I learnt today that my grandmother's brother was in the airforce (or similar at least?) in WW2. We have some kind of small plaque we believe has come into our possession through him which features an image of a Nijmegen bridge with its name (mentions burg and waal) and the date '1936' on the front. He must have picked it up in the war? Have been searching the net for them with no luck. Its a heavy thing, seems to be brass. Terrible with measurements, so I'll say about half the size of a DVD case. I could be mistaken, it may have been given to my father differently, but he remembers little about how he recieved it and his father had not been to that area at all during the war or afterwards. Forgive my poor understanding of the war at this stage, but could someone please direct me to a good source of information about the happenings at this bridge? Also, has anyone got any idea where this plaque is from? I may be able to scan an image of it tomorrow if any of you are interested. Thanks, Sasha
Hi and welcome. I found this thread on the forum that may interest you. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/nw-europe/11927-nijmegen-bridge-1944-a.html
Hi Sasha, A photo would be great and save a lot of explanation. Put a CD cover together with it when you scan or take a photo. Cheers Geoff
Thanks for the link, here are the images: Front: Back: Seems to have been attached to something at some point. Size: (yep, I remembered it larger! Quite small, really.)
It shows the Railway Bridge over the river Waal. That seems so obvious now, I hadn't realised 'Waal' was the name of the river. Thanks.
Yes and 1936 was the year in wich the roadbridge was opened. It could be related to that. Maybe it depicts the roadbridge but then the picture is not totally correct?? Ron..
Yes and 1936 was the year in wich the roadbridge was opened. It could be related to that. Maybe it depicts the roadbridge but then the picture is not totally correct?? Ron.. Haha, confusing! I get what you mean, though. Thanks for your help. I still think my grandmothers brother Edward Ramsey must have picked it up while there in the war!
Really good no-one made a remark about the DVD yet. We are getting more serious ;-). Aye, what's wrong with Wicked the musical? :p
Mr thinks it is supposed to be the road bridge as it shows the bridge with the city in the background as if taken from the NE side of the river. The same shot of the rail bridge would have the power station in the background. How much of the land has been reclaimed since 36 as I know the Rhine has been narrowed and various barriers put in place to help control the current.