[3] He was sent to school in Antwerp and Leuven, and studied History at the University of Ghent, beginning a doctorate under Henri Pirenne.
At the outbreak of the First World War he fled to England, working as a journalist, biographer and translator, and became London editor of Nieuwe Courant,[4] began his PhD at University College in 1921, completing his doctoral thesis on 19th century Anglo-Dutch relations in 1930, under Pieter Geyl.
[5] In contrast to his former advisor, Geyl, he took the view that Dutch and Belgian nationhood were highly distinct.
[citation needed] On 17 May 1923, he married the Irish novelist Kate O'Brien, but the marriage ended within a year, and divorced 1925.
[6] O'Brien left Bilbao after less than a year, returning to London because of her sudden decision to marry Renier, the marriage only lasted eleven months.