Monument to The Victims of the School Ship Disaster in Brussels, Belgium

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Established in memory of the victims who lost their lives when the first Belgian school ship, Comte de Smet de Naeyer, sank in the Bay of Biscay on April 19, 1906. Although some crew members and sea scouts survived, Captain Fourcault was among those who perished, as were several others from the crew and a group of around thirty sea-scouts. The ship had only just begun its maiden voyage from Antwerp eight days earlier. An investigation revealed that when the vessel took on water in rough seas, its pumps failed to function properly. A marble statue depicting an allegorical female figure with boys stands atop a stone pedestal, symbolizing the tragic event of the shipwreck. The monument was unveiled on April 19, 1912, and officially dedicated on Belgium's National Day (July 21).