Statue Lodewijk Willem Johan Karel Thomson

Major Lodewijk Willem Johan Karel Thomson was born on June 11, 1869. He was killed at Durres in Albania on June 15, 1914 during a mission to save peace in the country in the chaos after the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913. He became the first Dutch soldier who was killed during a peace mission.

The mission failed and chaos in the region remained, which was one of the reasons for the First World War.

Lodewijk Thomson was first buried in Albania, he was later reburied in Groningen, the Netherlands. In Albania, he is still seen as a hero.

The statue in Durres is a copy of the one in Groningen.

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries
• Photos: Jan van Bladel