 The
Story of Talbot House (Toc H)
On 11 December 1915 the house at number 43 Gasthuisstraat (at that time
the street was called by its French name Rue de l'Hopital) opened its
doors for the first time, welcoming British soldiers to a new club.
The large house was owned by a wealthy brewer, Monsieur Coevoet
Camerlynck. In the early summer of 1915 some German shrapnel
shells had landed in the garden and damaged the rear of the house.
Having removed his family and all his belongings M. Camerlynck
was pleased to offer the empty house for rent to the British Army for
150 Francs a month. Two conditions of the lease were that the house was
to be made weatherproof and a large safe was to be removed from the front
room.
 An
Army Chaplain the Reverend Philip 'Tubby' Clayton saw
a use for the property as a soldier's club. It became a rare place where
soldiers could meet and relax regardless of rank. A notice was hung by
the front door bearing the message "All rank abandon, ye who enter
here".
Naming the House 'Talbot House'
 Initially
it was proposed that the House was named Church House. According to Padre
Neville Talbot, "the staff of our Division saw a scarecrow
in the name and smelt tracts". (1)
And so the house was named Talbot House in memory of
Lieutenant Gilbert W L Talbot, aged 23, who was the brother
of Padre Neville Talbot. Gilbert was
serving with 7th Battalion The Rifle Brigade when he
was killed at Hooge in the Ypres Salient
on 30 July 1915. His death came during a British counter-attack following
the German Army's first use of liquid fire on the Western Front. Gilbert
was the youngest son of the Lord Bishop Talbot of Winchester
and left a career of brilliant promise unfulfilled. He is buried in Sanctuary
Wood British Military Cemetery, Zillebeke near Ieper.
The name Talbot House soon became known to the soldiers
of the Ypres Salient as 'Toc H'; Toc being the army
signaller's code for 'T'.
 One
of the conditions for allowing the military to occupy the house in the
owner's absence was to help remove all the furniture; including a large
safe. The house therefore needed to be re-furnished. In an attempt to
make the house more homely soldiers quickly acquired all sorts of pieces
of furniture including a piano. Gifts of soft furnishings were donated
by people in England and books arrived by post or were left by soldiers
to fill the shelves of the library. A soldier's cap badge was to serve
as a pledge for borrowing a book from the library.
The Upper Room
 The
loft, which was previously used for drying hops, was converted into a
chapel and became known as the 'Upper Room'. On the initiative of the
soldiers the chapel was furnished with an altar made from a carpenter's
bench found in the garden shed. Candlesticks for the altar were made from
bedposts. A portable organ known as a 'groan-box' was used for musical
accompanyment. Wooden benches were made or acquired from damaged churches.
The altar cloth was donated. From the early days of its creation the chapel
in the 'Upper Room' offered a peaceful haven for hundreds of soldiers
taking a brief respite from the trenches.
One of the items of special interest in the Upper Room is the original
wooden cross which marked the grave of Lieutenant Gilbert Talbot.
In the mid 1990s the doorbell rang at Talbot House. When the door was
opened there was no-one to be seen in the street, but there was a large
black plastic bag left on the doorstep. On opening the bag it was found
to contain Gilbert Talbot's original wooden cross. The
metal strips attached to the cross contained the following details:
LIEUT. G. W. K. TALBOT
7/ RIFLE BDE
30-7-15
 The
whereabouts of this cross up to that moment still remain unknown, but
possibly someone had been keeping it safe for all these years. Most of
the original crosses were burned when they were replaced after the Great
War with stone headstones.
The Concert Hall
In 1916 the House became too small for the number of soldiers visiting
it. The first floor of the neighbouring hop store was taken over and used
for church services attended by large groups. Soon the storehouse, first
called Church Hall, then Concert Hall, was used for other purposes and
activities such as lessons, lectures, movies, concerts, debates, etc.
Illusionists, poets and comedians gave shows. The ‘artistic director’
conducted the house orchestra and the theatrical company. Talbot House
with its Concert Hall grew and became one of the most important institutions
of the British Army. (1)
1919
When the Great War was over Monsieur Camerlynck, the
hop merchant, returned. However, he was overwhelmed by the number of ex-soldiers
who came knocking at the door to see the old house again, and put it up
for sale. In 1929 Lord Wakefield of Hythe bought the
house for £9,200 and donated it to the Talbot House
Association. This is the reason for the official twinning of
Poperinge with Hythe in Kent,
England.
1939-1944
During the Second World War Poperinge was occupied by
the German Army. Fearing that the historically valuable items inside Talbot
House might be at risk at this difficult time, a team of local people
secretly emptied the complete contents of the house, split the collection
throughout the town, finding a hiding place for each single painting,
book or piece of furniture.
The German town commandant was puzzled that the house was found to be
empty, but accepted the idea that it could be used as a headquarters and
officers' mess. This gave a certain reassurance to the local people that
the house would more likely be protected from vandalism by its new occupiers.
Unbeknown to the German officers living in the house, a tunnel under
the garden was being used to help Allied aircrew to escape through Belgium!
With the liberation of Poperinge in 1944 every single item was brought
back to Talbot House.
1996: The Concert Hall
In 1996 the Talbot House Association had the opportunity to buy the Concert
Hall, a building which had been neglected over the years. Early in 2003
the restoration and reconstruction of the building was started, and on
May 15th the former hop store will be reopened. The Concert Hall is very
important to Talbot House. The historical unity with the House has been
restored and new facilities are available for visitors.
Through the years Talbot House has welcomed many famous visitors, amongst
them HRH Queen Elizabeth II, the late Belgian
King Boudewijn and the present Belgian King Albert II.
Visit the Talbot
House website for full information about Talbot House including a
virtual tour.
next>> The Friends of Talbot House
Acknowledgements
Tales of Talbot House,
Everyman's Club in Poperinghe & Ypres 1915-1918, by P B Clayton, MC,
FSA, p. vii
(1) Paragraph courtesy of Talbot House, May 2004.
Copyright Joanna Legg & Graham Parker
© 2002 All rights reserved |
