Gaston de Gerlache de Gomery
Baron Gaston de Gerlache de Gomery (born November 17, 1919 in Brussels , † July 13, 2006 in Oudenaarde ) was a Belgian polar explorer . Like his father Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery , he led expeditions to Antarctica .
Life
During World War II de Gerlache was a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Air Force .
On November 12, 1957 Gaston de Gerlache left Antwerp with 17 companions on board the Polarhav for a Belgian expedition to Antarctica , exactly sixty years after his father Adrien's Belgica expedition . The Polarhav , a Norwegian sealer with a displacement of 650 t, was equipped with material for a permanent scientific station in Antarctica, which Belgium was to set up as part of the International Geophysical Year 1957/58.
By 1959, De Gerlache established the Roi Baudouin base on the ice shelf off the coast of Queen Maud Land , a part of Antarctica that was largely unexplored at the time. In the following two years Belgium sent two more expeditions and the station was permanently manned until the end of 1961. In 1961 the program had to be abandoned because the national center for polar research no longer received funding. In cooperation with the Netherlands, the station continued to be used to a limited extent between 1964 and 1966. Only in 2009 did Belgium inaugurate the Princess Elisabeth Station on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Roi Baudouin base and as part of the International Polar Year 2007/8 .
The Mount Gaston de Gerlache named after de Gerlache. The same applies to De Gerlacheberget .
Later, de Gerlache, who was a doctor of law, was, among other things, 18 years mayor of the sub-municipality Mullem of the city of Oudenaarde .
He was President of the "Alsberge et van Oost" textile group and Assubel, an insurer, now part of Allianz.
He was President of the Belgian National Committee for Exploration of the Antarctic and Honorary President of the Association of Reserve Officers of the Belgian Air Force. He received various awards, including the Order of Leopold , the Order of Leopold II , the Belgian Crown Order , the Order of Orange-Nassau and was a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem .
Before his death, de Gerlache was available for three days in front of the camera for his grandson Henri, who published a book and a DVD about his grandfather and great-grandfather under the title L'Antarctique en héritage in 2009.
The funeral ceremony took place in 2006 in Huise , a district of Zingem , where de Gerlache lived with his wife Lily Van Oost. He was buried in the family grave in Gomery near Virton , where the family owns the Château de Gomery .
literature
- Henri de Gerlache, L'Antarctique en héritage , book and DVD, Editions Nevicata, Brussels, 2009 ISBN 978-2-9600255-6-9 , publisher's website
Individual evidence
- ↑ De Standard October 3, 2009 (accessed December 22, 2017)
- ↑ Website luchtvaarterfgoed.be , University of Antwerp (accessed December 22, 2017)
- ↑ History of the Château on ancestry.com (accessed December 23, 2017)
- ↑ Historical photo of the Château on ethe-belmont.be (accessed December 23, 2017)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gerlache de Gomery, Gaston de |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian polar explorer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 17, 1919 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brussels |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 13, 2006 |
| Place of death | Oudenaarde |