My mother and father both grew up in the city of Rotterdam. In 1940 they both lived through the heavy bombardment of the city by the German Luftwaffe, also known as the Rotterdam Blitz. Later in the war, my mother’s home was destroyed by an accidental bombing of a residential area of Rotterdam by Allied...Read More

Lt. A. Devereux Thornton headed an armoured car division with the Royal Canadian Dragoon’s. He landed in Italy as part of the Italian campaign . Over the course of several years they made their way up to Holland to participate in It’s liberation. Dev passed away in 2004 rarely speaking of his time in WW2.Read More

Father Hickey was a cousin of my mother’s. She spoke very fondly of him and how he always had a kind word for everyone. He served with the North Shore Regiment and the men who served with him he called his boys! He loved these men and wrote a book called The Scarlet Dawn. His...Read More

RCAF Lt Forbes Colgate, DVM, DVPH, was posted to an RCAF base in 1943, where he met RCAF Nursing Sister Jean Martyn, RN. They married at Easter 1944 and went on post-war to have excellent careers in Veterinary Medicine and Obstetrical Nursing, as well as raising six children. Forbes died due to post-surgery exposure to...Read More

The Espanola Royal Canadian Legion Branch #39 and the Espanola Gardeners hope to see plenty of orange in flowerbeds throughout the town next Spring. The two organizations have partnered together to promote the Liberation 75th Tulip Initiative to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Holland in 1945. That year, the Dutch royal family...Read More

The Espanola Royal Canadian Legion Branch #39 and the Espanola Gardeners hope to see plenty of orange in flowerbeds throughout the town next Spring. The two organizations have partnered together to promote the Liberation 75th Tulip Initiative to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Holland in 1945. That year, the Dutch royal family...Read More

We will plant the Liberation tulips in the garden of Gwen Molnar, 93 year old.widow of George Molnar . George, as a 23 years old multilingual corporal (wearing his black beret) was the translator during the negotiations for the surrender of the German forces in The Netherlands. These negotiations were held in Hotel De Wereld...Read More

We are first generation Canadians from parents who immigrated from the Netherlands. We have made many trips back to the Netherlands and the dutch people love the Canadians because of the Liberation. We are proud to be Canadians of dutch descent! The Jeronimus FamilyRead More

My dad was a very young member of the Canadian Army during WWII. He was part of the group that liberated Holland, as well as having fought on Juno Beach. When I was young, we never spoke of the war. It was just a dark part of his past. However, as he aged, and the...Read More

My father-in-law, who was known as Wim or Bill (depending which country he was in), was born in The Netherlands in 1934. He lived near Amsterdam throughout the war, and as a small child, had to face the loss of friends and fear for the survival of his family. He moved to Canada in the...Read More