Fresh off the Beveland Peninsula
and a little wind burned we next headed to Roosendaal as we continued our Polar
Bear trail. With not much time to spend in this city our visit was intended to
be something of a ‘hit and run’ to the Polar Bear memorial before heading out
of town. This would have been the case had the navigator (i.e. me) had the
foresight of planning and noted down the location of this memorial in advance.
As it was after completing several circuits of the central streets of the town
we were on the verge of admitting defeat when we came across its location quite
by accident.
Compared to the quiet dignity of
the memorial at Wuustwezel, the monument in Roosendaal is rather disappointing.
Sited in a small square at the intersection of Tufberg and Kade, the
inscriptions on the plinth have suffered at the hands of the elements and the
poor old Polar Bear that looks out across Roosendaal would benefit from the brief
attention of a sand blaster. The burger van parked up against the base did
nothing to enhance the moment. Nevertheless, none of these cosmetic flaws in
any way detract from the significance of the memorial to the people of the
city.
The
inscription on the monument, translated from Dutch reads:
TO
COMMEMORATE THE
LIBERATION
OF ROOSENDAAL
ON 26 -
30 OCTOBER 1944
BY THE
POLAR BEAR DIVISION
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