Who liberated Enschede, Holland ? Coldstream Guards

We visited Enschede in 2014 but no one appeared interested in the action.We enquired as to whether celebrations were taking place in 2015 for the 70th anniversary but nothing had been planned. Will there be any celebrations for 75th liberation?

 

I am the great nephew of 2665175 Guardsman Horace Thomas Bradbury 1st Bn. Coldstream Guards, He was my Granddad's youngest brother, and he was killed in the attack on the bridge over the Twente Canal on April 1st 1945. He was in Robert Boscawen's tank when it was blown up by German artillery. Horace is buried in Enschede and I plan to visit his grave. If anyone on here knows of any anniversary commemorations for next April could you please post them here.

 

Hi my Uncle Tom Twite was on the bridge that day 1st April 1945. he witnessed Robert Boscawens tank being blown up. He was a friend of Boscawen until his death. My Uncle and I visited Enschede 5 years ago and paid our respects to the fallen. He is now 97 and will do the trip again next year if something was being planned. But I am not aware of any celebrations. Read Boscawen's book the Armoured Guardsman.

 

Picture of grave taken 2014 I believe the one on the right is your great uncle Thomas Bradbury

 

Thanks for these posts Bob. I was planning to go to Enschede last year but I had to cancel due to illness. I've read "Armoured Guardsman", extraordinary that there should be an account from that particular campaign when you think how many Sherman's were in Western Europe at that time. The book contains a slight typo in that Horace Thomas is listed as N.T.Bradbury. There may well be something on next year as one of my cousins was contacted by an Enschede local looking for a photograph of him. One exists but we can't locate it at the moment, I think my mother may have it. No one from the family has been to his grave, his name is on the War Memorial in Stone, Staffs and the Bradbury family went to a Service at Westminster Abbey just after the War. My youngest sister Alison was born on April 1st, 1965, exactly 20 years to the day. Regards to your Uncle Tom too.

 

Bob, I've now heard from the organising committee in Enschede and there are several events on April 1st and May 4th and 5th celebrating the liberation. Also, extraordinarily, the Eridivisie match at Twente on April 5th v. Fortuna Sittard will also be commemorative event, with the players wearing special shirts. Hope you can make it, I'll be in Enschede for the first week of April, Best regards John

 

Hello Bob, and John, due to the corona virus we could only have a ceremony on small scale today (see movie on page here):
Herdenken in het klein: 75 jaar geleden werd Enschede bevrijd

 

Thank you for this, small scale but wonderfully well done. KLM still have my airfare, as soon as we are back to normal I will be over to visit Enschede and Horace, Best regards John and stay safe.
Special thanks to the young ladies, the one wearing the Twente scarf, and the one playing the violin

 

Found this map instructive as to who liberated Enschede:


Map courtesy of: Bevrijding van Oost- en Noord-Nederland - TracesOfWar.nl

The 43rd Wessex Div sidestepped through the western part of Enschede to enter Hengelo from the east.



On a side note the Polish 1st Armoured Division was brought up later from a reserve position in southwest Holland; the Poles assembled at Coevorden and started operations in NE Holland from 10 April onwards (see also: Operation Amherst: French SAS in Holland, April 1945).

 

I took this photo 2 weeks ago when I visited the cemetery.

 

I recently discovered a high-resolution copy of the original (without sound or comments) and uploaded it. The original video contains information per time-code, though I noticed that the information is incorrect. So I during my search for documents and reliable resources to correct the information, I came across this thread and decided to join the conversation.



I also found some high-quality images of the liberation of Enschede in our city-archive and can share them if you want.

The sherman tank and motorcycle in image named: NL-HaNA_2.24.01.03_0_900-2403.jpg are also on the video I mentioned at time 02:29.

 

Due to the coronavirus the planned commemorations were performed in a minimalist setting. However, there traditionally a commemoration ceremony organised every year. in addition to the ceremony in April, there’s also a ceremony on Christmas Eve when candles are placed at each grave.

 

Thank you for all of these. Another year ticks by with the Planet in absolute turmoil. I hope to make it over soon, be safe and stay safe, Best regards John

 

Book describing the Liberation of Enschede by the Guards Armoured Div on April 1st, 1945 (text is bilangual Dutch & English):



If anyone is interested in this book, do contact me per P.M.; I have a spare-copy.

 

I am the son of Cpl Leslie Sleight who served in the 1st Royal Dragoons. After crossing the Rhine at Rees, his squadron were ordered to head west and were involved in the liberation of Enschede and Hengelo. I am making arrangements currently to follow the route that his squadron took after crossing into France in July 1944 eventually ending up in Denmark on 4 May 2025 to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Danish liberation. This should have taken place in 2000 but Covid put a stop to it. My father was a keen photographer and having 'acquired' a working camera from a German soldier in Lubeck he took a number of photographs recording their entry into Denmark. Along the way he collected various notes of thanks and good wishes from the locals in both Holland and Denmark. I hope to be able to trace some of the dependents of theses families with whom he was billeted.
If you still have a spare copy of the book I would love to borrow this in time for my trip next year.
If anyone is interested in the details of the 1st Royal Dragoons journey through northern Europe I do have a transcript of the Colonel's newsletter which he issued in October 1945.

 

Patrick, were you able to find out which Regiment the man in photo 000413 was in? I'm trying to identify which Regiment wore a similar cap and was in Enschede from April 29, 1945 until July 19, 1945. Thanks for any assistance.....Pieter

 

Hi, Is there any mentioning in the book which Canadian regiments were posted in Enschede in the period 29 april - 19 July 1945

 

No, the focus of the book is on the British battle for the town.

 

Thank you for answering this query. It appears that the cap I was trying to identify was from the Canadian Kangaroo Regiment, so there is a bit of progress in the research quest.... Pieter