Directional sign to the Canadian War Cemetery in Holten, The Netherlands. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)
August 29, 2025. Pieter has been involved in finding photos of Canadians who are buried in all three Canadian War Cemeteries in The Netherlands since 2014. He first started with finding photos of soldiers from Prince Edward Island buried in The Netherlands.
In 2015, he began researching the names of 48 soldiers listed on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion on Prince Edward Island. Over the years, all 48 names were identified, each of their stories researched and told on this blog. For most of the names, families and photos were found, and the Wall of Remembrance is in place at the Legion.
Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)
While in The Netherlands and Belgium for the 80th Anniversary of Liberation Commemoration events, he placed flags at the graves of 383 soldiers in 14 cemeteries. At the Canadian War Cemetery in Holten, The Netherlands, flags were placed at 156 graves.
Our visit coincided with The 2025 Faces Of Holten Exhibition, which ran for three weeks in May. Photos were printed onto an aluminum backing, making them impervious to rain, and reusable. Each placard also had a QR code, allowing visitors with cell phones to scan the code and read a brief biography of the soldier.
In Part 1, soldiers who were killed near Posterenk in April 1945 and are buried in the Canadian War Cemetery in Holten, were featured. (See https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2025/08/24/on-the-war-memorial-trail-2025-faces-of-holten-exhibition-part-1-soldiers-killed-near-posterenk/)
…2 soldiers listed on the Cenotaph in Borden-Carleton are commemorated…
Now, in Part 2, the graves and photos of William Douglas SHERREN and George Martin MCMAHON, whose stories have previously been told, are featured. Both are listed on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion. You can read their stories at https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2018/01/20/on-the-war-memorial-trail-at-holten-canadian-war-cemetery/
Grave of William Douglas Sherren. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)
William Douglas SHERREN, from Crapaud, Prince Edward Island, was serving with the Royal Canadian Artillery and was severely injured when the vehicle he was travelling in drove over a land mine in Germany on April 25, 1945, just a few days before the end of WWII. He died of his wounds on April 28, 1945, aged 30. A month earlier, he had been recognized by King George VI as a Member of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in North West Europe.
Grave of George Martin McMahon. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)
George Martin McMAHON, born in Emerald Junction, Prince Edward Island, and the father of 5 children, was serving with the Royal Canadian Artillery, and accidentally drowned when he fell into a canal in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on the night of August 11, 1945. He was 32 years old.
….All of the flags placed at graves were donated…
All of the flags placed at graves were donated. For the flags placed at the graves of Islanders, our thanks go to: Alan Waddell, Constituent Assistant, on behalf of Heath MacDonald, MP for Malpeque, for the Canadian flags. Prince Edward Island flags were provided by Matt MacFarlane, MLA for District 19, Borden-Kinkora.
In Part 3, the graves of soldiers killed in vehicle accidents will be featured as we continue with our 2025 European War Memorial Tour. Pieter encourages readers with photos to come forward so that eventually all the known graves of Canadians buried in Holten will have a photo displayed by their grave. Email him at memorialtrail@gmail.com.
© Daria Valkenburg
….Want to follow our research?…
If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so. Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/
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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On The War Memorial Trail Research Project........ with Pieter and Daria Valkenburg 