Belgian Embassy Staff Donate £10,000
Waterloo Uncovered is extremely grateful for a generous donation from the staff of the Belgian Embassy in London. This Christmas, in the spirit of giving and goodwill, the embassy staff have made a personal contribution of £10,000 to our charity - from their own private funds - in order to support our important archaeological work and the further exploration of our shared heritage at the Waterloo Battlefield in Belgium.
This donation represents the continued support and collaboration between Waterloo Uncovered and Belgium, where we have conducted archaeological excavations with a multi-national group of archaeologists, students and veterans since 2015.
The staff’s generosity will help fund our 2022 excavation at Waterloo, where we will continue uncovering the history of the world’s most famous land battle, while providing education and wellbeing support to a new group of veterans and serving military personnel, many of whom have been impacted firsthand by modern day warfare. Having not visited the battlefield at Waterloo since 2019 due to the pandemic, our excavation planned for July will be especially significant and meaningful for our work.
The Belgian Ambassador to London said:
“This Christmas, my colleagues at the Embassy and myself are very happy to make a renewed contribution to support the important work of Waterloo Uncovered. With its work, this charity not only reminds us of the centennial links between our two countries but also stands as a beacon for future collaborations across the Channel. We hope that veterans can again go to Belgium soon and look forward to a successful season on the site of the battlefield.”
Mark Evans, CEO and co-founder of Waterloo Uncovered, added:
“We’re very thankful to receive such a generous donation from the staff of the Belgian Embassy, and can’t think of a better way to end the year than with this testament to the Embassy’s continued support of our charity and dedication to preserving our joint heritage. We can’t wait to return to Belgium next year, to continue our archaeological work at Waterloo, as well as our work in veteran care and recovery.”
The Duke of Wellington also expressed his gratitude for the donation:
“As Patron of Waterloo Uncovered, I would very much like to thank the Ambassador and the Belgian Embassy staff for their generosity and interest in this worthwhile charity. It is wonderful to see a strong example of Anglo-Belgian collaboration. The doors of the Wellington Collection at Apsley House are always open to our Belgian friends. It is the ideal place to celebrate the continuing relationship between our two nations and charitable endeavours.”
The work of Waterloo Uncovered is made possible through generous donations such as this, and through collaboration with our international partners including the Ghent University, Utrecht University, the University of Glasgow, L-P Archaeology and AWaP (Agence wallonne du Patrimoine).