August 6, 2021. After reading the posting about George Edward MAHAR and how he lost his life while the soldiers were lining up to go to church, Alice van Bekkum, Chair of Faces To Grave Project for the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, wrote with information about the two little girls who died in the same attack on November 26, 1944 as George Edward Mahar and Douglas Reginald SCHOFIELD.  (See https://bordencarletonresearchproject.wordpress.com/2021/08/02/on-the-war-memorial-trail-the-ww2-soldier-killed-while-lining-up-to-attend-church/)

The two little girls were sisters, Christobel and Lisette Jurgens, children of Jan Jurgens and Joy Anderson.  At the time of their deaths, Christobel was 9 years old, and Lisette was 5 years old.

Alice explained that “…The parents from the two little girls that died in this tragic moment wrote a message on their memory card, which is touching! The father was Dutch and the mother was British, parents of four children, before this tragic event took their two youngest children. They honoured the Allied soldiers in the Memorial card for their children…”

The message, addressed to ‘Allied soldiers, Airbornes, and Workshop Boys’, was;

‘What good friends you were to us. How we loved you,
How you spoiled us, and how we enjoyed your kindness.
We regret we had to part from you so suddenly, be sure
That we shall not forget you. We pray God that He
will bless you, and reward you for your splendid effort.’

Alice was kind enough to send the memory card for Christobel and Lisette Jurgens:

(Source of the tribute sent by Alice: http://www.oorlogsdodennijmegen.nl/persoon/jurgens/37dfe24f-9307-4fc1-8801-f7668319a68a)

Alice also identified the names of the two soldiers who subsequently died of their injuries following the attack:  Lyle L. BOICE and Francis K. BLACK.

Thank you to Alice van Bekkum for sharing the memory tribute to the Jurgens sisters.  It’s a reminder of the many civilian casualties in war.  If you have photos or information to share on the November 26, 1944 incident please email Pieter at dariadv@yahoo.ca, comment on the blog, or tweet to @researchmemori1. 

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© Daria Valkenburg