Antoine Fonck Explained

Antoine-Adolphe Fonck (10 January 1893 – 4 August 1914) was a Belgian soldier of World War I. He was known as the first Belgian soldier to be killed in the war.

Biography

Fonck was born on 10 January 1893 in Verviers, Belgium, into a family of modest income. He lost both of his parents in childhood and was raised by his grandmother. He later worked as a shopkeeper at the Grand Bazaar of Liège.^[1]

In 1911 he enlisted as a volunteer in the Belgian army, joining the 2nd Lancer Regiment. Following the outbreak of World War I, on 4 August 1914, at 10:30 am, he was killed during a reconnaissance mission to the La Croix-Polinard hamlet in Thimister-Clermont.^[2]

Fonck was buried at the Thimister-Clermont Communal Cemetery on 16 August 1914. A monument was later erected at the spot where he died.^[3]

See also

First soldiers killed in World War I

• Albert Mayer, the first soldier and first Imperial German Army soldier killed, August 2, 1914
• Jules-André Peugeot, the first French Army soldier killed, August 2, 1914
• John Parr, the first British Army soldier killed, August 21, 1914
• Thomas Enright, one of the first three American Army soldiers killed, November 3, 1917
• Merle Hay, one of the first three American Army soldiers killed, November 3, 1917
• James Bethel Gresham, one of the first three American Army soldiers killed, November 3, 1917

Last soldiers killed in World War I

• George Edwin Ellison, the last British Army soldier killed, at
• Augustin Trébuchon, the last French Army soldier killed, at
• Marcel Toussaint Terfve, the last Belgian Army soldier killed, at
• George Lawrence Price, the last Canadian Army soldier killed, at
• Henry Gunther, the last soldier and last American Army soldier killed, at

References

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020-08-06 . Le lancier Antoine- Adolphe Fonck, premier mort belge de la Première Guerre mondiale . 2023-11-14 . Curieuses Histoires Belgique . fr-FR.
2. Web site: Monument à la mémoire du cavalier Antoine FONCK, Thimister . 2023-11-14 . bel-memorial.org . fr.
3. Web site: Memorial Antoine-Adolphe Fonck - Thimister-Clermont . 2023-11-14 . TracesOfWar.com . en.