Tour of Northeast Holland

... restored ...

 

Stolpi,
Wowsa!
Thanks to the new technology for not losing all of Stolpi's content!

 

Hi Stolpi,
I am trying to get some info on Rfn D patience who died on 6 April 1945. Would you know the temporary grave site for the QOR before being mover to the Groesbeek Canadian war cemetery?
Was Donald treated at the 1st Canadian general hospital?
Was he attached to C coy QOR?
Hope you can help
Thank you for your posts
Dave

 

Dave

The Graves Concentration Unit document indicates that the body of Donald Patience was moved from the Temporary Canadian Burial Ground in Nijmegen, map reference 690595. This map reference appears to correspond with Jonkerbos Military Cemetery. Sorry I cannot answer your other questions. Most WW2 Admissions and Discharge Registers still appear to be closed to public scrutiny

 

Stolpi,
Thank you very much for your prompt reply. Wonderful stuff
Cheers

 

You're welcome ;-)

... and thank you John!

 

BTW - Being buried at Jonkerbosch might indicate that he was brought back to Nijmegen to one of the Military Hospitals in the town as a WIA , only to succumb from his wounds. As a KIA, he probably would have been buried at one of the smaller temporary field cemeteries near the actual frontline and would have ended up in a grave at the Holten War Cemetery. The Canadian victims were buried there from about April 1st, 1945.

Krrc - You might have a look at Zuehlke's book "On to Victory" for more detailed info on the battle for Rha.

 

New member here. Great read DYRCH and stolpi. I also visited some of the sites you did in 2015 with my teenage children. It was awesome yet humbling. We have been to 10 Canadian War Cemeteries in NWE and Italy. We visited the graves of some of my friends uncles who died in France, Germany, and Netherlands. We were at Falaise Gap. Juno, Gold , and Sword Beaches. Dieppe. Vimy Ridge. The Leopold Canal. The Breskins Pocket. The Scheldt. Groesbeek. The Rheinland ( hiked through the Moyland Wood and the Hochwald Forest ). Emmercih. Deventer. Berlin. Bastogne. And Ortona. I wish I would have seen this post before we went. There are so many places and monuments that you listed that we missed. Myabe next time. Again, thanks for the great post.

 

Welcome aboard!

 

As an add on for the 2nd Division's capture of Groningen: I ran into this article, written by Ralph Dykstra, from the Army doctrine and Training Bulletin, describing the urban battlefield of Groningen.

 

On this day!

 

Yup .. my eldest son's Birthday!

 

To one of the moderators....
I received an email that a member `Kurt Johnson` has replied to this thread. But, nowhere can I find his post. Please advise when you can.

 

Ah....
Thanks D

 

Hi -- I am a newbie to this WW2Talk so forgive me for my ineptness in making a reply.
I am a researcher from Canada (near our capital Ottawa). My research is for one of my 15 life stories for the Faces-to-Graves project at Groesbeek. This bio is about Sgt. Thomas Mulvihill, # B142765, KIA on April 14, 1945, in Groningen. This soldier with the Royal Regiment of Canada was awarded posthumously the Royal Dutch medal -- Bronze Lion (Bronzen Leeuw) in the 400 medals awarded by Queen Wilhemina for our servicemen who fought and died during the liberation of the Netherlands.
I was unable to obtain specifics of why his act of extreme courage was recognized because the official record did not state the reason. It of course was a recommendation from the Allied command..
Can you help me gain some understanding what Sgt. Mulvihill's action were?
Cheers Kurt Johnson

 

Kurt,

Thanks for your work. Maybe you know already. But here some details i found.

A list of all servicemen who received dutch decorations, HERE

And here you can find the text regarding his Royal Award, HERE

Tijdens de gevechten ter bevreiding van het bezette Nederlandse grondgebied zich onderscheiden door het bedrijven van bijzonder moedige en beleidvolle daden. In alle opzichten een loffelijk voorbeeld gegeven onder moeilijke omstandigheden, waarbij zij zelf het leven hebben gelaten.

During the battles for the liberation of occupied Dutch territory, they distinguished themselves by committing particularly courageous and heroic acts. Provided in all respects a laudable example under difficult circumstances, in which they have died.

A more generic texst at the end of the war, but still with Dignity in my opinion.

Go on with the good work Kurt.

 

Hi Kurt, I am living not far from the city of Groningen. Sounds a bit awkward, in this case: "THE KING has been pleased to grant unrestricted permission for the wearing of...". I will have look in some Dutch books I have on Groningen, to see if I can find anything. If you don't hear something within the next few days, please feel free to send me a reminder! Cheers, Ronald.

 

Kurt - For details of the operations on that day, see: Tour of Northeast Holland

 

Kurt,

Thomas died during the battles around the Parkbridge in the south of Groningen, close to the Paterswoldseweg.
The RHLI regiment did not succeed to cross the bridge.
RRC got the task to cross the river Hoornschediep when they got involved in heavy battles, Thomas motivated his men to go on and to push harder.
At a certain moment he was killed by a German sniper.

I will send you a PM to get in touch with someone who has the original recommendation.