death and Evelyn in the convent, Clem joined his parents there with his army nurse – and wife to be – Rawhiti de Lisle. Clem and Ra started farming on Sutherland Rd at Edgecumbe in 1919 and the farm remains in the family today.

Clem Le Lièvre in WW2

When Clem returned from the war and started farming, the farm did not provide an adequate income and Clem continued to be active in the Territorials in the inter-war years progressing to Lieutenant, Captain and then Major in the Hauraki Regiment. In 1939, days short of his 48th birthday, he was seconded to the NZEF as Captain in the 21st (Auckland) Battalion and in 1940 appointed Company Commander of the Battalion. He was serving in Greece and as he was about to turn 50 was due to be repatriated home. However was recorded missing as of 13/5/41 according to his war record – and he was confirmed as a POW 2 months later. He saw out the war in captivity and was recorded “Safe in UK” on 26/4/45. Clem always told the family that he was captured on ANZAC Day 1941 and released on ANZAC Day 1945.