'Joe's Bridge'-Memorial gone?

We paid a very interesting visit to the area of 'Joe's Bridge'. the start point of Operation 'Market Garden'. Unfortunately, we could find no trace of the Irish Guards' memorial on the north bank of the canal and it seemed to have been replaced by a slightly naff information board, only in Dutch, featuring a picture of a British paratrooper! Using a photo in my old edition of Holts' Market Garden guide we think that we identified the cobbled base of the memorial, now occupied by what appears to be an electrical junction-box.

 

Is this the memorial that appears to be missing?



Found a photo on the Traces of War website. Here is a link to the page with more details.

http://en.tracesofwar.com/article/1142/Memorial-Joes-Bridge-Lommel.htm

 

Mark

One thing I have learned in a fairly long life it is that nothing is forever !

I'm sure that other members can supply a pic of the original memorial so that we can see what it looked like.

Ron

 

The Dutch website photo I found and Paul Reed's website photo of the memorial are completely different. I'd be interested to know which is the correct one. One is in a field, the other is below the bridge. The wording on the signs appears identical.

 

There seems to be a bit of confusion in the last post between the Liberation Route marker and the Irish Guards' memorial, which we failed to locate. The photos and map are of the Liberation Route marker. The information panel near the bridge on the north bank was a generic one, featuring a cartoon-like drawing of a German soldier and a British Para, which I have subsequently seen elsewhere, e.g. at Oosterbeek. I can heartily recommend the café near the bridge on the south side ('The Bridge Watcher'). Although the friendly waiter had only limited English he explained the history of the building and its role in the capture of 'Joe's Bridge' to us as we tucked into a very welcome bowl of home-made soup and delicious bread after a fairly hairy journey from Ieper.

 

The memorial on my website disappeared last year and has seemingly been replaced with the new one, which wasn't in place when I was last there earlier this year. Hopefully back there soon to update the site.

 

He doesn't look a bit like Michael Caine although I now get what Edward Fox was saying about his dress sense at the OMG briefing

 

Photos of the current information board with 'Joe's Bridge' in the background and what we assumed (correctly) was the original base of the Irish Guards' memorial beside it. Compare with DBf's picture of the site a few years ago.

 

The bridge keeper's house on the south side of 'Joe's Bridge' today and in a pre-war photograph displayed in what is now the very nice 'Den Brugwachter' restaurant. We were slightly disappointed to learn that it was still the bridge keeper's house in September 1944 and not the cafe in which Captain R.D. Hutton had a drink after dismantling the explosive charges on the bridge!

 

I visited the bridge during the week commencing 29th July, and the site of the memorial caused some confusion.

The Irish Guards Memorial and the Liberation Route plaque have been moved to the other side of the canal. They are now off a track which runs from the main road towards the canal, very nearly opposite the restaurant. However, it's very easy to miss them, as from the road they don't really look as if they're monuments. The memorial is attached to a large stone and isn't visible as you look at it from the road.

 

Just a few comments on your summary:

So the 'junction box' pictured in Then & Now images remains in its original location:

Yes.

the old IG memorial has been demolished, the original panel has been moved and tarted up in a new plinth (minus the badge which is apparently a target for souvenir hunters) and placed next to a Liberation Route marker, (location as per earlier link/attachments);

Yes.

and the original site now has a new (generic?) info board, in Dutch, in front of the junction box, which is about an operation which kicked off a week after the bridge was seized.

I'm not sure, as I only saw this area from the road.

I hope this helps.

 

No problems - if I knew how to, i'd post a photo .... !

 

Hello, I live not so far away from 'Joe's Bridge' and reading these posts I took these photograpfs last saturday to help solve the problem of the location of the memorial.
Comming from Lommel (B) and driving into the direction of Valkenswaard (NL) you will find the IG memorial on the right hand of the road in a communal park with pond, just before the last turn to the bridge. It is easy to take pictures of the memorial together with the bridge in the background.
Hope I could help.
Greetz, RobMcRoy.

Hereafter the links to the pics:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1270887_10201444630351914_231399708_o.jpg

https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1233339_10201444633391990_1966604177_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1277718_10201444634912028_439003692_o.jpg

https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/644056_10201444638352114_1664184058_n.jpg