大象传媒

Living in Brussels in May 1940 I was 16 years old.

You will be surprised at the title of my story! "Fridolin" was the nickname the Belgians gave to the Germans during the first World War it really means "Pig". You will find in my story "1st Bombs on Brussels my experience of May 10 1940", which is the day we were invaded by the Germans; and in the story 13th May 1940 "Our Exodus" the story of our adventures fleeing the occupation, by train, tram and lorry to arrive at Nantes in France to reach some French cousins.

We returned to Brussels as France was now occupied. We found that on our return from France in August 1940 food was badly rationed, and we were only allowed coupons. It was impossible to feed 6 children aged 7 to 18, full growing age. So my mother (my father was a prisoner of war, see story "Belgian Frontier 4.00 am) decided to get a piglet strictly forbidden by the occupier. And we decided to call him "Fridolin" Frido for short Before we even saw it.

` My elder brother and I took our bikes to go 80 Kms away to get one in the country near Mouscron, the journey a little tiring for our young legs. A good lunch with food all unknown in Brussels and we started our way back, Frido safely tucked in a wooden box, his weight 20 kilo's. All went well till we noticed 3 German soldiers pedalling behind us, Frido was becoming rather frisky, so I started talking to him.. "Please Frido keep quiet, if we are caught we shall all have to go to prison" and it worked.

At home the rest of the family welcomed him, and installed him in the Chicken House at the end of our small garden. Every day after school we had to cycle to different friends to collect their waste (Potato peelings Veg etc). as he was growing he ate 3 buckets a day! Then came the day we wanted to go away for a week, what to do with Frido? My brother had a brilliant idea, ask the "Little Sisters of the Poor " (a religious order looking after old people, they have a house in Bristol) to look after him, so they fetched Frido in their Horse and Cart, Quite a performance, as a girl 2 doors away was fraternising with German soldiers and could denounce us. When Frido came back his weight had doubled, so it was decided to have him killed, we had become so attached to Frido, it was so hard to accept his sacrifice, and we thanked him to have helped us grow up, and we made a small grave in the garden to remember him.

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