WWII Soldiers

On the War Memorial Trail ….. At The Information Centre at Holten Canadian War Cemetery

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January 16, 2018.  After visiting the very large Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek we next went to visit a smaller Canadian War Cemetery in Holten.  This is the second largest WWII cemetery in The Netherlands.  The majority of those buried here died during the last stages of the war in Holland, during the advance of the Canadian 2nd Corps into northern Germany, and across the Ems in April and the first days of May 1945.

After the war ended, their remains were brought into this cemetery, which has 1,394 WWII burials, 1382 of them identified.  The burials are listed as the following: There are 1,394 burials: Navy 2, Army 1,378, Air Force 14, of which 1,355 are Canadian, 36 British, 2 Australian and 1 Belgian.

Five of the known burials are soldiers from Prince Edward Island, two of which are listed on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion, and part of Pieter’s Cenotaph Research Project.  William Douglas SHERREN and George Martin MCMAHON are listed on the Cenotaph.  Carman GILLCASH, Frederick Charles CHEVERIE, and Daniel Peter MACKENZIE are the other three soldiers from Prince Edward Island.

This was a very different visit than when we were at the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, as there is a large information centre in Holten, where we met with Henk Vincent and Edwin Van der Wolf, two of the volunteers at the Centre.

CIMG9099 Sep 18 2017 Pieter outside Holten Info Centre

Pieter outside the Information Centre at Holten Cemetery in The Netherlands, with a bag of flag pins for schoolchildren who light candles at each grave at Christmas and flags for various ceremonies. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

The volunteers at Holten Cemetery have run a “Face to Every Name” project, in an attempt to receive a photo and learn more about every soldier buried there.  The original project began in 1995, during the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of The Netherlands, with a group of friends who helped organize annual commemoration events.  They called themselves “Welcome Again Veterans”. 

While the organization that dealt with annual commemorations began in the 1950s, the new group started actively collecting photos, memoirs and books, and stories that had been donated over the years.

In 2005, as veterans arriving for liberation events began decreasing, the group started to think of a small museum as a repository for the information that had been collected.  By 2010, with funding secured from private donations, and Dutch municipal and provincial governments, plus the European Union, construction began, and the new Information Centre open in September 2011.  Unlike most Dutch construction, the Information Centre is constructed of wood, “just like in Canada”, according to Van der Wolf.

Today, the Information Centre receives 25,000 visitors per year, and we were eager to be two of them. Entrance is free, with donations helping to cover the operating costs of running this facility.

CIMG9104 Sep 18 2017 Henk Vincent Pieter Edwin van der Wolf in Holten Info Centre

Henk Vincent, left, and Edwin Van der Wolf, right, with Pieter in the centre, at the Information Centre at Holten Canadian War Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Highlights of some of the displays you can see and interact with are:

·         An Information wall with a map of northern and eastern Netherlands, showing where you can see where divisions entered the area, and liberation dates of different villages and towns, as well as a few important places where heavy fighting had taken place.  

·         The film hall, which lists the names of the 1,394 soldiers buried in Holten on its wall, then watch a 17 minute film about the cemetery.

 ·         Three information tables that use touch screen technology:

·         Information table 1 is a Database with basic data on all Canadian soldiers buried in The Netherlands. In addition, there are photos and biographies for many soldiers buried in Holten. 

·         Information table 2 is entitled ‘Meet a soldier‘, which features a more detailed life story for four fallen liberators using films with unique documents and photos.

 ·         Information table 3 showcases Interviews with witnesses of the liberation, plus three liberation stories, written during or directly after the liberation days.

 ·         Showcase wall, with a panorama photo of the entrance of the cemetery, and 8 showcases that highlight different themes. There are also 4 touch screens with films about the liberation of various villages and cities in northern and eastern Netherlands, a film about the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and various photographs and films of commemorations at the cemetery over the years.

 ·         Four Documentaries:

1.      ‘Victory in The Netherlands’, an authentic film from 1945 on the liberation of northern and eastern Netherlands.

2.      The liberation of cities and villages in northern and eastern Netherlands from day to day.

3.      ‘Heroes Remember’, where Canadian veterans talk about their experiences of the liberation of The Netherlands.

4.        The May 4, 2015 ceremony at the cemetery.

 ·         Reading table, which includes memoirs and original newspaper articles about the liberation.

 ·         Cemetery Map

After touring the Information Centre, we continued on to the Cemetery itself, to lay flags at the graves of our five soldiers from PEI.

Have you visited Holten Cemetery and its Information Centre?  Do you know of more soldiers from PEI buried in the Cemetery?  You can share your comments and stories by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© 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/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 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/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

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On the War Memorial Trail ….. The Liberation Route

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January 6, 2018.  After flags were laid at the graves of the known soldiers from PEI at the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, we travelled along The Liberation Route with our friends Ad and Noor Scheepers.  History lives and breathes here, and if you are unaware of the past, you can take things at face value.

One example…I’m fascinated by windmills.  Not the ugly behemoths that we see now, but the older windmills that are still seen in Europe.  One of these is in Groesbeek, and is now a shop, and I wanted a photo of it.  Ad told us that during WWII the windmill had been used first as a reference point by the US 82nd Airborne Division and later as an observation point in 1944 in preparation for Operation Market Garden.  This was an Allied military operation, from September 17-25, 1944 that succeeded in liberating Nijmegen and Eindhoven, but failed in liberating the last bridge held in Arnhem, which would enable troops to the Rhine into Germany.  If you’ve seen the movie ‘A Bridge Too Far’ (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bridge_Too_Far_(film)), then you may be familiar with what is discussed in this blog entry.

CIMG9038 Sep 16 2017 Windmill in Groesbeek that was a lookout post during WWII

Windmill in Groesbeek that was used as an observation post during WWII. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

From Groesbeek, we followed the Liberation Route to Klein Amerika (Little America), a high spot near Groesbeek.  For some reason, Klein Amerika had this name long before WWII!  This was the area where parachutes and gliders landed in preparation for Operation Market Garden, to capture the bridges held by Germans during WWII.  In addition to the 505th of the US Army’s 82nd airborne division who landed here, the 1st Canadian Army guarded the area in the winter of 1944-1945.

CIMG9044 Sep 16 2017 Klein Amerika Monument 82nd Airborne Division and the 1st Canadian Army

Memorial at Klein Amerika honouring the 1st Canadian Army who guarded the area in the winter of 1944-45. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Today, Klein Amerika has a memorial park, complete with jeeps and a replica of a Waco glider, and an information panel that plays newsreels about the events of the battle and its preparation.

CIMG9041 Sep 16 2017 Klein Amerika Ad & Pieter inspect jeep while Noor reads info panel

Ad Scheepers and Pieter inspect a jeep, while Noor watches one of the newsreels on the information panel at Klein Amerika. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

CIMG9042 Sep 16 2017 Klein Amerika Pieter & Ad in the replica Waco glider

Ad and Pieter in the Waco glider replica at Klein Amerika. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Ad told us a story he’d heard about a commander of the British Airborne Division who landed in Klein Amerika and sneaked across the border to Germany.  He came back safely and when asked where he’d been, said he’d gone to Germany to be the first Brit to “piss on the Germans”.  We’ve not been able to confirm this story, but with the border so close by, it could be true.

We followed the Liberation Route across the border into Germany and then ended the tour at a café in Milligen, where the Rhine and Waal Rivers meet. It was fascinating to see how much shipping is done by boat here!

CIMG9059 Sep 16 2017 boat near De Gelderse Poort Cafe in Milligan where Rhine and Waal meet

Shipping traffic in Milligen, where the Rhine and Waal Rivers meet. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Now that we had a better idea of what troops faced in trying to liberate this part of The Netherlands, we were even more honoured to be working on this cenotaph research project.  In our next blog entry, we visit another Canadian War Cemetery, this time in Holten.

Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© 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/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 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/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

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On the War Memorial Trail ….. PEI Soldiers Buried In The Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek

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December 30, 2017.  During our first visit to the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek in The Netherlands, we were able to place flags at the graves of three PEI soldiers buried there.  In the last blog entry we told the story of George Preston SMITH of Kinkora, who was with the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, and the accident in which he lost his life. (See On the War Memorial Trail ….. At The Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek)

Our thanks to Alice van Bekkum of the Faces to Graves Project, who shared an eye witness account that was recorded by Will Bird in his 1963 book about the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment. (See https://books.google.com/books/about North_Shore_New_Brunswick_Regiment.html?id=Iz7WAAAAMAAJ)

Will Bird account of what happened to George Preston Smith

Excerpt about George Preston Smith from Will Bird’s book about The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment.

Before returning to place flags at the rest of the known soldiers from PEI, we stopped by a memorial marking the route on February 8, 1945 where soldiers marched into Germany on their way from Groesbeek, as part of Operation Veritable.  This was the northern part of an Allied pincer movement that took place between February 8 and March 11, 1945 during the final stages of the Second World War.

The operation was conducted by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group, primarily consisting of the First Canadian Army under Lieutenant-General Harry Crerar and the British XXX Corps under Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks. Their objective was to clear German forces from the area between the Rhine and Maas rivers, east of the German/Dutch frontier, in the Rhineland.

CIMG8998 Sep 15 2017 Pieter by memorial showis where soldiers marched into Germany from Groesbeek operation veritable

Pieter at the memorial for Operation Veritable in Groesbeek. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

CIMG8996 Sep 15 2017 memorial shows where soldiers marched into Germany from Groesbeek operation veritable

Close-up view of the text on the memorial for Operation Veritable in Groesbeek. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

On our second visit to the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek we were joined by Pieter’s former colleague in the Dutch Foreign Service, Ad Scheepers, and his wife Noor, who live in Groesbeek.

CIMG9023 Sep 16 2017 Groesbeek Cemetery Ad & Noor Scheepers with Pieter by Gaudets grave

Ad and Noor Scheepers with Pieter by the grave of Cpl Arthur Gaudet. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Ad was a fountain of information about the cemetery, and noted that it was along the Liberation Route, which one can take to visit the many monuments and memorials in this part of The Netherlands.  The cemetery, on a road called Zeven Heuvelenweg (Seven Hills Way), is the largest war cemetery of the Commonwealth Graves Commission in The Netherlands.

Most of the soldiers buried here fell during the fighting on the Lower Rhine between February 8 and March 26, 1945.  It’s called the Canadian War Cemetery and we’d always assumed all of the burials were Canadian, but it’s not true.  By number and nationality, the 2,617 soldiers buried here are from:

  • 2,399 from Canada
  • 267 from Great Britain
  • 3 from Belgium
  • 2 from Poland
  • 2 from Australia
  • 1 from New Zealand
  • 1 from Russia
  • 1 from Yugoslavia
  • 1 from The Netherlands

Inscribed on the Groesbeek Memorial in the cemetery are the names of 1,103 soldiers reported missing in action between August 1944 and May 1945. Only a few have been identified since the memorial was put up. Unfortunately, most are still listed as MIA (Missing In Action).

Ad told us he’d read that the Cross of Sacrifice in the cemetery was positioned where it was so it could be clearly seen from Germany, a stone’s throw away from the border.  It’s likely true, as one prerequisite that Canadian Officers had in selecting land for the cemetery was to have a view of Germany.

In a Dutch reference we read that construction on the cemetery began in 1945 by six Canadian soldiers. The location of the cemetery, on a hilltop, was chosen by Groesbeek Mayor Grotenhuis van Onstein for its view on the German border from the cemetery. The Cemetery was officially opened on May 4, 1947 by the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina. When the cemetery opened, the headstones were made from wood, as was the Cross of Sacrifice.  Later, the headstones were temporarily replaced by metal versions, and beginning in 1950 the headstones and Cross of Sacrifice were replaced by stone designs.

CIMG8945 Sep 15 2017 Groesbeek cemetery Pieter at Cross for remembrance

Pieter by the Cross of Sacrifice at the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

In alphabetical order, here are the known soldiers from PEI that are buried in the cemetery:

  • L/Cpl Ralph Schurman BOULTER, North Nova Scotia Highlanders, from West Point
  • Pte Lawrence BULGER, North Nova Scotia Highlanders, from Foxley River
  • Major John Weston CAMPBELL, North Nova Scotia Highlanders, from Clermont
  • Cpl Preston D. CAMPBELL, Algonquin Regiment, from Coleman
  • Rifleman William Alfred CANNON, Regina Rifle Regiment, from Pownal
  • Cpl Arthur GAUDET, Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, from Mont Carmel
  • Sapper Joseph Edmond HENNEBERY, Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers, from Morrell
  • Cpl George Ivan MACKINNON, North Nova Scotia Highlanders, from Mt. Albion
  • Cpl Robert Bruce MACNEILLL, North Nova Scotia Highlanders, from Charlottetown
  • Pte Barney R. MCGUIGAN, North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, born in Souris
  • Cpl Stephen A. MCKINNON, Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, from St. Peter’s Bay
  • L/Cpl Edward Gabriel PERRY, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise), from St. Nicholas
  • Pte John Clifford ROGERS, North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, born in Hope River
  • Pte Ralph K. SILLIKER, Lake Superior Regiment, from O’Leary
  • Sgt Edison Alexander SMITH, North Nova Scotia Highlanders, from West Point
  • Pte George Preston SMITH, North Shore Regiment, from Kinkora
  • Pte William L. WEATHERBIE, Royal Regiment of Canada, from Charlottetown

Do you have photos or information on any of these soldiers?  If you know of other soldiers from PEI, please help the researchers at the Faces to Grave project by sharing that information. Photos and stories can be sent either through their website at http://facestograves.nl/index.html or by email to info@facestograves.nl.  Alternatively, you can contact us and we will forward your info for you.

Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com, commenting on the blog, or tweet to @researchmemori1.    

© 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/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 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/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

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On the War Memorial Trail ….. At The Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek

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December 25, 2017.  During lunch with members of the Royal Canadian Legion in The Netherlands, we mentioned that we would be going to the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek to lay flags at the graves of Prince Edward Island soldiers, and one from New Brunswick.  Although we had a list of 17 soldiers, only one was listed on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Legion Carleton, George Preston SMITH of Kinkora, who was with the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment.

Placing flags at the grave of a soldier from New Brunswick was at the request of our friend, Brenda Graves of North Tryon, in memory of her uncle Frank Edward MCGOVERN. He also was from the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, and died February 26, 1945 at the age of 19. Brenda, who is researching her family history, unfortunately has only a poor quality photo of her uncle.  Can anyone help put a face to this name?

Just outside the cemetery, by the parking lot, is a banner asking people for help in the Faces to Graves Foundation Groesbeek project.  The project was begun by members of the Royal Canadian Legion in The Netherlands to create a virtual memorial for all who are buried at the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery or listed on the Groesbeek Memorial.  2,338 soldiers are buried here.

CIMG8926 Sep 15 2017 faces to grave banner at Groesbeek cemetery

Faces to Graves Foundation banner. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

Many of the war dead were brought to this cemetery from nearby Germany. Fallen Canadian soldiers from WWII, who were buried in German battlefields, were reinterred here (except for one who is buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Germany). General Harry Crerar, who commanded Canadian land forces in Europe, had ordered that Canadian dead were not to be buried on German soil.

CIMG8928 Sep 15 2017 Daria at Groesbeek cemetery

Daria at entrance to Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, with flowers to place at the grave of Frank Edward McGovern. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

CIMG8937 Sep 15 2017 Groesbeek cemetery grave of Brendas uncle FE McGovern

Grave of Frank Edward McGovern at Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

George Preston Smith (2)

George Preston Smith. (Photo courtesy of Canadian Virtual War Memorial)

Private George Preston SMITH was born September 3, 1923 in Kinkora, the son of William Wilfred and Mabel Smith.  A store clerk before enlisting on April 1, 1943, he served in England, France, and Belgium, before meeting his death in Belgium in an unfortunate accident on November 12, 1944.  Smith was accidentally killed while trying to take his Stengun out of the back of a military truck. The gun was under a pile of greatcoats. He grabbed it by the muzzle and gave it a hard pull, causing the cocking piece to be pulled back far enough. When he let it go, the cocking piece went forward again with enough pressure to push a round into the chamber and fire it.

On November 15, 1944, he was buried in the Civil Cemetery in Malden, Belgium.  In 1946, his remains were exhumed and he was reburied in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery.

CIMG8940 Sep 15 2017 Groesbeek cemetery Pieter at the grave of George Preston Smith

Pieter by the grave of Private George Preston Smith. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

After paying our respects to McGovern and Smith, Pieter placed flags on two more graves of PEI soldiers.  We had been invited by Alice van Bekkum, of the Faces to Graves Foundation, to participate in a special ceremony, along with members of the Royal Canadian Legion in The Netherlands.  Wish Of A Lifetime Canada (see https://wishofalifetime.ca/), an organization that fulfills seniors’ dreams and shares their stories to inspire those of all ages, had granted a wish that had a PEI connection.

Harriet Jenereaux, born in West Point, PEI, now living in Nova Scotia, wanted to see the grave of her father, Sgt Edison Alexander SMITH, who is buried in the cemetery in Groesbeek.  Harriet and her husband Keith were flown to The Netherlands, members of the Royal Canadian Legion provided a colour party, and Alice van Bekkum paid for a bugler to play The Last Post at the grave.   (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgXkld9BUIA)

CIMG8948 Sep 15 2017 Groesbeek cemetery bugler with Yvonne and Berry Swarthoff providing colour parade

Bugler with Royal Canadian Legion’s colour party of Yvonne and Berry Swarthoff at Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Before Harriet arrived at the cemetery, Pieter made sure that Canadian and PEI flags were placed at her father’s grave, and that of her uncle, L/Cpl Ralph Schurman BOULTER, her mother’s brother.  Smith, aged 32, and Boulter, aged 28, were in the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, and were both killed in battle while crossing the Rhine on March 25, 1945.

CIMG8952 Sep 15 2017 Groesbeek cemetery Alice van Bekkum

Alice van Bekkum arranged for a photo of Smith to be placed by his grave. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

As Harriet neared her father’s grave, she called out to her husband Keith, “There’s Daddy!”  It was a poignant moment for us, the Dutch members of the Legion, an astonishing amount of reporters and press photographers, plus a representative of Phillips, the Dutch sponsor of Wish of a Lifetime.

CIMG8950 Sep 15 2017 Groesbeek cemetery Harriet Jenereux at her fathers grave

Harriet Jenereaux kneels at her father’s grave. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

After the ceremony and greeting Harriet, it was time for us to enjoy a cup of coffee and a piece of Dutch apple cake.  We’d return to place flags at the graves of the other 14 soldiers from PEI once all the commotion regarding Harriet’s visit had diminished.

Do you have relatives buried in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery?  If so, please consider participating in the Faces to Graves project by submitting photos and stories either through their website at http://facestograves.nl/index.html or by email to info@facestograves.nl.  Alternatively, you can contact us and we will forward your info for you.

Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com, or commenting on the blog.

© 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/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 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/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw.

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On the War Memorial Trail ….. A Taste of Canada in The Netherlands

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December 22, 2017.  After travelling through Europe for weeks, and arriving in The Netherlands for the next phase of our war memorial tour, we were delighted to receive an invitation from the Royal Canadian Legion in The Netherlands for lunch at their home base in Lochem.  While we knew that the home base was in a restaurant called Mondani, we were completely astonished to see that it was a Canadian restaurant.  We eagerly went inside and found a piece of west coast Canada!

CIMG8916 Sep 13 2017 Mondani Restaurant in Lochem

Photo: Pieter outside the Canadian restaurant Mondani in Lochem, The Netherlands. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Owners Berry Swarthoff, of The Netherlands, and his wife Yvonne, from Dawson Creek, BC, opened their restaurant in 1991. With a pan-Canadian menu, including a seafood cocktail from Prince Edward Island, it’s a great place to meet and enjoy a taste of Canada.  They even serve Tim Horton’s coffee upon request.

CIMG8920 Sep 13 2017 Berry & Yvonne Swarthoff Mondani Restaurant in Lochem

Photo: Berry and Yvonne Swarthoff in their Canadian restaurant Mondani in Lochem, The Netherlands. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

The Royal Canadian Legion in The Netherlands, of which the Swarthoffs are members, is one of 5 branches in Europe.  Pieter and I were invited for lunch to meet with other members of the Legion, including Branch President Gerard Hendricks and Vice-President Martin Reelick.  Alice van Bekkum, president of the Faces to Graves project at the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, was also present.  Of the 18 known PEI soldiers buried in Groesbeek, one is on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion.  Pieter intended to place flags on the graves of all 18 soldiers.

CIMG8925 Sep 13 2017 Daria & Pieter by Legion sign at Mondani restaurant in Lochem

Photo: Pieter and Daria by the Legion sign at Restaurant Mondani in Lochem, The Netherlands. (Photo credit: Berry Swarthoff)

CIMG8919 Sep 13 2017 Mondani Restaurant in Lochem Legion members

Photo: Left to right: Gerard Hendricks, Martin Reelick, Pieter Valkenburg, Alice van Bekkum. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

“…The main purpose of the Dutch branch of the Royal Canadian Legion is remembrance.  We have 40 to 50 events annually normally, and then every five years we have 65 extra commemorations...” said Hendricks.  “…Many families had daughters who were war brides, and many Canadian soldiers were stationed in The Netherlands after the war.  Plus, 85% of The Netherlands was liberated by Canadian troops.  Many friendships still survive.  So a Royal Canadian Legion branch here is most appropriate….”

The branch has members from the Dutch public, as well as Canadian embassy officials, Canadian expats, and even a Canadian pilot on exchange with the Dutch Air Force.

Since the Legion uses the Mondani restaurant as its home base, there are few fixed costs.  Travel costs, and the costs of flags for colour parties make up the bulk of the Legion’s expenses.  “…We travel across The Netherlands, and in April we were at Vimy Ridge for the 2017 commemoration ceremonies...” noted Hendricks.

To help with finances, the Canadian Embassy in The Hague hosts an annual fundraiser at the ambassador’s residence, plus the Legion sells T-shirts, bags, and hats to raise money.

The lunch was a Dutch one, not Canadian, but it was delicious, and we were enveloped in a warm atmosphere of friendship.  After the Dutch members of the Legion left, Berry, who surely knows what Canadians like, asked if we’d like a piece of lemon meringue pie.  Did we ever!  And it was delicious.  My mother, who was an excellent cook and baker, could not have made a better pie.

The visit to Lochem reminded us not only of home, but that so many people in Europe are grateful for the help Canada gave in the liberation of their countries.  We were very much looking forward to continuing our war memorial trail in Pieter’s country of birth.  As in Belgium, we would be joined by friends, old and new, who shared in honouring the soldiers who gave their lives during war.

Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© 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/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 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/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

Never miss a posting!  Subscribe below to have each new story from the war memorial trail delivered to your inbox.

On The War Memorial Trail….The Calais Canadian War Cemetery

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October 8, 2017.  Following a restful night in Caen, we made our way to the final cemetery we were visiting in France, the Calais Canadian War Cemetery in Leubringhen, 14 km from Calais, where Lt. James Arthur AFFLECK is buried.  This is the second WWII grave we visited in France.

Calais was liberated by the Canadian 1st Army early in September 1944 as they advanced up the French coast into Belgium, in pursuit of retreating German forces.  Most of the burials in the Calais Canadian War Cemetery are from this period of fighting.  There are 704 Commonwealth burials from WWII, of which 30 are unidentified.  594 of these burials are of Canadian soldiers. There also are 6 Czech and 19 Polish war graves.

After the earlier struggles we had getting to the Commonwealth War Cemeteries in France, this cemetery was surprisingly easy to find.  It was the first one we were at that had a sign on the highway, and it was conveniently located right off of the highway exit to Leubringhen, a village that’s halfway between Calais and Boulogne.  There was even a parking area!

CIMG8630 Sep 8 2017 sign for Calais Cdn War Cemetery

Sign off of the highway exit directing us to Calais Canadian War Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

James Arthur Affleck was born April 15, 1920 in Bedeque, Prince Edward Island, the son of Robert Bruce Affleck and Mary Eliza MacCallum.  A farmer before he enlisted with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders on March 3, 1942, he was killed in action by artillery shells on September 17, 1944, during the first day of the Battle of Boulogne (Operation Wellhit), in a 5 day battle to take the port of Boulogne from German control.

Arthur Affleck

Lt. James Arthur Affleck. (Photo courtesy of Percy Affleck Family Collection)

In ‘No Retreating Footsteps: The Story of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders’, published in 1954, author Will Bird tells what happened on September 17, 1944 on pages 222 and 223:

“… L/Cpl K. L. Miller was with Sgt. P. J. Whalen as A Company went up to attack.  They rode almost over the crest of the first hill, then began crawling inside a hedge and used it for cover until they came to a gap and some large craters.  There was barbed wire around a number of buildings, and a far one seemed to have been used for a garage.  Direct bomb hits had crashed the first two buildings to wreckage.  The next was a pillbox but heavy mortar fire descended and forced everyone to take shelter in the craters.  Sgt. Whalen was killed and before the barrage let up three others had lost their lives. Miller worked along a distance toward the pillbox and was told the officer, too, had been killed…. The officer killed during the heavy shelling was Lt. Affleck and it was his first battle….”

The path from the parking area to the cemetery is lined with trees and is hauntingly beautiful and gives the appearance of the peace that those who died in battle deserve – well, except for the fierce wind.  It was a reminder of the windy areas back on Prince Edward Island!

CIMG8629 Sep 8 2017 walkway to Calais Cdn War Cemetery

Grassy walkway from the parking lot to Calais Canadian War Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

CIMG8617 Sep 8 2017 Pieter outside Calais Cdn War Cemetery

Pieter at the entrance to Calais Canadian War Cemetery. We were taking bets on how long the rain would hold off. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

The sky was black but the rain held off long enough for Pieter to plant flags by Lt. Affleck’s grave.

CIMG8621 Sep 8 2017 Pieter at Afflecks grave at Calais Cdn War Cemetery

Pieter at the grave of Lt. James Arthur Affleck in Calais Canadian War Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

As we were going back to the car, however, the downpour began!   Luckily, we were only 74 km from our destination of De Panne, a coastal town that would be our base in Belgium.

In the next blog entry we return to the WWI war memorial trail, this time in the area around Ypres, Belgium. Do you have photo or info on James Arthur Affleck?  Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at  memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© 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/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 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/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

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On The War Memorial Trail….A Trip To The Bayeux War Cemetery

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October 6, 2017.  I was very much looking forward to the trip to Bayeux, but not for the cemetery.  Located 30 km northwest of Caen, where we were staying overnight, Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry.  This is an embroidered cloth, dating from sometime in the 1070s, nearly 70 metres (230 ft) long and 50 centimetres (20 in) tall, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy (William The Conqueror), and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings in 1066.  This tapestry is hanging in the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux (Bayeux Museum of Tapestry) in Bayeux.

Pieter’s ancestry goes back to Hamon de Masci, a cousin of William the Conqueror, and whose sons made the journey to England with him from Normandy as part of the conquest.  In the late 1500s, a descendant settled in The Netherlands and started a brick factory, and the rest is part of Valkenburg history.

….In Bayeux I wanted to see a tapestry, Pieter a war cemetery….

Of course, when I excitedly mentioned what a great coincidence it was that we were going to Bayeux, a place I wanted to go anyway, Pieter looked at me in horror.  Why would we waste time looking at an old tapestry when we were here to visit a cemetery and had not much time after the trip to Rouen, that same day? No way! He reminded me that we still had to find our lodging in Caen and that I had been in a great deal of ‘distress’ (he was too polite to say ‘in a panic’) when we were driving in very busy Rouen.

So, with no chance at examining genealogical history, we went to Bayeux, paying an additional 5.50 euros in toll charges, followed shortly afterwards by another 3.50 euro toll, and stopped at the Bayeux War Cemetery in Bayeux, where George Ashley BARTLETT, another of the men on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion is buried.

CIMG8610 Sep 7 2017 Pieter at Bayeux War Cemetery entrance

Pieter at the entrance to Bayeux War Cemetery in Bayeux. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

The Bayeux War Cemetery was the first one that had visitors at the same time we were there.  We weren’t alone!  We wondered if this was because it was a WWII cemetery.  All of our other visits had been to WW1 cemeteries and memorials.  It’s also the largest we’ve been to up to now, with 4,144 Commonwealth burials from WWII, 338 unidentified.  There are an additional 500 graves of other nationalities, most of them German.

The cemetery is in an urban setting, and across the street from the Bayeux Memorial, which honours the men of the British and Commonwealth land forces who fell in the early stages of the campaign in northwest Europe of 1945 and have no known grave.  Next to the Bayeux Memorial is the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum (Musée Mémorial Bataille de Normandie) in Bayeux.  If you are interested in learning more about the D-Day Landing / Operation Overlord operations, plan a visit to Bayeux!  There were a lot of tour buses – from several European countries – and a lot of people walking around.

….George Ashley Bartlett survived D-Day but lost his life during Operation Tractable….

Sergeant George Ashley Bartlett was born in the Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec, on June 3, 1917, the son of Walter Philip Bartlett and Annie Alice Wright.  He enlisted with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders in Amherst in June 1940. In 1941, he married Leah Jean Campbell in Amherst, Nova Scotia, and they had a son John Ashley.

Photo George Ashley Bartlett

Photo: George Ashley Bartlett. (Photo courtesy of North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regimental Museum in Amherst, Nova Scotia)

Bartlett survived the D-Day Landing, but then, on August 14, 1944 he was wounded in action during Operation Tractable to capture Falaise Ridge, and died the following day.  Operation Tractable, fought between August 14 and 21, 1944, was the final offensive conducted by Canadian and Polish troops, supported by one brigade of British tanks, as part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II.

CIMG8603 Sep 7 2017 Pieter by grave of G A Bartlett in Bayeux War Cemetery

Pieter at the grave of George Ashley Bartlett in Bayeux War Cemetery after laying down the flags of Canada, PEI, and Canada 150. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

….Bartlett’s young son drowned a few years later in Crapaud….

At the time of his death, his wife and son were living in Crapaud.  Mrs. Bartlett remarried, to Ellsworth Wilson, a barber, but then she suffered a second tragedy.  Her young son drowned in March 1948 while she was at the hairdresser shop owned by the mother of Crapaud resident Gene Rogerson.  Gene recalled that young Ashley Bartlett had taken a toboggan to the nearby pond.

….A replica of the Bayeux Tapestry was on a museum wall….

As for me and my dream of seeing the Bayeux Tapestry, I had the last word on this trip to the Bayeux War Cemetery.  As we walked to the car, which was parked at the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum, I spotted a poster of the Bayeux Tapestry on the Museum wall and managed to convince Pieter to stand beside it.

CIMG8612 Sep 7 2017 Pieter by poster of Bayeux Tapestry at British Military Museum in Bayeux

Pieter by a poster of the Bayeux Tapestry outside the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum in Bayeux. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

In the next blog entry we make our way to our last cemetery in France, to Leubringhen, just before the Belgian border. Do you have photo or info on George Bartlett?  Comments or stories?  Email us at memorialtrail@gmail.com, comment on the blog, or tweet to @researchmemori1.

© 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/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 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/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

Never miss a posting!  Subscribe below to have each new story from the war memorial trail delivered to your inbox.

The Media Interview With CBC

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pietervalkenburg with papers Sarah MacMillan CBC

Pieter among some of his research papers. (Photo credit: Sarah MacMillan/CBC)

July 28, 2017.  On July 27, 2017, CBC PEI ran a radio interview on Island Morning, where Pieter talked about the cenotaph research project and the story of Elmer Bagnall MUTTART.  The radio interview was accompanied by a web article, and a clip on the local news program Compass.

The transcript of the web article follows the links to each of the interviews:

CBC Radio interview: http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1011225155824

TV CBC Compass: http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1011600963888 .  The clip with Pieter starts at 11:52.

CBC Web article:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-borden-soldier-1.4223247

Transcript of web article:

‘This needs to be done’: Historian pays tribute to Borden-Carleton veterans

Pieter Valkenburg is researching and fundraising to honour the soldiers named on the Borden-Carleton cenotaph

By Cody MacKay, CBC News

A P.E.I. historian is working along with a local historical society to put together profiles and other tributes for the 48 veterans named on the Borden-Carleton cenotaph.

“I’m going to find out who these people are and give a face to every name,” Pieter Valkenburg said. “For me it’s a way to say thank you, Canada.”

Valkenburg is a historian and member of the Tryon and Area Historical Society.

He’s originally from the Netherlands and says he and his wife are taking on the project out of respect for the country he now calls home

“If it wasn’t for the Canadians, I might not have been sitting here.”

Learning the story

Valkenburg said so far, he’s found information on all but one of the men.

muttart1 Sarah MacMillan CBC.JPG

Photo: Elmer Bagnall Muttart sacrificed his life to save a Dutch village. (Sarah MacMillan/CBC)

“My wife has written about five or six articles — that is mainly for trying to get more information. We are also going to do presentations on them.”

Valkenburg is planning on publishing two books with all the information he’s gathered, which will be available at the Borden-Carleton Legion for visitors to read.

Of all the research Valkenburg has done, one story has struck him the most: that of Elmer Bagnall Muttart.

‘This should have been recognized a long time ago’

Binders of research Sarah MacMillan CBC.JPG

Photo: Valkenburg has binders full of research on the 48 soldiers named on the Borden-Carleton cenotaph. (Sarah MacMillan/CBC)

‘I think he sacrificed his life to save the village’ — Pieter Valkenburg

Muttart was a 23-year-old man from Cape Traverse, P.E.I., who Valkenburg says flew a bomber for the Canadians during World War II.

According to Valkenburg’s research, Muttart flew 21 missions and was killed on his last flight during a bombing run over Bremen, Germany.

Valkenburg said Muttart was intercepted by a German night fighter that shot the bomber to pieces, forcing the pilot to change course in his final moments away from a village down below.

“The main reason why he did that was he realized the plane was probably going to crash,” Valkenburg suggested. “But he wanted to give his crew a chance to parachute out.”

Seven British crew members were on board, according to Valkenburg, and all escaped safely while Muttart steered the burning plane away from a Dutch village, dying when the plane crashed into a field.

“I think he sacrificed his life to save the village,” he said. “He made sure his whole crew was saved.”

“This should have been recognized a long time ago.”

To recognize Muttart, Valkenburg is raising money for a memorial plaque near the location where he died. He said some funding is even being provided by the Missing Airmen Memorial Foundation in the Netherlands.

‘I feel that this needs to be done’

Valkenburg plans to travel to Europe and visit the grave site of all the soldiers from the Borden cenotaph, along with Vimy Ridge and the Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium.

“I feel that this needs to be done,” he said. “It feels good for me to do it — I feel a lot of gratitude to what was done.”

If you have photos or documents you’d like to share, please email them to memorialtrail@gmail.com.  Comments or stories?  You can share them by email or by commenting on this blog.

© 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/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 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/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

Never miss a posting!  Subscribe below to have each new story from the war memorial trail delivered to your inbox.

The Elmer Bagnall Muttart Story

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2004.8 Harlingen June 001

Photo: Muttart’s grave in Harlingen  (Photo courtesy of Pam Alexander collection)

July 28, 2017.  The story of WWII pilot Elmer Bagnall Muttart from Cape Traverse, who saved the Dutch village of Wons and his crew after being shot down in October 1941, touches the heart of everyone who hears about it.  For Pieter, it’s an especially relevant story, given his Dutch roots.  As he explained when this project first began, “I was born during the Hunger Year of 1944, when there was little or no food.  So many people starved to death.  The Canadians not only liberated us from Nazi rule, they saved us from starvation.”

The research into this story began in October 2016. Shortly after the first article about the project appeared in the County Line Courier, Ralph Muttart brought us a posting from 2011 on Flickr photo sharing from Harlingen, written by bed and breakfast owner Richard Merkx.  There was a photo of Muttart’s grave in Harlingen, and Merkx had written: “About 5 years ago, an English gentleman and his daughter came and stayed at our bed and breakfast ‘Het Kapiteinhuis’ in Harlingen.  His surname was (Flight Sergeant) Alexander and he was the navigator on the plane piloted by Mr. Muttart.  They were shot down by a German nightfighter over Harlingen 13/10/1941.  The whole crew could bail out because the pilot stayed with the plane until the last moment, thus avoiding crashing into the village of Wons and killing many innocent people.  We took Mr. Alexander to the Harlingen Cemetery to pay his respects, an emotional moment for him as he had wondered all his life where his Pilot had been buried.  According to the many people around Pingjum (where Mr. Alexander landed by parachute) and Wons, it was a heroic act by the Pilot that saved his crew and the citizens of the village.”

This was enough to get Pieter’s interest and he got in touch with Mr. Merkx, who in turn put him in touch with Pam Alexander, the daughter of the now deceased Mr. Alexander.  Then we learned that Muttart’s sister Helen was still alive, and contact was established with her as well.  We then learned of historians in The Netherlands doing research on the planes that crashed during WWII and Bauke Posthuma was kind enough to share some of his findings.  Pieter ordered a book from The Netherlands, a diary kept by schoolteacher Mr. De Boer, and published as “History of Wildinghe” in Dutch (Dutch title: ‘Van Wildinghe’s Historie’), in which he recorded the events of October 12, the night of the plane crash. It was like peeling an onion.  With each layer that unfolded in this story, it became clear that Muttart was a hero.

Next, the non-profit Missing Airmen Memorial Foundation in The Netherlands and the non-profit Tryon & Area Historical Society here on Prince Edward Island partnered to raise funds for a memorial plaque to be placed in Wons, The Netherlands in October 2018.

We hope you enjoy this very special fourth article that ran in July 2017, “The PEI Pilot Who Saved A Dutch Village” in the County Line Courier.    CLC July 19 p20 WWII Pilot Saved Dutch Village

Following the publication of this article, CBC PEI interviewed Pieter about Muttart and this project, and that’s the subject of the next blog entry.

If you have photos or documents you’d like to share, please email them to memorialtrail@gmail.com.  Comments or stories?  You can share them by email or by commenting on this blog.

© 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/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 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/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

Never miss a posting!  Subscribe below to have each new story from the war memorial trail delivered to your inbox.

The Cenotaph Research Project Begins

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CIMG5472 B&W Aug 5 2015 WWI and WWII memorial at Borden Carleton Legion.JPG

July 28, 2017.  The Cenotaph Research Project began in summer 2016 quietly by enlarging a photo of the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion in Prince Edward Island and showing it to Islanders in the hope that someone would recognize a name.  In the meantime, Pieter started searching the surnames at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial (www.veterans.gc.ca) and Library and Archives Canada Military Service Files (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/Pages/military-heritage.aspx) to try and identify the names.  We didn’t have first names, only surnames and an initial.

The search was made more difficult as we soon learned that many Islanders were known by their second name.  The initial on the Cenotaph sometimes referred to the second name or a nickname.  For example, Alfred became Fred and F was the initial he was identified by.

We had no luck with photos until one day Helen Carr mentioned that her husband’s uncle, Vincent CARR, was listed on the memorial.  Did we want a photo of him?  We did, and went to visit Helen’s husband Delbert.  With that photo, Pieter delved into Carr’s military records and learned that he died at Passchendaele.

We had the basis of an article to write, and decided to include someone from WWII whose photo we didn’t have.  Pieter chose Everett Samuel FRANCIS, who died off the coast of Newfoundland when the ship he was on, SS Caribou, was torpedoed.

After the article ran, Helen Carr came to the rescue once again, by finding a relative of Francis, who then was able to put us in touch with Francis’s daughter Greta, who lives in Ontario.  We learned that Francis was on his way to Newfoundland to meet his three week old baby daughter Greta for the first time when he died.  Luckily, Greta had photos of her father and shared them.

We hope you enjoy this first article that ran in October 2016, “Putting A Face And Story To The Names On The Cenotaph” in the County Line Courier.   CLC Page 6-7 Putting a Face and Story to the Names on the Cenotaph

If you have photos or documents you’d like to share, please email them to memorialtrail@gmail.com.  Comments or stories?  You can share them by email or by commenting on this blog.

© 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/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 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/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

Never miss a posting!  Subscribe below to have each new story from the war memorial trail delivered to your inbox.