Hi Stolpi, The Heelsum Monument started off with all genuine items from the Battle for Arnhem... I have photo some place showing Para helmets and some other things but slowly they started to disappear over time... Cheers Tom
Maybe someone could add some more info as to what kind of equipment is used for the monument. The center piece of the monument is a 6-pounder anti-tank gun. Hello Stolpi, The white parts of the monument, ie the uprights, crossbar and the "wall" in front of the gun are made from supply containers which were picked up by the locals from the area after the battle. I have a booklet which tells the story of the monument and its restoration in 1994. Tom is right about the helmets. When it was first erected there were helmets along the crossbar and also a couple of Lee Enfield rifles which have long since been "removed" . I have attached a couple of pics of the old monument and a pic of the bookklet I mentioned. All the best...............
Hello Stolpi, The white parts of the monument, ie the uprights, crossbar and the "wall" in front of the gun are made from supply containers which were picked up by the locals from the area after the battle. I have a booklet which tells the story of the monument and its restoration in 1994. Tom is right about the helmets. When it was first erected there were helmets along the crossbar and also a couple of Lee Enfield rifles which have long since been "removed" . I have attached a couple of pics of the old monument and a pic of the bookklet I mentioned. All the best............... It are not the original containers anymore, they were rusted and replaced by newly made lookalikes. The original containers came from the crossing wolfhezerweg/amsterdamseweg. Ron
Is it known to which unit the 6-pounder on the monument belonged to. It stood alongside the Utrechtseweg between the Monument and Kievitsdel Restaurant. So, a few hundred meters to the east. Don't know what unit. Ron...
Thanks Stolpi....!!! Here the old view from the Westerbouwing with the Gasworks. you see the tower in the center of the photo. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=279&pictureid=4302