Description

Tubby Clayton described Talbot House as 'A House of People'. This is also the starting point of this series of presentations about Talbot House during the First World War, the Interbellum and the Second World War. The various episodes are told based on the testimonies of the protagonists themselves, with special attention to new facts, stories and anecdotes. The presentations are richly illustrated with often never-before-seen images.

What to expect during the lecture 'Talbot House in the interwar period'

• the closure of Talbot House after Armistice and the return of the Coevoet family;
• the birth of Toc H with the oil lamp as its symbol, the opening of Talbot House London and the enormous growth of the movement;
• the first Toc H pilgrimages to the region, with special attention to Lijssenthoek and the grave of Gilbert Talbot; the frantic (but often futile) attempts to visit Talbot House;
• the negotiations surrounding the sale of the House to Lord Wakefield with Major Slessor in the leading role, the involvement of the Prince of Wales and the mediation of the War Graves Commission;
• the foundation of the non-profit organization Talbot House and the transfer of the House;
• the recruitment of the first caretakers, the redesign of the House as a place of pilgrimage with the return of the old 'relics', the construction of the huge bathhouse, the construction of the garden;
• the rededication of the House by Tubby Clayton and Neville Talbot;
• the official reopening at Easter 1931 by Lord Wakefield and its international resonance;
• the vision behind the enormous boom in organized pilgrimages to Talbot House up to the eve of WWII, with attention to programme, transport, cost, input from local businesses, etc.

This lecture is one of a series of lectures that we are planning for the spring of 2025. The other lectures are as follows:

• March 27, 2025 at 8 p.m.: Talbot House during the First World War
• May 28, 2025 at 8pm: Talbot House during the Second World War

Jan Louagie has been secretary of the non-profit organization Talbot House for more than 40 years and has been passionate about the history of the Every Man's Club for just as long. His intensive research resulted in the following publications, on which the presentations are based:

• The First Stop after Hell: Talbot House, Poperinge, Lannoo, 1998, 560pp (together with co-author Katrien Nolf)
• A Touch of Paradise in Hell, Talbot House, Poperinge – Every-Man's Sanctuary from the Trenches, Helion & Co., Solihull, 2015, 388 pp.
• Talbot House in the Second World War, Poperinge, 2022, 70pp.
• Talbot House in the interwar period – The Pilgrim's Way, Poperinge, 2024, 95 pp.

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