Locations
697 to 720 of 2324 results
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MFC it Joo
MFC it Joo
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It Flinkeboskje - Vakantiewoning het Voorhuis
It Flinkeboskje - Vakantiewoning het Voorhuis
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Zwem- en surfstrand Balk
Zwem- en surfstrand Balk
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Snowcentrum Leeuwarden
Snowcentrum Leeuwarden
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Hotel Workum - Panorama Suite
Hotel Workum - Panorama Suite
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Bed and Breakfast Kia Ora
Bed and Breakfast Kia Ora
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Outdoor Veldboom
Outdoor Veldboom
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Spokeplas Lake
Spokeplas Lake
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House Messingklopper
House Messingklopper
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Bed & Breakfast de Pastory
Bed & Breakfast de Pastory
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Tourist Information Makkum
Tourist Information Makkum
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dbieb
dbieb
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Doppio Leeuwarden
Doppio Leeuwarden
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V.o.f. De Groede en Finistère
V.o.f. De Groede en Finistère
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Ooievaarsdorp 'De Graverij'
Ooievaarsdorp 'De Graverij'
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IJsbaan Balk
IJsbaan Balk
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Information point Langweer (Twirre Watersport)
Information point Langweer (Twirre Watersport)
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Memorial stone for Fallen Canadians
Memorial stone for Fallen Canadians
Sunday 15 April 1945, Friesland's official liberation day, was also the day Sneek welcomed the Canadian liberation forces. It had been an exciting day, and the Dutch Domestic Armed Forces (NBS) had fought quite a battle with the occupiers.
A day earlier, German troops had begun to withdraw from Sneek and the NBS had tried to hinder their retreat along the Leeuwarderweg as much as possible. Until a column of German parachute troops had entered the fray and forced the NBS to retreat.
The Waag building in the middle of the city centre was used as a weapons cache by the occupying forces during the war. To prevent it from falling into Allied hands, the fleeing troops set it on fire at around three o'clock on Sunday. Loud explosions and bangs resounded throughout the city for half an hour.
Once the enemy had left the city, the NBS operatives gathered at the HBS school for instructions and the distribution of weapons and armbands. They went into the city to round up traitors. Then, rumour had it that hundreds of German soldiers were on their way to Sneek from Lemmer. Immediately, fortifications were built at the Water gate.
Canadian units were alerted. They were now in possession of the latest defence plans for Sneek thanks to NBS intelligence and were advancing from Joure towards the town.
In the evening around half past seven, the first patrol of the Canadian infantry battalion Le régiment De La Chaudière rode into town with flame-throwers and machine guns. The German troops stayed away, and the full Canadian battalion followed.
Sneek was liberated, but freedom was not yet guaranteed as German troops tried to escape via the Afsluitdijk towards Friesland. The Canadian Regiment of the Queens Own Rifles moved through Sneek to the Afsluitdijk and fiercely fought at Wons. Six Canadian soldiers were killed. They were temporarily buried at Sneek General Cemetery. In 1946, they were reburied at the Canadian Field of Honour in Holten.
Canadian guests
While waiting to return to their homeland, hundreds of Canadian soldiers were lodged with families in Sneek for about five months. On 1 June, the Perth Regiment arrived in the town, which they temporarily renamed Stratford. They were involved in the liberation of Groningen. A committee was set up to entertain the soldiers with various activities. From dances to sailing competitions and special church services.Cordial ties developed between the liberators and the people of Sneek. And sometimes more than that. For Gordon C. Compton and Atty Bouma, one could even speak of "love at first sight". When the last soldiers return home at the end of November, Gordon decided to stay in the Netherlands. On 9 May 1946, he married Atty in Sneek. Not long after, Gordon and his "war bride" left for Canada.
Several monuments in the city recall the special bond with the Canadian military, which remains very close to this day.
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Façade stone wall
Façade stone wall
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Heavy shelling on Pingjum
Heavy shelling on Pingjum
After the liberation of Sneek on April 15, 1945, Canadian troops advanced to the Afsluitdijk. The Frisian resistance advised against the attack. It remembered the May days at the beginning of the war in 1940.
After the Canadians had been festively welcomed in Leeuwaren, it was important to advance quickly to Franeker to prevent the last escape option of the Germans over the Afsluitdijk and the IJsselmeer. The attack against the Afsluitdijk was launched from the southeast on 16 April, but the tanks of the Queens Own Rifles soon ran into the strong German defenses.
After that, the village of Wons was surrounded, but the Germans defended themselves very fanatically at Pingjum. There were many snipers and the Canadians were fired on from the farms. Allied fighters and artillery were deployed to break the German resistance. During the shelling, five farms went up in flames, six civilians, one Canadian and 46 Germans were killed. On April 18, 1945, the Canadians were able to report that the entire area had been cleared of enemies.
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Vakantiehuis in Gaastmeer
Vakantiehuis in Gaastmeer
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Op`t Skik
Op`t Skik
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B&B Rijsterbosch - Kamer Esdoorn
B&B Rijsterbosch - Kamer Esdoorn
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Museum 't Ponthús
Museum 't Ponthús
