Wartime romance brings Belgian journalist to Johnstone

Oct 4 2010 by Alison Rennie, Paisley Daily Express

A WARTIME romance that dates back more than 90 years has led to an intrepid Belgian journalist travelling all the way to Johnstone in search of answers.

Marijke Libert has left her home in Gelt, Belgium, on a mission to track down details of her great-uncle’s Scottish sweetheart.

And she’s hoping that Paisley Daily Express readers can help to fill in some missing pieces of her family’s fascinating story.

Marijke, 48, explained: “My great-uncle, Amede Libert, was a soldier on the front line during the First World War.

“He fought from 1914 till 1918, so he served the maximum time. In 1916, he was injured and sent to a hospital in Bromley, London.

“The Lady Margaret Hospital was an unusual hospital because it was fruitist. That means the patients were treated with fresh air, sunlight, herbs and a fruitarian diet, which is mostly fresh fruit.

“He stayed there for a few weeks and, while he was there, he met a nurse and I think they fell in love.

“She asked him to come back to England after he had returned home but his family had a farm and he couldn’t leave his responsibilities, so he didn’t go.

“My great-uncle died on November 11, 1988, but he couldn’t stop talking about this nurse during the last few years of his life.”

Shortly before Amede died, he passed on a photograph and three letters to Marijke’s father. They were signed ‘Sister’ and came from an address in Johnstone.

Marijke added: “He pleaded with my father ‘after I am gone, please find her. Find out what happened to her.’

“My father didn’t know where to start as he was an old man, so he passed them on to me about five years ago.”

Marijke didn’t touch the letters for a few years but then she decided to base her third novel on the First World War and her research into her family history began.

She said: “I hope to have released my novel by 2013, in time for the 100-year anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War in 2014.

“I was searching for characters and thought of this story, a Belgian soldier and a Scottish nurse.

“Now I’m really obsessed with the story. My book will be fiction but I will take some of the story from real-life events.”

The letters were all addressed as being sent from Haghill, in Ulundi Road, Johnstone, which brought Marijke to Renfrewshire.

When she arrived in Johnstone and went to the upmarket Ulundi Road, she found Haghill was no longer there.

Next stop was then Paisley Library and staff there looked up their records and found the Robertson family, who lived in Haghill.

Head of the family, Robert Robertston, had two sons and three daughters, including one called Helen.

Marijke phoned her dad and told him she’d found the family and they both agreed that Amede Libert’s sweetheart was Helen.

She said: “I had nothing to go on at first but then, all of a sudden, I had a name. My great uncle called her Sister Che or Sister Helen.

“Once I had the name, I wanted to find out what happened to her after the war. Did she stay in London or come back to Scotland?

“I then discovered a marriage certificate for Helen from Moffat. She was 43 years old at the time and had married a man named Philip Wesley Bolam, who was just 27.

“They married in the Seventh Day Adventist Church but they didn’t have any children.

“Now I’m going to Moffat to see what I can find out there.”

Further investigation has revealed that Robert Robertson ran Robertson’s Pawnbrokers, in Johnstone, before handing the business over to his eldest son, Gavin.

The shop, in McDowall Street, closed several years ago but is still well-remembered by Johnstone residents of a certain age.

Marijke hopes that Helen’s siblings – Gavin, John, Alice and Mary Jane – all have descendents who still live in Renfrewshire.

She hopes to hear more of Helen’s story to add to her novel – and satisfy her own curiosity.

“I am so thankful to the people who have helped me find Helen,” she said. “Everyone has been so helpful and interested in the story.

“I don’t know if it’s the Scottish character or if it’s the story which has made people help me – I think it is both.

“I would be so grateful if anyone who knew the Robertston family or their descendents could get in touch with me.”

l If you can help Marijke by providing information about the Robertson family or their descendents, call Alison Rennie at the Express newsroom on 0141 847 8636.