Victory demonstrations in Holland

[Hanno Spoelstra]

A new thread further to Sexton in Holland:

Shortly after WW2 a series of parades and demonstrations were held in the Netherlands to showcase the capabilities of the Canadian Army. A number of British Army units were involved. In this thread I will post a number of pictures of these demonstrations. What makes them interesting, more so than standard victory parades, is that they showed the equipment in action.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Caption: "Canadian tank. "Mine clearer" before the parade. Canadian soldiers in the Netherlands. Demonstration with a Sherman Crab (minesweeper) prior to the parade on Dam Square in Amsterdam. Leiden, Schuttersveld. May 22, 1945."

This is Sherman V Crab "ROB ROY IV" of the 1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry, 79th Armoured Division:


Source: https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/d...a-dc1c4e714a73


Plus a second picture of what looks to be the same Sherman V Crab, possibly while on parade on its way to the demonstration?

Edited to add: another source has this picture captioned as "Canadian soldiers with a Sherman Crab (minesweeper) and Churchill tank on their way from the line-up area to the parade on Dam Square in Amsterdam."



And a third, dated 27 May 1945, Amsterdam:


Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/6a32e0...c-003048944028

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Demo of a Wasp Flame Thrower on the Stadionplein, Amsterdam.

Back then they thought nothing of demonstrating this equipment close to spectators!


Source: https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/d...2-148322bec4c0

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Demonstration in Alkmaar

"In 1945, the triangular lawn between Ferdinand Bolstraat, Rembrandtstraat and Van der Helststraat in Alkmaar marked the boundary of the western city. From that point they looked over the polder to the dunes of Egmond. Shortly after the liberation, on Friday, May 25, 1945, Canadian army units held a spectacular military demonstration on this lawn. Not long before, they had been massively welcomed as liberators. The Canadian captain invited all Alkmaarders, in particular mayor Kinschot and wife, to come and look at all kinds of heavy war equipment that had all been made in Canada. The Canadian men who marched past had an enormous track record; they had fought as a division in Africa, in Sicily, in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Real veterans, to whom we owe a lot! Now in peacetime they showed what they could do with their material with the message and wish "may it never be used for its actual destiny!". The amateur amateur film maker Wagenaar from Alkmaar was there and made a short cinematic impression."

See the footage on youtube: https://youtu.be/S_mx3OcpDmI



Source: https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/d...0-fe4fe1e5b815

[Hanno Spoelstra]

This is a Sherman Hybrid IC (Firefly), which according to source [2] was part of the 1st Canadian Army Corps commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Walker

Captioned: "Canadian soldiers in the Netherlands. Leiden, Schuttersveld. May 22, 1945. Demonstration with a Sherman tank 'Commodore', prior to the parade on Dam Square in Amsterdam."


Sources:
[1] https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/d...d-0ac03a046445
[2] https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/d...d-92716487beed


This is "Commodore" at Stadionplein, Amsterdam, 27 May 45:


Source: https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/d...d-9e2fb77293ae

Another picture of the Sherman Hybrid IC (Firefly) "Commodore". Al Bowie noted: "It is a Canadian 1c (Hybrid) of the Three Rivers Regiment (named Commodore) which was one of the 1 Canadian Armoured Brigade transferred from Italy and was originally an Army Tank Brigade not an Armoured brigade so they have kept their original AOS in Blue over Brown from memory. Of note is that this is the rarer ALCO manufactured Hybrid/Composite as indicated by the curved front on the Applique (Unique to the Alco ones). This was a Demonstration that took place 27 may 45"


Source: https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/d...d-fff71222561c

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Interestingly, the photos taken at Leiden on 22 May show Rob Roy IV with spare track blocks neatly draped around the turret:



While five days later on 27 May 1945 at Amsterdam, all the additional track blocks have been taken off the turret:

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Caption: "Canadian tank. "Mine clearer" before the parade. Canadian soldiers in the Netherlands. Demonstration with a Sherman Crab (minesweeper) prior to the parade on Dam Square in Amsterdam. Leiden, Schuttersveld. May 22, 1945."

This is Sherman V Crab "ROB ROY IV" of the 1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry, 79th Armoured Division:

Attachment 111278
Source: https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/d...a-dc1c4e714a73


Plus a second picture of what looks to be the same Sherman V Crab, possibly while on parade on its way to the demonstration?

Edited to add: another source has this picture captioned as "Canadian soldiers with a Sherman Crab (minesweeper) and Churchill tank on their way from the line-up area to the parade on Dam Square in Amsterdam."

Attachment 111279

And a third, dated 27 May 1945, Amsterdam:

Attachment 111280
Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/6a32e0...c-003048944028

[Dan Martel]

Hanno,

First off, great photographs and great thread. I've linked a history of the Three Rivers Regiment from the Second World War written by Charles Prieur. Prieur joined the Regiment in 1941 and served with it until the end of the war. You can view it here.

On the final pages he mentions two post-war parades held in Holland. On May 20-21 the Regiment lined its tanks along a roadway in The Hague for a victory parade. [page 294]

On June 3, the entire 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade paraded in Doorn in front of General Crerar. "More that 250 tanks and self-propelled guns advanced 28 abreast and 10 deep towards the reviewing stand..." Participants included the 98th Sussex and Surrey Yeomanry, Royal Artillery. [page 295]

Unfortunately, there are no photographs of either event in Prieur's book. It might be worth a look in the archives.

Cheers,
Dan.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Thanks Dan,

I'll scrutinize the document later.

Hanno

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Here are some vehicles parading in Dordrecht on 15 May 1945:

Sherman Hybrid IC "Commodore" in the Van Baerlestraat (source):



Sherman Hybrid IC "Courage" followed by a Sherman Crab on the de Hugo de Grootlaan turning in the direction of the Krispijnseweg (source).
Note: we have seen "Courage" on here before: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...ourage+sherman:



LVT-4 and Sherman Crab at the Krispijnseweg (source):



Vehicles lined up (source):


C8A HUPs in the parade (source):


There are many more pictures in the Dordrecht municipal archives, search for "bevrijding" at https://beeldbank.regionaalarchiefdordrecht.nl/

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

Here are two GPO's during the Liberation of Goor, NL 1945

source: https://mijnstadmijndorp.nl/app/zoek...ry/?nav_id=1-1

Thanks!

Another picture from the same source: 4 Sexton SPGs, 1 Sexton GPO and 1 Sherman (command?) tank, Universal Carrier and I think there is a half-track in that line up too. Location: Diepenheim village, 1945.

CS-234159 could well be one of the Sextons in that line up, as the picture was taken in the same village.


source

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

Here are two GPO's during the Liberation of Goor, NL 1945

The first two pictues show Canadian Sexton GPO plus Sexton 25-pdr SP Guns passing through the village of Goor, The Netherlands. With as 3-ton CMP truck following. The original caption says “These are on their way to a parade between Goor and Markelo in April 1945.”

The third picture also features another Sexton GPO passing through Goor at the same time. This time the record dates it 10 May 1945, which is the more likely date.

I reckon these Sextons are passing through Goor on their way for a parade or display at Diepenheim - see pics above - which is 5 km. south of Goor.


Source: https://mijnstadmijndorp.nl/app/hist...p-8-april-1945


Source: https://mijnstadmijndorp.nl/app/coll...aat-voorstraat

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Sexton GPO (Gun Position Officer) “DARLING” of D Troop, 36th Battery, Canadian 23rd Field Regiment on parade in the Netherlands at the end of the war in 1945. It looks like this GPO was converted from a Sexton Mk.I (note the 3-piece final drive asssembly and M4 bogie and regular VVSS track).

Archive caption: "Sexton self-propelled howitzers passing in front of a reviewing stand at a parade. Date: 1945. This shows a parade (likely a VE-day parade in Holland) where a battery of Sexton self-propelled howitzers are being reviewed. The vehicles are from the 23rd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, 4th Canadian Armoured Division. The vehicle closest to the stand is a Gun Position Officer variant of the Sexton."


Source: http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/...3Apam&lang=eng

[Alex van de Wetering]

The first two pictues show Canadian Sexton GPO plus Sexton 25-pdr SP Guns passing through the village of Goor, The Netherlands. With as 3-ton CMP truck following. The original caption says “These are on their way to a parade between Goor and Markelo in April 1945.”

Hanno, that's odd! I posted the two GPO pics some months ago, but somehow the "mijn stad mijn dorp" website now has a lower quality scan of the GPO "TLE" picture online with a mangled track and proportions which are slightly off! It's the very same picture, with the CMP following the Sexton......but just a lower quality.....I am guessing one might be a scan from the negative, while the other is a scan of a print maybe.

[kevinT]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Thanks!

Another picture from the same source: 4 Sexton SPGs, 1 Sexton GPO and 1 Sherman (command?) tank, Universal Carrier and I think there is a half-track in that line up too. Location: Diepenheim village, 1945.

CS-234159 could well be one of the Sextons in that line up, as the picture was taken in the same village.

Attachment 114353 Attachment 114354
source

Hi Hanno,

I have CS234159 BONNBELLA II as belonging to 23rd Field Regiment, RCA. Can anyone confirm?

Cheers

Kevin

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

Hanno, that's odd! I posted the two GPO pics some months ago, but somehow the "mijn stad mijn dorp" website now has a lower quality scan of the GPO "TLE" picture online with a mangled track and proportions which are slightly off! It's the very same picture, with the CMP following the Sexton......but just a lower quality.....I am guessing one might be a scan from the negative, while the other is a scan of a print maybe.

For some reason those online archives seem to change the quality of the photos, sometime upwards, sometimes dwonwards. Also the ability to download photos can vary over time.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by kevinT

I have CS234159 BONNBELLA II as belonging to 23rd Field Regiment, RCA. Can anyone confirm?

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for that. I cannot confirm, but can direct you to an extensive thread on here: 23rd Field Regiment, RCA, 83rd Artillery Division

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Another picture from the same source: 4 Sexton SPGs, 1 Sexton GPO and 1 Sherman (command?) tank, Universal Carrier and I think there is a half-track in that line up too. Location: Diepenheim village, 1945.

A better version of this picture plus some context can be found here: https://www.thememoryproject.com/sto...bert-margison/

Veteran Stories: Herbert Margison

Shortly after the war in 1945, Mr. Margison's Battery is photographed ready for inspection. Herb is standing on the far right. Courtesy of Herb Margison




Transcript
The tank that we were on is all open at the top. There’s no top on it; and the gun is on the tank, and the barrel of the gun is nine feet long. It’s all open inside. And you have a rack, you have two racks on either side of where the tracks was, and you had your ammunition all piled up on there. And then we had a couple of cupboards in the tank for armour-piercing shells. And that was obviously locked, closed up. But all the other shells when we were firing, we never knew how many shells we were going to fire, so we got them all piled up. We maybe had 50 shells all piled up. And sometimes you have to take the caps off. The caps on the shell are screwed on and sometimes you have to leave the, sometimes they tell you when you’re firing, leave caps on or take caps off. So some of them we had caps off, most of them it’s the caps off because when the cap’s off, the shell when it hits, it’ll explode right away. But if you leave the shell, if you leave the caps on and you’re going into a house, the shells will hit a house, it’ll go through the house to the bricks, then it will explode. So thats to explain what’s happening inside your tank. In Holland, I remember you’re going through these villages and these farming places, you can stay in the farmer’s barn because there was six of us on the gun crew, and you never had six people during an operation. You maybe only had three on the tank and three resting, and maybe sleeping. We used to have to rest in these barns; the farmer would allow us to sleep in their barns. So we did that quite a bit, but most of the time, if there’s no barn, you’re sleeping in behind the tank on the ground, you’re sleeping in behind or you’d dig a slit trench and you’d maybe sleep individual in a slit trench. Dig a hole in the ground big enough to sleep in. [laughs] Not very comfortable, but we had to do that a few times. We had to do that. I remember one time when we were in, I think it was Belgium, and we were in a rest period; and we were to clean the guns and pull the barrel through, and clean all the metal parts off the barrel. I was sitting on top of the tank and I was writing a letter home; and there was a Polish outfit right alongside of us. They were in this field and a shell fell over, came over from Germany, and it hit this little wee water tank, a water truck. And the tire blew off the water truck and it flew right over top of my head, on top of my tank. So I had to rush down and I got in underneath my tank because the Germans had started to fire right after the rest period. So I thought after, we didn’t do any fire because our guns were all apart and we were cleaning them all. But, anyway, only the one incident happened. So, but that was a pretty scary thing when that happened. Another time I was in Holland. I was on the gun and the orders came down for a barrage; and there was only a couple of us on the gun. The rest of the soldiers in our tank was in this here barn, sleeping. This was pitch black at night. I ran in to get them and when I ran into the barn, I hit a clothesline wire on my neck and I still have that scar here, to wake the fellows up. And as soon as I ran into the barn, they asked me, one of the soldiers hollered at me. What happened to you, you’ve got blood all on your neck. I said, oh, I hit a clothesline on the way in. Oh, I said, okay, you’d better get back out on the guns; they’re calling for a barrage to come down. So, and then I went back and I never did get it looked at. I just put a rag around my neck or something, and that was it.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

One of a series of picture postcards published shortly after WW2 in the Netherlands. It shows a Sherman Hybrid IC of the Canadian Army and is captioned "Demonstration of allied weapons". This is likely "Commodore" shown above.

Mr Carel Kramer (1883-1957) made this photo in Rotterdam, during one of many demonstrations by the Canadian Army during May - September 1945, to show the men & machines that had brought peace to the small country. It was part of the activities which helped to forge the everlasting bond between the Canadian and Dutch people.


Source: https://www.prentbriefkaarten.info/b...ramer-sr-en-jr

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Sherman V "Chief". Date: May 1945, shortly after the liberation of The Netherlands. Unit and Location unknown.

Anthony Sewards noted: "Canadian 3 Rivers Regiment, and a M4 Sherman 1B following"

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Staghound in Amsterdam, May 1945.