The Dutch flag flies proudly at the Valkenburg household on Liberation Day. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

May 10, 2021. In the last blog posting, we featured photos at the graves of 7 soldiers buried in the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, The Netherlands.  As part of the Liberation Day 2021 commemoration, photos of over 1,600 soldiers were placed by their graves and will remain until May 17. 

In that posting, photos of the graves of 4 soldiers from PEI whose stories have already been told in this blog, and 3 Indigenous soldiers that Pieter is currently researching, were featured. (See https://bordencarletonresearchproject.wordpress.com/2021/05/05/commemorating-liberation-day-at-the-canadian-war-cemetery-in-groesbeek/)

Recently, we received information on one more Indigenous soldier, who has been added to Pieter’s research list.  We asked Alice van Bekkum, Chair of the Groesbeek Faces to Graves Committee, to take the photo of his grave.

…. Grave of 1 Indigenous Soldier….

 

Grave of Thomas Beresford Big Canoe. (Photo courtesy of Alice van Bekkum)

Thomas Beresford BIG CANOE, son of Thomas H. and Hannah Bigcanoe, of Georgina Island, Ontario, was serving with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry when he lost his life on March 8, 1945, at the age of 19.

…. The Faces Of Groesbeek video….

Alice sent a short film about the photo exhibition at the cemetery, entitled ‘The Faces of Groesbeek’.   Make sure you have tissues handy when you watch this.  There will be tears once you see the piper playing as he walks, row by row, through the cemetery.

Thank you to Alice van Bekkum for taking the photos of the grave of Thomas Beresford Big Canoe, and for sharing ‘The Faces of Groesbeek’ video.

If you have photos or information to share about any Canadian soldiers buried in The Netherlands, please contact Pieter at memorialtrail@gmail.com, comment on the blog, or send a tweet to @researchmemori1. 

© Daria Valkenburg

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4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/

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