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Antoine-Adolphe Fonck (10 January 1893 – 4 August 1914) was a Belgian soldier of World War I. He was known as the first Belgian soldier to be killed in the war.
Antoine-Adolphe Fonck | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 10 January 1893 Verviers, Liège Province, Belgium |
| Died | 4 August 1914 (aged 21) Thimister-Clermont, Liège Province, Belgium |
| Buried | Thimister-Clermont Communal Cemetery |
| Allegiance |  Belgium |
| Branch |  Belgian Land Component |
| Unit | 2nd Lancer Regiment |
| Known for | First Belgian soldier to be killed in World War I |
| Battles / wars | World War I † |
Biography
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Fonck was born on 10 January 1893 in Verviers, Belgium,[1] into a family of modest income.[2] He lost both of his parents in childhood and was raised by his grandmother. He later worked as a shopkeeper at the Grand Bazaar of Liège.[2]
In 1911 he enlisted as a volunteer in the Belgian army, joining the 2nd Lancer Regiment. Following the outbreak of World War I, on 4 August 1914, at 10:30 am, he was killed during a reconnaissance mission to the La Croix-Polinard hamlet in Thimister-Clermont.[1]
Fonck was buried at the Thimister-Clermont Communal Cemetery on 16 August 1914.[1] A monument was later erected at the spot where he died.[3]
See also
editFirst soldiers killed in World War I
edit- Albert Mayer, the first soldier and first Imperial German Army soldier killed, August 2, 1914
- Jules-André Peugeot, the first French Army soldier killed, August 2, 1914
- John Parr, the first British Army soldier killed, August 21, 1914
- Thomas Enright, one of the first three American Army soldiers killed, November 3, 1917
- Merle Hay, one of the first three American Army soldiers killed, November 3, 1917
- James Bethel Gresham, one of the first three American Army soldiers killed, November 3, 1917
Last soldiers killed in World War I
edit- George Edwin Ellison, the last British Army soldier killed, at 9:30 a.m. November 11, 1918
- Augustin Trébuchon, the last French Army soldier killed, at 10:45 a.m. November 11, 1918
- Marcel Toussaint Terfve, the last Belgian Army soldier killed, at 10:45 a.m. November 11, 1918
- George Lawrence Price, the last Canadian Army soldier killed, at 10:58 a.m. November 11, 1918
- Henry Gunther, the last soldier and last American Army soldier killed, at 10:59 a.m. November 11, 1918
References
edit- ^ a b c "Monument à la mémoire du cavalier Antoine FONCK, Thimister". bel-memorial.org (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-14.
- ^ a b "Le lancier Antoine- Adolphe Fonck, premier mort belge de la Première Guerre mondiale". Curieuses Histoires Belgique (in French). 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
- ^ "Memorial Antoine-Adolphe Fonck - Thimister-Clermont". TracesOfWar.com. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
External links
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Media related to Antoine-Adolphe Fonck at Wikimedia Commons- Antoine Fonck at Find a Grave
