War Cemeteries, some pictures I wish to share

[Alex van de Wetering]

Over the years I have visited quite a few war cemeteries and on this historic day I decided to share a few of the pics I took.

pictures attached were taken on the Bergen op Zoom Canadian war Cemetery (Holland)

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

Bergen op Zoom Commonwealth War Cemetery....right beside the Canadian War cemetery.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Holten Canadian War Cemetery (Holland)

[Alex van de Wetering]

Bayeux Commonwealth War Cemetery

[Alex van de Wetering]

Oosterbeek Commonwealth War Cemetery (Holland)

[Alex van de Wetering]

Overloon Commonwealth War cemetery (Holland)

[Alex van de Wetering]

Reviers/Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery (Normandy France)

[Alex van de Wetering]

Adinkerke War Cemetery (Belgium)

This is both a WW1 and WW2 cemetery, where you will find Allied as well as German graves.....also BEF casualties of 1940 and Czechoslovak casualties of 1944.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Adegem Commonwealth War cemetery (Belgium)

[Alex van de Wetering]

Jerusalem Commonwealth War Cemetery....no not in Jersusalem, but close to Tilly-sur Seulles Normandy.

That's it for now....will post more pictures when I can free some time.

[Phil Waterman]

Your photos brought to mind two sentiments Lest We Forget and Not In Vain which come to mind each Memorial Day and Veterans Day, in the US May 31 and November 11th.

The May 31st has gotten rather flexible in the US with towns and cities having commemorative events and parades over three weekends. Yesterday Sunday 6th was when my small town could get the band and marching units to take part in our small parade.

While our small town had a number of men serve in WWII only 3 died during the war. These men are recognized each year by name during the ceremonies as are any of those who served who have died during the last year. This year the reading of the list of those who had died was particularly poignant as the last native son of the town to serve in WWII has died.

Thank you for sharing the photos

[Little Jo]

Alex

Thank you for posting all the wonderful photographs. We must never forget the sacrifice made by those who gave so much. During one of my many visits back to Holland I have only visited one War Cemetery, The one in Oosterbeek and found it very moving.

Today is the 07.06/2011, the day after D Day and I don't recall seeing anything in the paper or on the TV News reminding us of that historic WW2 day. How quickly people forget and the young ones don't know, or care.

Tony

[Haridimos]

Leros War Cemetery. More for the Battle of Leros Here.

*

*The first photo was taken before a few days and the second one is from wiki.

[jack neville]

I did a tour of the Western Front a few years ago and stopped to look at a few cemeteries, but it wasn't till I did a guided tour from Ypres in Belgium that I understood the significance of the layout of the headstones. It gave me a whole new appreciation of the importance of the cemeteries. Especially when you see the headstones situated around the edge of the perimeter and the headstones that are positioned touching each other. Seeing those makes you stop and think. There is a set of five headstones in the Alemein Cemetery in Egypt that has five stones together. It means five men died at the same time in the same place so they are buried side by side. Maybe from a shell burst or a tank crew or something similar but understanding the way the cemeteries are laid out and seeing the different headstones in different positions is really moving at times.

[Bruce MacMillan]

I had the fortune to do a tour of Canadian cemeteries & memorials in France & Belgium last year with Norm Christie. It was the most educational & moving trip I had done. It wasn't like reading a book or watching tv, you were actually there with the fallen, in many places where they fell.

What I noticed was the large number of school kids from France, Belgium & England that were there learning this history. I wish our schools taught more about our military history. But I guess it's still not PC.

Here's a link to my photos of the trip.
https://picasaweb.google.com/BruceM0...eat=directlink

click on thumbnails to enlarge

[jaap de wit]

Here are some pictures of the war cemeteries in the el alamein perimeter.
I visited the museum and cemetery in 2008.
We must never forget the sacrifice made by those who gave so much.
I think these les known places, like the desert war and the far east war cemeteries must not be forgotten.
I hope buy showing these pictures of the desert war cemeteries and later the burma railroad cemetery, we remember those men.

jaap

[jack neville]

Your photos above show the five headstones i was referring to.

[jaap de wit]

As I said before here are some pictures of the cemetary in kanchanaburi thailand, this is near the bridge over the river kwai. on this cemetary are men from 6 different country's buried (some 1100 dutch are there to).
As you can see they are taken care of ferry well. As I walked arround I saw a some graves with the same last names as mine (at home I asked my familie and they where not related) The first picture of mr: M.P. de Wit was a engineer in the dutch navy, the same as me, is'nt that spooky to come across. I followed the railroad to the end by train and then you get a idear of the great scale they were working on. Also don't forget the asian workers who died working next to the P.O.W's. we most rember them to

jaap

[Alex van de Wetering]

Attached are some pictures from a few weeks ago. The area around Calais is packed with bunkers and fortifications, including the remains of the cross Channel guns and hide-outs for the Railway cannons, also able to propell shells across to the UK. The Canadians were in charge of silencing these guns, some of which stayed active right to the end.

Calais Canadian War Cemetery. The War cemetery is actually right opposite a famous service station "Site des deux caps" along the freeway.

Alex

[Dean (Ajax)]

I have been to a few of those, and Many more, they are Very Moving, and truly bring home the cost of War.

Dean

[Alex van de Wetering]

I was in the Nijmegen area today and decided to pay a visit to the Jonkerbos War Cemetery. Dean; your comment says it all.....very moving.

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

I visited the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery yesterday. I was surprised by the number of casualties with dates from July 1945!


Groesbeek is to the south-east of Nijmegen...very close to the German border. During Market Garden the 82nd US Airborne landed in Groesbeek.

Alex

[maple_leaf_eh]

Some troops get involved in crime.

A friend of mine who has been the longtime archivist for the Canadian Military Engineer Association told a story about an inquiry he received. It seems an Engineer died in Holland and the family didn't know why. So he researched. Well, he was shot dead by military police after attempting to rape a Dutch civilian. How do you tell the family? So, he hedged the story that the MPs were involved, the honour of civilian was involved, there was no enemy action, and the soldier had died relating to the woman's honour.

(If you are reading this story for the first time and know what I am talkng about - story for breaking the news.)

[Robert Bergeron]

gents,

I am going to France and Holland end of April and early May for VE Day celebrations. Could you tell me what are in your opinion the essential not to miss and have to visit Canadian sites in France and Holland please ?

I do not have that much time so i will have to choose.

Thank-you very much.

Robert

[Alex van de Wetering]

Robert,

Well "not to miss" is a personal thing, I guess. I would say Bernieres-sur-Mer and the Falaise/Vimoutiers (Tiger 1 as monument) area in Normandy. The huge bunkers near Calais (Wissant, Cap griz nez, cap blanc nez), Scheldt area in Belgium/Holland and in Holland maybe Holten, Rijssen, Nijverdal.

Alex

[Jes Andersen]

Alex, Thank you for posting these pictures. I was fortunate to have visited many of those places with a group of my friends several years ago. It was, a most humbling experience to say the least. On behalf of a friend, I located the resting place of one of the Regina Rifles, who was captured and executed. According to my friend, no one from her family had ever visited his grave and I was the first. Sad, that it should have taken so many years for us to come to visit him. RIP John Sawatzky, Regina Rifles, Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetary.

Lest We Forget

[Robert Bergeron]

Thank-you Alex,

In the past , I have mostly visited battlefields because of my Staff College studies, this time i will concentrate on cemetaries and your pictures convinced me. Thanks for the good work.

I am particularly interested in the one in Bretteville sur Laize commune de Cintheaux. A good friend of mine from the Legion has his father buried there. Soldat Donati from le Régiment de la Chaudière..

As i am myself a former member of Le Régiment de la Chaudiere i owe it to my friend Réal ( Donati ) to pay a visit.

But i have never visited Holland before so it is a bit intimidating for me . I do not know were to start . That's why i was asking. I think i will stick to Holten and then go back another year just to visit Holland . it is a must.

Best regards.

Robert

[Jon Skagfeld]

Robert:

From the Bretteville-sur Laize cemetery, an experienced guide can point out the position of Radley-Waters tank troop vice the Northhamptonshire Yeomanry both of whom claim the kill. I know you also have an interest in the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment. If you wish to pursue this I'd suggest you beg, borrow, buy Norm Christie's "Battlefield Mysteries", Episode 1 named "Who killed Michael Wittman?". Then you can decide which force blew Wittman's tank apart.(Hint: Radley-Waters was 400 yds away, the Yeomanry were 1200 yds away.)

WRT the Chauds, at Juno Beach there is an upright plaque showing a Platoon of Chauds leaving from the beach down a road. Then there is shown the same picture from the same location in modern times. A perfect Then and Now vignette.

I'd highly recommend a tour guide by bus. Driving a rental, unless you have a good navigator with you, will drive you nuts. Besides, some items of interest are very much out of the way, known only to locals and tour guides.

Bonne chance!

[Jon Skagfeld]

Originally Posted by jack neville

I did a tour of the Western Front a few years ago and stopped to look at a few cemeteries, but it wasn't till I did a guided tour from Ypres in Belgium that I understood the significance of the layout of the headstones. It gave me a whole new appreciation of the importance of the cemeteries. Especially when you see the headstones situated around the edge of the perimeter and the headstones that are positioned touching each other. Seeing those makes you stop and think. There is a set of five headstones in the Alemein Cemetery in Egypt that has five stones together. It means five men died at the same time in the same place so they are buried side by side. Maybe from a shell burst or a tank crew or something similar but understanding the way the cemeteries are laid out and seeing the different headstones in different positions is really moving at times.

Speaking of five headstones: in a German Cemetary (the one where Michael Wittman and his crew are buried), the name of which escapes me right now, are rows of crosses in black stone all in five unit groups. The peculiar thing is that the middle cross is larger and higher than the two beside it. Nobody seemed to be offer an explanation as to their significance.

Edit: Just remembered...it's La Cambe German cemetary.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

But i have never visited Holland before so it is a bit intimidating for me . I do not know were to start . That's why i was asking. I think i will stick to Holten and then go back another year just to visit Holland . it is a must.

Robert,

Take a look at traces of war, AFAIK the most comprehensive listing of what can be seen in the Netherlands.
Let me know the dates when you are over and we'll try to meet up. As for cemetaries, I would put Groesbeek in the list. There is a museum there too, as well as museums and cemetaries in Arnhem/Oosterbeek and Overloon.

Hanno