Memorial Stone Frans Van Der Biest

On the left side wall of the St. Martin's Church in Erpe is a memorial stone for Frans Van Der Biest.
As a young novice he volunteered at the outbreak of the First World War. For four exhausting years he was a stretcher bearer on the Yser Front, sharing joys and sorrows with his fellow sufferers who survived in the trenches under difficult circumstances. He took care of the injured in the first lines and evacuated the dead.
The French-speaking commanders looked down on the soldiers who usually spoke only a Flemish dialect. Faced with poignant backwardness, he worked hard for the rights of the common soldiers on the front and was active in the Flemish Front Movement. He stood up for them and radicalized his social and political beliefs.
After the war he went to study at the seminary to serve the Church and Faith. After a short period as a teacher at the Holy Virgin College in Dendermonde, he became curate in Kruibeke and Gentbrugge. At the latter post he fell seriously ill and died in 1943, at the age of just 49 years old.

At the bottom of the plinth it says:
"He loved the Church and his people
Pray for him "

Source: Walter De Swaef (historian)

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