"Another of life's unsolved mysteries"

Psy-
no luck with the two other "Dave Gears" to date - but who knows how long it takes these days to answer 'snail mail' - besides that the stamps cost 85 p - roughly the same as ours at $1:60...
Good try with your German paratrooper....
cheers

 

What an absolutely marvellous thread, full of heart rendering stories, but also humour intertwined.
Thankyou for sharing some very memorable moments and good luck to all in your quests for answers.

Tom

 

An amusing story told to me by the owner of the local medal shop.
There used to be a German Vet. who went into the shop on occasions. " I did not have a happy var" he used to say ( did anyone) Then he related his story. He had been a German Army cook at Normandy. During the Bombardment his cookhouse/ bunker had been hit and he was badly wounded. He was evacuated to a hospital in Bulgaria or Hungary and made a recovery. His first day out he was blown up by fighter bombers and again wounded. I don't think he ever understood the British mentality of roaring with laughter at what was,to him, 2 life threatening experiences. He didn't grasp the fact that the fact that he survived in one piece was one of the reasons it was so funny. Still I suppose he ended up with a wound badge for his trouble.
Another tale related by the shop owner was how he bought a Knights Cross with all the trimmings in a case from a British Vet for £800. It was a few years ago but he said still a bargain. Apparently the Vet had turned up at a medal maker during or just after the war and was going round with the owner of the shop who showed him the said medal. After a deal of bargaining the medal changed hands for 200 fags and some tins of food. The Vet sold it because he wanted to go to Australia and just wanted the cost of the trip for it. As many will know, a kc now sells for around the £18000 mark so he got a bargain for sure.

 

Does this little Dutch boy remember a soldier that gave him a man weekly wage?

Does that boy remember me?
That awful night of September the 18th-19th when we crossed the Escaut canal had now passed, sadly, more of our friends were left behind. We now advanced along the North side of the canal heading for the town of Weert, we occupied this Dutch town by the afternoon of September 22nd, luckily, with not as much opposition as we expected.

A small town with the canal running through the centre with a railway line that was raised up from the surrounding countryside. We harboured in Weert, then repaired the canal bridge, then added another across the canal on the 23rd/24th of September. Here the line between us, and the Enemy, was virtually non existent, it appeared that we were the only troops in the town, and there was a very real danger that if he made a determined thrust we could not have held it.

First we lost our water wagon, same as in Normandy, he took the wrong turning and was never seen again, then the odd man disappeared at night by the railway line, we think, taken by German patrols. The Dutch people gave us a marvelous welcome, but it seemed to me that they were not absolutely sure the liberation was here for good! Apart from military bridging it was fairly quiet.

At this time we had been issued with our version of the Dutch Guilder, I went in to a local shop and bought something, the Lady asked me, was the money good? "Yes of course" (Invasion money was looked on with deep suspicion by the local population!) Ah! though she was not too sure, because she gave me the change for a two and half Guilder note in one cent pieces, I went outside and there was a little boy sitting against the wall, I took off his Dutch cap and poured 240 one cent pieces into it, at that time it was worth a weeks wages.

Now, I have a feeling that the little boy will remember the soldier who gave him quite a lot of money. The very real danger of the enemy counter attack had now become serious, I was given the task of preparing explosive charges to blow the front of the buildings and to prepare the bridges for explosive demolition. The Dutch people watched this intently, it did nothing for their peace of mind, had the Enemy advanced we would have blown the bridge and the buildings for a road block. Luckily, in the end, it was not necessary. Having been the first troops to capture this small Dutch town, we now departed leaving the town to settle back into its own routine.
SapperHello, SAPPER,
Nice to read this storie,
The road north of the canal of Weert still is having the name of his liberators.
I live about 5 km NW of Weert.
Sapper, THANKS for liberating my country.
Regards, GERARD FROM HOLLAND.

 

The one thing that would please me,. is to find my old mate Corporal Ginger Ford. A great mate he came from Hayling island off Portsmouth? I looked for him for years ....never found him.
Sapper

 

Mr Bob Mullin served with my dad in 6th Airborne,here he speaks about helping at a birth of a boy in Germany,and how he would love to have met him.
Sadly Bob passed away about 4 years ago,but i always find this film very poignant.

Heroes Remembers - Bob Mullin - Veterans Affairs Canada