Not many visitors to Waterloo battlefield take a look inside the Eglise Saint-Joseph in Waterloo town centre.
The domed church was already standing at the time of the battle although it looks as if it might have been constructed as a memorial. The two lions above the entrance give it a military look. But the church dates from 1690 when Charles II, King of Spain, ruled the region.
The interior is decorated with 138 memorials dedicated to soldiers killed in the battle. They are at the back of the church, often hidden behind stacks of furniture. It seems like no one is still interested in these old memorials.
They were put up by fellow soldiers or by family members mourning a lost son. The inscriptions are often in beautiful calligraphy, recording the heroic achievements of the men who died. Some in English. Others in Dutch. A few in Latin.
Sometimes a memorial mentions that it was placed here by a grieving sister, or an affectionate comrade. It is a sad reminder of a battle that was fought long ago in a field near Brussels.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
