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Biography
Philippe Jules Boesman was born on the 5th of February, 1869, in Ghent, Belgium, the son of Diederik and Angèle Boesman. His father was a schoolteacher, while his mother worked as a nurse. The Boesmans were a respectable but comparatively modest family, and Philippe grew up in a household which valued order and strictness. In his younger years, Philippe had formed an impression of his mother's profession. He soon enough became acquainted with the reality of the world and the medical care of people in sickness. As he grew older, that curiosity soon grew into a serious interest in the pharmaceutical world, much to his father's disdain, who wished for his son to follow in his footsteps as a respectable teacher in Catholic schooling. Soon enough, Philippe pursued medical studies and qualified as a physician with flying colours. By the turn of the century, Philippe had established a successful medical career and a well-earned reputation in Ghent. In 1893, he married Virginie Taelman, whom he had first met through an arrangement between their families. Although the arrangement was unexpected for both, their marriage caused them to grow close to each other as time went on, and soon enough three children arrived: Vincent, Guillaume and Marie. For the next two decades, the Boesmans lived a comfortable, ordinary life in their townhouse in Ghent. And that life would not survive the summer of 1914. On the 4th of August 1914, the Boesmans were hosting their annual summer gathering at their residence. Known within their social circle simply as the "Bal d'été", it had become something of a family tradition: an afternoon and evening of music played by Vincent, often accompanied by Marie singing along. Despite the increasingly alarming reports coming from Germany, the event was well attended. The festivities did not last. During the afternoon, amidst the singing of Marie in the drawing room, word reached the house that German troops had crossed the Belgian frontier. Belgium's refusal to permit the German army free passage toward France two days prior had been answered with invasion, violating the neautrality Belgium had maintained since its independence in 1830. Philippe fully understood the situation. As a physician, he was well aware that conflict would shortly reach Belgian hospitals. Within days, local facilities were filled with wounded soldiers and civilians; meanwhile, 45,000 refugees arrived in the city between September and October. Virginie supported these displaced people by joining a provincial committee, which soon evolved into the ‘Comité national de secours et d’alimentation’. His work eventually took him away from Belgium and into the Allied medical system, leaving behind his beloved family. By 1915, he was working in Britain, treating servicemen who were wounded during the conflict. The demands of his work kept him away from home for long periods, and contact with his family became increasingly irregular. In late 1915, Philippe was assigned to a posting that would take him significantly further from home and land. Following mounting casualties in the Dardanelles and sustained pressure from the British government, the White Star Line’s newest and largest vessel, Britannic, was requisitioned and converted into a hospital ship. Philippe joined the vessel as a member of the RAMC, serving as a medical officer. From 23rd December 1915, he served on board for six voyages. There was a brief interval between the third and fourth crossings when the ship was briefly recommissioned as a transatlantic passenger liner, before being restored to hospital service in September. Philippe joined her, serving as a medical officer in Ward D. On the 12th November 1916, he embarked once again as the ship departed Southampton on her sixth voyage to Mudros, where she was to be expected to meet another complement of wounded and sick soldiers.
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