Locations
1249 to 1272 of 2385 results
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Efeze
Efeze
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Aylvapoldermill Burgwerd
Aylvapoldermill Burgwerd
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Botter Bornrif Sailing Trips
Botter Bornrif Sailing Trips
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Vakantiehuisje Gaasterland
Vakantiehuisje Gaasterland
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Galerie Skarsterlân
Galerie Skarsterlân
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Flietsterbosk Forest
Flietsterbosk Forest
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The White Lake
The White Lake
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Skydiving Ameland
Skydiving Ameland
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Zijda Yachting - Jordy Elite
Zijda Yachting - Jordy Elite
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Wieuwerd
Wieuwerd
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Makkum War Memorial
Makkum War Memorial
By 16 April, the major part of Friesland had been liberated. But some important targets of the Canadians had not yet been achieved. They wanted to win the Frisian ports and the Head of the Afsluitdijk from the Germans as quickly as possible. But they would be hard fought. Both the ports and the Afsluitdijk were used by German soldiers to escape to North Holland.
As elsewhere in Friesland, the Canadians were helped by resistance fighters from the Dutch Domestic Armed Forces (N.B.S.) They suffered several casualties near Makkum. On 16 April, Schelte Bruinsma and Simon Sipma were killed in an attack on a farm in which the Germans had entrenched themselves. The next day, another group tried to occupy a bridge under Makkum. However, the Germans caught sight of them and in the ensuing gunfight, Rinnert Anema, Roelof van der Meer and Hendrik Postma were killed. Makkum was liberated on 18 April, as one of the last villages in Friesland.
The monument at the Buren in Makkum was unveiled in 1952 in commemoration of the members of the Dutch Domestic Armed Forces who were killed around the village during the struggle for liberation.
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Kampeerboerderij Hettinga
Kampeerboerderij Hettinga
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Zijda Yachting - Condor
Zijda Yachting - Condor
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Wellekom Watersport - Motorjacht Escape
Wellekom Watersport - Motorjacht Escape
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Ambush at Oldeholtpade
Ambush at Oldeholtpade
On 12 April, the bridge over the Tjonger in Mildam fell into the hands of the Royal Canadian Dragoons reconnaissance regiment. Because the occupier had blown up many other bridges, the Canadians attached great importance to preserving this bridge for the crossing of other Canadian units. That is why dozens of armoured cars, mobile artillery guns and numerous other vehicles were sent to Mildam that day to reinforce the bridgehead over the Tjonger.
In one of those armoured cars, a Staghound, was 24-year-old Trooper Wilfred Robert George Berry from Ontario. The young Canadian had volunteered for military service in Europe. And had already fought with the Royal Canadian Dragoons in Italy. At the end of February 1945, they were transferred to Northwest Europe.
For Berry, the war ended in Friesland. In Oldeholtpade, on the road to Wolvega, his vehicle drove into an ambush along with at least one other Staghound. In the vicinity of a broken-down German car, German soldiers had hidden with Panzerfausts. The Panzerfaust was a very powerful and easy-to-use anti-tank weapon. The first shot missed, but the second projectile hit the front Staghound, on the side where driver Wilfred Berry was sitting at the time.2 The Staghound went off the road and overturned. The three other crew members got injured, but were able to leave the vehicle and took cover behind the second Staghound. One of them stated:
"[…]Flames burst through the turret, where the officer and I were half in and half out of the hatches. Any skin surface not covered was burned and the flames badly singed our eyebrows, eyelashes, moustaches and hands, sending me and the officer both wounded to the field hospital."3
Immediately after the first Staghound was hit, the second Staghound opened fire on the Germans. Seriously injured, Wilfred Berry remained in the vehicle. After about fifteen minutes of shooting back and forth, the other Staghounds retreated towards Oldeberkoop. The exact reason for this remains unclear. Berry was already dying and was briefly cared for by the elderly Andriesje Dekker-Oosterhof in the vehicle when the shooting had stopped. The tragedy had unfolded right in front of her house. He died in the wreck shortly afterwards.
Berry's remains were eventually transferred to the farm on "De Bult" in Oldeberkoop and buried there. After the war he would be reburied at the Canadian war cemetery in Holten. The other crew members were eventually able to return to their units after receiving medical treatment. The commander only had burns on his face.
The event made a deep impression on the inhabitants of Oldeholtpade. In 1945, a monument to Berry was erected. And in 1965, a street was named in his honour.
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Sophias
Sophias
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Het Landzicht
Het Landzicht
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Eetkavee Dikke Tút
Eetkavee Dikke Tút
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Ruigahuizen Bell Tower
Ruigahuizen Bell Tower
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Cultural and Historical Centre De Schierstins
Cultural and Historical Centre De Schierstins
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Beach Resorts Makkum
Beach Resorts Makkum
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Kitesurfschool KiteMobile
Kitesurfschool KiteMobile
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Easterwierum (Oosterwierum)
Easterwierum (Oosterwierum)
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Boerderij Kleurrijk, wonen, werk & vertier
Boerderij Kleurrijk, wonen, werk & vertier
