Emile Hoorens
(1934- 2016)
Members will be saddened to hear that Emile has passed away at the age of 82. For many
years he was Secretary of the BCSC, before becoming its President in March 1999, an Vincent Schouberechts
office he held until March 2001. In addition, he also held many senior positions in other
major philatelic clubs. To mention just one, Emile took over from Dr. Stibbe as director of
sales at the Société Belge de l'Entier Postal, an office that he held for 17 years!
Emile was an avid collector of the postal stationery of Belgium,
the Belgian Congo, Portugal
and colonies, Canada and the
Netherlands and its territories. He was especially renowned as
an authority on the postal history of the Belgian Congo,
particularly during the 40/45
war and Katanga. He wrote a book
on Katangese philately which is highly sought after today. He
owns a very important collection of Belgian Congo censor
marks which date back
to that wartime period.
Emile was a regular visitor to the Rue du Midi, where he would
be seen often on Tuesday mornings, over several decades. He
was invariably good-natured
and ready to give advice or highly
detailed information on his various specialist fields.
His hobby often took him abroad to international exhibitions and philatelic events. He was
employed by General Biscuits and frequently called upon to travel to the USA on company
business. (As an expert on customs relations, he was consulted regularly by his former
employer after retirement.) Retirement allowed him to visit to the USA several times and to
travel many times to Germany, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and the United
Kingdom in search of rare items.
While his death leaves a huge vacuum in our hearts, we retain fond memories of Emile.