Jean Balamba

Jean Balamba (6 June 1893 — 1979) was a Congolese-born, later Belgian, soldier for the Belgian Army during the First World War and guard at the Museum of the Congo in Tervuren.

Jean Balamba
Born(1893-06-06)June 6, 1893[1]
Kipako near Kisantu, Congo Free State
Died1979
AllegianceBelgian Army

Early life

Balamba was born in Kipako near Kisantu, in the Bas-Congo region in the Congo Free State on 6 June 1893. He arrived in Belgium as a sailor.[2]

First World War

On 5 August 1914, a Congolese Volunteers' Corps for the Belgian Army was founded. Some Congolese volunteers, including Paul Panda Farnana and Joseph Adipanga, enrolled. Balamba became a carabineer. His willingness to participate in the First World War might have stemmed from the desire to improve his material situation.[3] He distinguished himself at the Battle of the Yser and the Battle of the Escaut.[2]

Later life

After the war, Balamba worked at the Belgian Ministry of Defence.[2] From 1927 to 1946, he worked at the Museum of the Congo in Tervuren.[4][5] In 1931, Balamba became a naturalised Belgian citizen.[1]

Honours

References
  1. Naturalisation of Jean Balamba as a Belgian citizen.
  2. Brosens, Griet (2013). Congo aan den Yser (in Dutch). Manteau. p. 7.
  3. Brosens, Griet (2014). "Congo on Yser The 32 Congolese soldiers in the Belgian army in the First World War". Cahiers bruxellois - Brusselse cahiers. 1E XLVI: 246. doi:10.3917/brux.046e.0243.
  4. "Jean Balamba, 1927 - 1946 | AfricaMuseum - Archives". archives.africamuseum.be.
  5. Stanard, Matthew (2019). The Leopard, the Lion, and the Cock: Colonial Memories and Monuments in Belgium. Leuven: Leuven University Press. p. 79. ISBN 9789462701793.
  6. Personnes ayant reçu la médaille de la croix de feu, geneanet.org
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