Born in Etterbeek in 1925, Ackroyd was the daughter of Colonel Edward Ackroyd, a British officer who married a Belgian woman at the end of the First World War.

Ackroyd (pictured) was educated in England during the Second World War and remained there until 1947, joining the Yorkshire Post at the age of 17. Back in Brussels, she launched The Bulletin in 1962, printing the first copies in the basement of her Brussels home. She was one of the first to realise that Brussels was rapidly changing into a multi-cultural city where English was an increasingly important language. Under Ackroyd and, after she retired, her son John Stuyck, The Bulletin became the definitive reference for expatriates living in Belgium – “the Brussels Bible”.

“She had a will of iron,” said Derek Blyth, editor-inchief of Ackroyd Publications. “But she never once compromised on editorial integrity. She gave Belgium an exceptional magazine.”

In 2007, Ackroyd Publications was incorporated into the Corelio group and later that year launched Flanders Today. “Monique created a fantastic organisation with a strong team spirit,” said Ackroyd general manager Christine Van den Berghe. “The different publications were of an exceptionally high quality, reaching out to the entire international community, including senior company executives and ambassadors.”