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Memories of Merelbeke - een randgemeente van Gent

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Belgium 1970s

256

MERELBEKE

We lived in Belgium in the 1970s. Dad, Eric Hayles was working for Volvo Europa at Oostakker near Ghent and we moved into a house in the Verlorenbroodstraat in Merelbeke. We hope you enjoy our evocative photos of life in Merelbeke, a suburb of Ghent.

56 files, last one added on Oct 27, 2014
Album viewed 1968 times

GHENT/GENT BELGIUM

We lived near the beautiful city of Ghent (Gent) in Belgium in East Flanders (Oost Vlaanderen) from 1974 till 1978, although dad was there for about another six years after that. We hope you enjoy some of our photo archive from those happy times.

48 files, last one added on Oct 27, 2014
Album viewed 567 times

MERELBEKE FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS

Some of our wonderful neighbours and friends when we lived in Merelbeke. If you know any names that we haven't mentioned, please add them below the photo.

109 files, last one added on Oct 27, 2014
Album viewed 779 times

DANSCLUB TERPSICHORE MERELBEKE

Mum and dad had dancing lessons at the Dansclub Terpsichore in Hundelgemsesteenweg in 1977-78. These are pictures from one of their social functions.

15 files, last one added on Mar 15, 2014
Album viewed 593 times

OUT AND ABOUT IN BELGIUM

13 files, last one added on Mar 23, 2014
Album viewed 533 times

Our Welsh friends, the Davies Family

We attended church at the Evangelisch Centruum, Burgstraat, Gent, where we got to know the wonderful Davies family from Wales (the clue was in the name!) Charles and Betty, Godfrey, Joseph and Noel. There were also two sisters who weren't in Belgium. Charles was an accomplished artists and signwriter. He once had a job painting the Coca Cola logo on lorries, so he must have been very good! He also painted a sign for our neighbours opposite which read "Bobinage van motoren".

11 files, last one added on Apr 26, 2014
Album viewed 473 times

Documentation

Leaflets and other documentation from our time in Belgium

4 files, last one added on Dec 05, 2017
Album viewed 244 times

7 albums on 1 page(s)

Belgium 1990s

VISITS TO MERELBEKE IN 1990s

In the 1990s, along came the internet. Jonathan put "Merelbeke" into a search engine to see what he would see, and stumbled across the website of Sint-Michielsschool. After writing a greeting in the guest book he received a reply from Guy van Heddegem, and a friendship developed which led to Jonathan visiting Merelbeke in 1998 and writing a song which was performed at the school's Eindejaarshow. He visited again the following year. Here are some pictures from those shows.... we hope to bring you some video clips in the future too. Photos mostly by Jonathan Hayles, captions by Guy van Heddegem.

40 files, last one added on Mar 16, 2014
Album viewed 474 times

1 albums on 1 page(s)

296 files in 8 albums and 2 categories with 5 comments viewed 204,326 times

Last additions

GITO Merelbeke flyer van 1975 4/44150 viewsDec 05, 2017

GITO Merelbeke flyer van 1975 3/43988 viewsDec 05, 2017

1/4784 viewsDec 05, 2017

GITO Merelbeke leaflet from 1975 2/4596 viewsGITO Merelbeke flyer van 1975Dec 05, 2017

Cards at Number 31784 viewsOct 27, 2014

Wilfried at his mother's in Moortsele777 viewsOct 27, 2014

Wilfried's mother in Moortsele776 viewsOct 27, 2014

Wilfried and Lydiane at Wilfried's mother's in Moortsele782 viewsOct 27, 2014

Tram near the Gravensteen in Ghent, 19781369 viewsOct 27, 2014

Wilfried adds the finishing touches to his villa754 viewsOct 27, 2014

Lydiane makes sure Wilfried is doing things properly748 viewsOct 27, 2014

Wilfried adds the finishing touches to his villa742 viewsOct 27, 2014

Random files

Fountain in Zuidpark Gent602 views

Sint-Michielsschool 1999380 views

Jonathan (aka Josh) Patricia Meersschaut and Ronny Meersscaut, pop sterren958 views1 comments

Photo developers A Bracke in Merelbeke981 viewsWhen we lived in Merelbeke in the 1970s, a spooky old derelict building stood on the corner of Hundelgemsesteenweg and Van Goethemstraat, next to the potato yard. Then one day, a couple opened a smart little photo shop in part of it. They were related to the Piens family who lived next door to us in Verlorenbrooadstraat.

The finished photos came back in an envelope with a drawing of the building. The entrance was to the right, just behind the tree in the picture.

Foundations of Velorenbroodstraat 31, 19741228 viewsWilfried De Moor, his brother and nephew working on the foundations of Wilfried's villa.

A great night at Number 31475 views

Maureen with Ronny493 views

Josh on roof of Verlorenbroodstraat 29756 viewsYou can see Marcel Meersschaut's "boxen" in the background.

The Meerschauts and our relatives from England446 views

Park Hotel bill from 1974622 viewsEric Hayles stayed at the Park Hotel, Wilsonplein, Gent, when he first arrived in Belgium to work for Volvo Europa in Destelbergen. Later his office moved to the company's massive site at Oostakker.

Sint-Michielsschool Eindejaarshow 1998 - (v.l.n.r.) Heleen, Wendy, Isabel, Erin en Roobjee391 views

Michael and dad fix the VW exhaust.. it's only one year old!!740 viewsMerelbeke 1977