On 19 August 1939, the most contradictory rumours were circulating in Brussels. Some asserted that the German soldiers, already in Leuven, were storming on the capital. Others, more optimistic, claimed that the city was protected by a belt of Belgian troops. Around one o’clock in the afternoon, a thunderous explosion was heard through Laeken Park, next to the Van Praet Bridge. The Germans? No, the Belgians. The engineers had just blasted the telegraph office. The enemy, at the gates of Brussels, could not be permitted to seize this exceptional means of information transmission.
This TSF station was the pride of Belgian engineers. Rising above 120 meters, its pylons were reputed to be the tallest constructions in Belgium. They allowed, among other things, to connect the Belgian Congo to the metropolis. The construction of the station had cost more than two million francs, a colossal sum at the time. In August 1914, in view of the imminence of the invasion, this amount was no longer of importance.