Village near Ghent ~ How do I find the Liberators for Nov 11th?

Discussion in 'General' started by soren1941, Sep 22, 2009.

  1. soren1941

    soren1941 Living in Ypres

    Hi Chaps,


    My good friend John has been requested to try to find men that liberated this village in WW2 :

    Liberation of Londerzeel 4 september 1944

    I told John about my great connection with you guys and that you may be able to help
    , I have taken the liberty of posting part of the redacted (thank you MP's!) letter so that you get the gist:

    Who please can help us ?
    We are the veterans of wwII in Londerzeel-Malderenin Belgium
    we would like to find veterans who staid in our village during the liberation of Londerzeel 4 sept 1944
    and to infide someone ? for joining the remembrance of this during 11 november 2009
    i have some photographs (9) of british soldiers who stayed in this village.

    If we can't find any veterans alive of this liberation regiment
    Could we in any way have a delegation and on wich terms on the 11 november 2009 in Malderen ?



    Any Ideas?

    John has sent me numerous photos which I shall be putting on the forum
     
  2. idler

    idler GeneralList

    Ghent was liberated by 7 Armd Div but Londerzeel, being between Brussels and Antwerp, could have been liberated by Guards Armd or 11 Armd who liberated those cities respectively; 11 Armd being my favourite at the moment.

    It will be interesting to see if the photos will have any clues.
     
  3. At Home Dad (Returning)

    At Home Dad (Returning) Well-Known Member

    My Grandad was wounded out of the war, shot from one of the four church spires in the centre of Ghent while liberating the town. He had a few MG rounds through the legs, from through the sole of his foot to another through the knee. He was Queens Regt. He was gutted to be wounded - as a horse racing man, he felt like he fell at the final hurdle!

    I'd really like to know more about the liberation of Ghent, as he is no longer with us and I'd like to find the facts of that day

    What I would REALLY like to know too is where he stayed and with who for his recuperation. He stayed in Belgium for three months with a family. Had a fling with the 18 year old daughter too apparently! My grandmother found the family he was with - he stayed there for 3 months, near Ghent I think, but all that information has been lost


    Good luck with the project! Please keep updating the thread!


    all the best
     
  4. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    From The Guards Armoured Division, Verney:

    Pg 72
    Shortly before the advance started the original plan was changed, and the right boundary of the Second Army was moved so as to include Brussels. The Guards Armoured Division was, therefore, added to the XXXth Corps instead of starying south of the Seine under the VIIIth Corps. ANTWERP remained the principal strategic objective on account of the administrative importance of its vast port installations. GHENT was the chief tactical objective, as its capture was essential for holding off the large number of German troops who would be pinned down and cut off from Germany by the Anglo-American advance.
    Pg 81
    It had originally been planned to make a very big Airborne drop in the TOURNAI area in order to disorganize the stream of enemy troops who, it was expected, would be pouring east. Subsequently, as already narrated, Army boundaries were altered so as to swing the axes of advance more to the east. Since the 11th Armoured Division were already committed to ANTWERP and the 7th Armoured to GHENT, it became the task of the Guards Armoured to move on to BRUSSELS. The Airborne drop was cancelled, for the disintegration of the German forces on this line of advance was almost complete.


    Pg 85
    Histories of the Regiments in the Division may differ from time to time, but in one thing they are unanimous - the wonderful reception given to the troops when they reached BRUSSELS. One thought that there would be nothing bigger or better than the welcome extended by the French, but this was exceeded by the Belgians in all towns and villages, even those like ANTWERP and GHENT where German shells continued to fall for some days after the liberation. Those who remembered it could only compare it to Armistice Day in 1918, which to a certain extent it resembled.


    Pg 87
    South of the 11th Armoured Division, the 7th Armoured Division was overcoming the last resistance on the outskirts of GHENT and was about to enter the city. Stretched over a front of 80 miles facing west, this Division was engaged in holding off attacks from three fresh German Divisions, the 59th, 64th and 712th, supplemented by the efforts of many stragglers and small parties to get back to their homeland.
     
  5. soren1941

    soren1941 Living in Ypres

  6. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Most likely to be a 11th Armd Div unit as idler mentions, just reading their history & it says..

    'For the final drive on Antwerp the left route was to be the main road from Wolverthem....'

    The villages you mention are north of Wolverthem.
     
  7. idler

    idler GeneralList

    The Highlanders look like Seaforths - 51 Highland Div had 2nd and 5th Bns serving under them. I assume they were in the area at a later date.

    The only thing that stands out on the other troops are the Africa Stars; I wouldn't like to conclude they are 7 Armd Div just from that.
     
  8. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    G Coy 8RB & a Sqn of 3 RTR form 11th Armd advanced east to Willebroeck from Termonde (Dendermonde), looking at the map those villages you mention, Soren, are in a triangle formed by 11th Armd Div units.

    Breendonk was passed by 2 F & F Yeomanry, that village just being north of your 2.
     
  9. Rob Dickers

    Rob Dickers 10th MEDIUM REGT RA

    Soren
    Picture 6 is of gunners of the 10th Med Regt RA as seen by their flashes.
    Extract from the history;

    Liberation of Ghent: For this task the Division was bolstered by the attachment of 4th Armoured Brigade and 10th (Medium) Regiment, Royal Artillery, along with the Royals. These three units were already fighting north east of the Seine, which gave the Division a bridgehead for their advance onto Ghent. The advance began on 31st August, on a two brigade front, 4th Armoured Brigade and Royals on the right, with 22nd Armoured Brigade and 11th Hussars on the left, with the Queen's brigade in reserve. As the advance started, so did the rain and with only two bridges over which to cross traffic congestion immediately caused problems, with it taking 3rd RHA ten hours to cover just eighteen miles. However, once the Division was across the river, the speed of advance quicken and by 09:00 on 1st September, 11th Hussars were halfway to the Somme, encountering small groups of the enemy armed with machine guns and Panzerfausts which caused many casualties. The Inniskilling's made a run of 72 miles on the first day of the advance, encountering the first enemy roadblock after 19 hours, at Abancourt. This was duly cleared by the Rifle Brigade. The 4th Armoured Brigade reached the Somme on the 31st, only meeting scattered pockets of resistance on the way.
    Cheers
    Rob
     
  10. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Picture 6 is of gunners of the 10th Med Regt RA as seen by their flashes.

    Rob, you must have better eyes than me, I can't see a thing to ID them.
     
  11. Rob Dickers

    Rob Dickers 10th MEDIUM REGT RA

    Rob, you must have better eyes than me, I can't see a thing to ID them.

    Owen
    1st Can AGRA flash on front of jerkin (as my sig pic) RF flash on arm, only Can AGRA Arty unit involved.
    Rob
     
  12. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Buggered if I can see it Rob, all I can see is button holes.

    [​IMG]
     
  13. Rob Dickers

    Rob Dickers 10th MEDIUM REGT RA

    Owen
    2nd gunner from the left, with hands in pockets, zoom to right shoulder, would post but flicker us
    Cheers
    Rob
     
  14. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Attached Files:

  15. soren1941

    soren1941 Living in Ypres

    I must apologise, although stunning to look at I am really dumb....

    I presume I'd need to contact a regimental association, so which regiments would be appropriate to ask them if there are any veterans still in their ranks from the liberation of these villages?
     
  16. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Dunno Soren as we've yet to establish which ones were actually there.
    I given some ideas as to who was nearby but that's all.
     
  17. soren1941

    soren1941 Living in Ypres

  18. 51highland

    51highland Very Senior Member

    The Highlanders look like Seaforths - 51 Highland Div had 2nd and 5th Bns serving under them. I assume they were in the area at a later date.

    The only thing that stands out on the other troops are the Africa Stars; I wouldn't like to conclude they are 7 Armd Div just from that.


    51st HD were not there then, they went to take Le Havre with 49th Div.
    I think that they are 7th Seaforths (if they are Seaforths) of 15th Scottish Division, they were in Ghent with 7th Arm'd.
     
  19. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Isn't the mention of Ghent a red herring?
    Looking at the map these villages are miles away from Ghent as already been mentoned.
     
  20. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Isn't the mention of Ghent a red herring?
    Looking at the map these villages are miles away from Ghent as already been mentoned.

    The problem being there are 2 queries on this thread, Soren's for Londerzeel and AHD's for Ghent arising no doubt from the title ...
     

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