In what was becoming something of
an annual excursion Owen and I had planned another weekend on the continent
with both military history and music on the itinerary.
Yet another old punk band was due
to play at the ‘Eurorock Festival’ in Neerpelt in Belgium. The timing could not
have been better since the ‘Fragmented Military History’ website had progressed
considerably such that I had left Normandy and the 59th
(Staffordshire) Division behind and was now immersed in the actions of the
Polar Bears in Belgium and Holland.
The town of Breda was to be our
base for the next three days from where we would drive in each and every
direction in order to visit Turnhout, Wuustwezel, Roosendaal, Arnhem, Nijmegen,
Bemmel, Haalderen and Walcheran. A check on the mileometer upon arriving back
in London told us that we had clocked up no less than two thousand miles over
the three days, mostly in the Netherlands (no mean feat in a country so
small!).
Whilst we were planning to see a punk band (Killing
Joke, were anyone to be remotely curious) our chosen base was this weekend
hosting the annual Breda Jazz Festival. Now I fully appreciate that when it
comes to musical taste it is definitely a case of ‘each to their own’. But
without a doubt both Owen and I side with Johnny Rotten over Johnny Dankworth!
So when a well-meaning waitress in the breakfast room on day two suggested that
we were here for the jazz we were a little put out! Casting an eye over the
finger poppin’ jazz aficionados of northern Europe that were at that time
sharing the restaurant, it was clear to the two of us at least that a wide gulf
existed between us and them. Nevertheless in a middle aged punk rock style we
corrected her and complimented the chef on the quality of his scrambled eggs.
How times have changed!
Caught unawares in a lift finger
clicking and ‘extolling the joy of jazz!’
On our first venture out on our first full day of
touring was the town of Turnhout. Strangely enough this was not our first visit
to this town in the far north of Belgium. Back in April 2011 the two of us in
the company of another couple of fans had stayed in Turnhout in order to see The Stranglers play in the town. The band had
arranged a five day acoustic tour of Belgium and Holland of which we planned to
witness three, Turnhout, Zaandamn and Lessines.
Now Turnhout is a small place, but locating our
apartment took over an hour. I am happy to say that the concert was very
enjoyable but after the show we headed out of town in the direction of the
band’s hotel with a view to grabbing a late beer with them. Within minutes of
us setting off, the band’s mini-bus speed past us and the ever truculent bass
player took the time to hurl some choice words of abuse at us as they passed
(it’s nothing personal, we were on the guest list after all!).
In 2011 I had no idea that this place had any significance
to my own family history. All I felt at the time was a sense of frustration as
we repeatedly failed to locate our apartment after several traverses of the
town. The realisation that my Grandfather was a liberator of the town was a few
years off!
Grote Markt in Turnhout on a damp and dreary May afternoon (top)
Grote Markt as seen on a postcard sent by my Grandfather from Turnhout in September 1944 (bottom)
Next up was Wuustwezel, another difficult place name
for linguistically challenged Britons such as ourselves. Having said that in
the spirit of our forebears who renamed Ypres as Wipers and Foucquevillers as Funkyvillers,
Wuustwezel was rechristened to a very anglicised ‘Worst Weasel’…. no offence
intended towards our Belgian neighbours, it just made navigation much easier!
Having reached the town as usual we made for the
cemetery and here were located the first 11th R.S.F. graves that I
had seen since the Fontenay-le-Pesnel cemetery the previous year.
Nine Polar Bears lie in the
churchyard of Wuustwezel
During the fighting to liberate Wuustwezel between
20th and 23rd October 1944, 108 British servicemen were
killed in action or died of wounds received. Of these men 98 wore the Polar
Bear insignia of the 49th (West Riding) Division.
The fallen are commemorated by a memorial erected to
their memory in Liberation Square, Wuustwezel. The monument carries the
following inscription that attests to their heroic deeds:
‘In this area, the German counter-attacks of 21st
and 22nd October 1944 were halted by the 49th (West
Riding) Infantry Division. The people of Wuustwezel express gratitude to their
liberators’.
At the unveiling ceremony on 21st October
1984, the Burgomaster of Wuustwezel, Jos Ansoms said this of the monument and
what it represents, ‘It is a sober monument, sober and simple as the lads of
whom it reminds us. It is convincing and dignified like the British military
that are remembered. Constructed in a “V”, it represents victory but also
peace, freedom and friendship’.
The Wuustwezel memorial is now recognised as the
principal site of remembrance to the Polar Bears in Belgium. Whilst less
imposing than its cousin in Fontenay-le-Pesnel, its understated simplicity
makes it every bit as moving. The aforementioned sober simplicity of this
construction of brick and stone surmounted with a stylised French limestone
sculpture of a Polar Bear contrasts starkly with the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft
gun that also occupies the site, a contribution of the Polar Bear Association
in 2009.
Views of the Wuustwezel memorial to The Polar Bears
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