Laure Vanderstichele

born in Terwagne in the province of Liege in 18711 was one of the first women to visit a university in Belgium.

After the outbreak of the First World War and the invasion of the German Army into Belgium in the winter of 1914/15 she fled from Brussels with her two eldest daughters Paule and Madeleine - also because she wanted her daughters to continue their studies. She reached Antwerp by boat via the English Channel, then likewise Hansweert by boat and finally the port of Vlissingen by train.

From here she crossed to Folkestone in Great Britain and reached London by train. Despite the adverse circumstances, Laure was successful in getting her daughters admitted to university. She made a career for herself in the clothing business and did not return to Belgium after the war. ln 1939 she fled from the Second World War to South Africa, remaining there until the 1950s. However, because of local political tensions she had toreturn to London, where she died in 1967.