Martial van Schelle

Born in 1899, Van Schelle spent the early part of his life in the United States.[3] Living in Chicago, Illinois from 1904 to 1918, he lost his mother Annie when she was killed aboard the RMS Lusitania when it was sunk in 1915 by a German U-boat.[3] This resulted in him joining the American Expeditionary Force which landed in France in 1918 as a doughboy.[3] Following the end of hostilities of World War I, Van Schelle stayed over in Belgium to help the nation rebuild.[3]

Competing in three Summer Olympics, Van Schelle's best finish was 10th in the men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at Paris in 1924.[4][5] Van Schelle also participated in ballooning in the Gordon Bennett Cup twice, finishing fifth in 1933[6] and seventh in 1938.[7] At the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Van Schelle competed in bobsleigh. He finished fifth in the four-man competition and ninth in the two-man event.[8][9]

Van Schelle owned a sporting goods store in Brussels,[10] earning an American patent for a tennis racket in 1935.[11] He later became owner of two Ice rinks in Brussels between 1933 and 1935, remaining owner until he was arrested by the Nazis on 15 January 1943.[12]

Taken away to Breendonk concentration camp, Van Schelle was executed by shooting on 15 March 1943.[12][13][14]