Disappearing Belgians & English Hospitality

In the "Agatha Christie's Poirot" adaptation of The Mysterious Affair At Styles, Hercule Poirot preaches the importance of knowing English history and customs to his fellow Belgians. He tries to instill in them how imperative it is to "become British" if they are to remain in their adoptive country. To this end, he instructs them in such minutia as the names and growth patterns of flowers, and even has them practice singing popular WWI era British songs, such as "It's a Long Road to Tipperary."

They sing the latter as they march over this rustic stone bridge. One can only imagine what the man and woman bathing their horse in the river below think of the procession. 

Had they worn knitted sock-hats, they could have sung "Whistle While You Work." I'm referring to the original Disney song, not the recent "Whistle While You Work It" by Katy Tiz. Come to think of it, the latter's a fun song too, with a video featuring hand-drawn animation. so why not? The Belgians might have liked that song too.

A recent online article details the events of what led hundreds of thousands of Belgians to flee their native country, to settle in England, and why they left. I wonder how many, like Hercule Poirot, remained behind, to make new lives in their adoptive country. Could Hercule Poirot's lasting popularity be partly due to his serving as a symbol of the country's growing multicultural diversity after WWI? 

These scenes involving Poirot and his fellow Belgians only occur in Clive Exton's script, not in the original novel. Still, this really happened. England really took in hundreds of thousands of refugees during World War I. That may not seem like a lot compared to an overall population of approximately 40 million. But then you have to remember that so many of the men were oversees, fighting in the war, or otherwise away from their families. Also, all the people living in England were subject to limited resources and rationing. Such generosity on the part of the English people impresses me immensely. Of course, the presence of so many Belgians impressed Agatha Christie too. Clive Exton's little addition to her novel remind us of that time, that era, and the British peoples' sacrifices. 

The story also makes me wonder if the refugees at the time really felt as if their home had been utterly destroyed, with no hope of return. Such battles as the Third Battle of Ypres must have seemed catastrophic. And World War I was called the first world war for a reason. It was the war so incomprehensible that it couldn't possibly happen, or so people thought at the time. Did the Belgian refugees have any reason to hold out hope of a return home, or did they always view their stay in England as a temporary measure?

At least they had a place to go and consider their futures, thanks to the English cities that fed and housed them during that time, such as Agatha Christie's hometown of Torquay.

Related Article
How 250,000 Belgian Refugees Didn't Leave A Trace
Disney version
Katy Tiz version