The legacy of good will between the people of the Netherlands and Canada is a story of friendship and kindness.  Enjoy the story of the 8th Hussars and their role in nurturing good will during and after the end of World War Two.

War was declared by the United Kingdom against Germany on September 3, 1939, and the Battle of the Atlantic would began the same day. One week later Canada followed the United Kingdom and declared war against Germany. This dangerous threat from the U boats began on September 3, 1939 with the sinking of the              SS Athenia from the torpedoes of a German U Boat. The Athenia had approximately 1,400 passengers and crew onboard and the death toll was 117 passengers and crew. There were American citizens on board at the time of the sinking.

World War II was the first conflict to employ the use of night fighter operations and this led to a number of types of aircraft being used, different radar types being used and different tactics being used as the war progressed. Very early in the war when RAF Bomber Command chose to bomb civilian targets the Luftwaffe had one goal which was to "search and destroy". 

1940-1941                                                                                                                                                          

Canada had nothing in the way of an Army Force prior to World War I or World War II. Because we did not have any armed forces the Canadian Governments of the time and our military minds of the time scrambled to find equipment and men.

                                                                                                             WORLD WAR I

A HALIFAX BOMBER CREW OF WORLD WAR II

I urge all of you to read the following and then watch the video produced by the Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial at former RAF base Elvington. The video is titled The Last Flight of Halifax L 9561 and can be found on You Tube.

Canada sent a total of 418,606 men overseas and in comparison hospitalizations numbered 539,690. Battle casualties numbered 144,606 with hospitalizations for various diseases numbering 395,084 and this number included more than one hospitalization for a soldier. This was a period prior to there being any effective antibiotics. Minor illnesses of today were rampant in World War I and are mostly eliminated today. A soldier could be way from his unit for weeks or months in WWI.

THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN

While the war in Europe was being fought, the American President Franklin Roosevelt was well aware of the training taking place in Canada and it led him to remark that Canada "was the aerodrome of democracy".

During the war years of 1939-45 Canada for the most part was many thousands of miles from the European battlegrounds. 

I hope you are all well.
As you probably remember, the Dutch people commemorate the fallen of the Second World War on Monday 4 May during National Remembrance Day (Dodenherdenking).
The village of Hoogland that you visited last year, was liberated 75 years ago by the Canadian forces in April 1945.
Today, we unveiled a plaquard mentioning Pte. James Jamieson and four other Canadian soldiers who died in Hoogland, in the eve of the war.