There is more to Belgium than chocolate, beer and diamonds, the country’s new ambassador to Canada, Raoul Delcorde, reminds us. Not only do our countries have commercial links; they are both federal states with more than one official language and they share much history through two world wars. Many Canadian soldiers died on Belgian soil in the liberation of Belgium in the First and Second World Wars. They are remembered in iconic place names such as Ypres, Passchendaele, and Flanders, and, most poignantly, with the poem In Flanders Fields, written by Canadian John McCrae.
These historic bonds are apparent at his Ottawa residence as well. Belgium preserves Canada’s wartime history in the homeland, and the Belgian mission in Ottawa has owned two nationally significant houses with deep histories and a storied past. In 1937, Baron Robert Silvercurys arrived in town as Belgium’s first minister appointed to Canada. A seasoned diplomat with a knowledge of architecture, and a man of taste, he cleverly negotiated the purchase of one of Ottawa’s finest residences, Stadacona Hall, in Sandy Hill — befitting Belgium’s role as one of the earliest countries to recognize Canada’s entry onto the world diplomatic stage. Home to national figures such as prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Frederick Borden, it had long witnessed a steady stream of cultural, diplomatic and political activity.
But the sprawling mansion proved too expensive to maintain. Forced to downsize in 1995, the Belgian ambassador relocated to Rockcliffe Park, to a Colonial Revival house formerly owned by Graham Towers, the first governor of the Bank of Canada. It was built in 1937 for businessman Howard Vail by architects Roper and Morin, experts in classically designed residences. The exterior still appears much the same, with local grey limestone cladding on the base, and white pine clapboards above.
While lacking the obvious grandeur of Stadacona Hall (which now houses the Brunei high commission) this house, too, had a storied past. In its day, the Towers’ home at 260 Park Rd. was a notable address. Towers and his wife, Mollie, entertained on a lavish scale, courting the leading figures and power brokers of the era. Towers was one of Canada’s famed mandarins, those who steered the nation through a Depression and a world war, launched Canada on the diplomatic world stage and created a sophisticated economic policy for the country. The house was a gathering point for many influential minds during the war and afterwards. The wood-panelled library on the second floor offered privacy for wartime tête-à-têtes and the occasional cigar and game of poker.
Since the Delcordes moved into the residence last fall, they have enjoyed the house and the neighbourhood. The quiet is appealing, the ambassador says, as is the large garden. “It is a very comfortable house,” echoes his wife, Fati. In the estimation of the ambassador, it was unfortunate to have to sell the former residence, although being in Rockcliffe Park more than compensates: “I only wish we had the former residence here,” he says. Indeed, the house is in an ideal location on one of Rockcliffe’s grandest streets, set back from the road on a generous lot with a large semi-circular driveway.
Additions to the living and dining rooms have created three light and airy rooms, allowing for expansive views of the rear gardens and terrace. Visitors are ushered into a foyer that opens on one side to a formal salon and on the other to a large dining room. The family spends time in the sunny sitting room and enjoys quiet moments in the library where the mandarins once gathered.
“It was a soft landing,” recalls the ambassador of their arrival.
Mr. Delcorde has also served as Belgium’s ambassador to Poland and Sweden, and as a representative in Washington. His was a cosmopolitan upbringing. His father, a mining engineer, took the family to many parts of the world for work and this greatly influenced his son’s career choice.
Throughout the house, there are reminders that while this may not be the Stadacona Hall of older days, it is their home. There are many memories of Belgium in the 18th-Century Flemish tapestry that hangs on one wall and the numerous paintings by Belgian artists, including one by the ambassador’s distant cousin, which form part of their own collection. And there are symbols of Mrs. Delcorde’s Iranian heritage: elegant Persian rugs, furniture and artifacts, each with its own history. An antique Kerman carpet dominates the living room, and a specially commissioned Persian plate from England is displayed alongside other objects from former postings, including a beautiful inlaid desk bought in Sweden.
The ambassador has arrived at an opportune time. He recently launched a publication marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Belgium and opened a Canadian War Museum exhibit on Flanders. In the coming months, he will preside over many important commemorative events to mark the Great War centenary and Allied presence in occupied Belgium.
Our war memorials and grave sites of fallen soldiers are carefully tended by Belgian citizens, who still honour Canada’s contribution to winning the war. Every night, as Ambassador Delcorde relates and as many visiting Canadians have witnessed, a Last Post ceremony takes place in Ypres to express their gratitude. Canada’s military history is preserved abroad; so is Ottawa’s history when historic houses are taken over and maintained as diplomatic residences. Belgium, to its credit, has done both.
Martha Edmond is an Ottawa writer and historian. She is the author of Rockcliffe Park: A History of the Village.
