Verslag van John "Dixie" Dean van het Britse Leicester Regiment (onderdeel van de Polar Bear Divisio...

Verslag van John "Dixie" Dean van het Britse Leicester Regiment (onderdeel van de Polar Bear Division), over een tragedie in Lage Vuursche, kort na de bevrijding. John Dean had de bewaking over het munitiedepot in de Lage Vuursche. Elf dagen later, toen de Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders e.e.a. overnamen van de Engelsen, waren er nog steeds Duitsers in het gebied aanwezig Tragedy after Victory - Hilversum May 10th 1945 A memory from John ‘Dixie’ Dean - The Leicestershire Regiment On Saturday May 5th 1945, the 1st Battalion of The Leicestershire Regiment were in the area of Lunteren in Holland. Here we received a visit from our very popular ex CO, Lt.Col PAB Wrixon. He enjoyed a very warm welcome from the men who had served under him at Hickley, the East Coast and Purley. On Monday, May 7th, we moved off from Lunteren and after a staying halt arrived at Hilversum on May 9th. As we arrived the roads were lined with German troops who we had been up against in our journey across Holland. It seemed strange to see so many Germans without having to put up a fight! Their transport consisted mainly of horse drawn carts and wagons, which looked very ancient at the side of ours which had been brought up to scratch. On our arrival in the town, we were literally mobbed by an almost delirious crowd. Very quickly their hospitality was in evidence and in a short time the battalion was comfortably housed. Support Company took over the local school, the playground of which was soon filled with our tracked and wheeled vehicles. The Germans had robbed the population of almost everything and people were starving. Higher authority had realised this and as soon as the ceasefire had been announced, trucks laden with food had been rushed to all parts of Holland. The enemy was by now being rounded up and sent to concentration areas to be relieved of their weapons and searched. On May 10th, we began the task of disarming the German troops in our area. We found that they belonged to the Herman Goering Parachute Division with whom we had several battles. The disarming area was in a field, a couple of miles outside Hilversum. In the happy circumstances, tragedy now overtook the battalion. As the Germans came on to the field, they first of all dumped their rifles and small arms, supervised by Support Company, and then moved on to further dump of machine guns and mines. Then they moved across the field to the dump of signal and other equipment. My platoon had orders to make the Germans do all the work. After a short time a horse drawn closed cart with a door at the back, came onto the field. I went to the back of it. The driver said that it was bread rations for the German troops. I made him open the rear door and found that it was indeed half full of bread. He seemed in a hurry to close the door, which made me suspicious, so I made him get the bread out. No wonder he had acted strangely, as under the bread I found a wooden box some 18” square, full of revolvers, mainly Lugers! I took the box, allowed him to replace the bread and sent him on his way. I went back to where my men were working. No sooner had I got there than a very large lorry pulling a trailer came onto the field. I went over to it and directed the driver to the off-loading point. The lorry was carrying mainly mines and shells. A company of foot soldiers has also come onto the field, so I went over to them. No sooner had I got there than there was a terrific bang. I was blown off my feet together with several Germans who were stacking their rifles. I got up thankfully unhurt and dashed over to the lorry, which had been blown on its side together with the trailer. I found a crater about six feet deep and some four yards wide. I set the survivors, who were all dazed, to work to extricate the wounded. Sadly there were very few. After a roll call it was found that 11 men of the Mortar Platoon and 2 men of the Anti-Tank Platoon were missing, believed killed. A number of Germans were also killed. Only one of the Mortar Platoon, Pte Jack Knight, had survived but he was very badly wounded, as was Sgt Gosling. As far as Knight could tell us, a German off loading from the back of the lorry, was seen to throw a Teller mine, usually used to blow the tracks off tanks, onto the pile of mines which had already been unloaded. This mine, or the one it hit, must have had a fuse in it causing it to explode on landing. If it had not been fused, it is very unlikely that it would have exploded. This theory was borne out by a Sergeant ammunition examiner, who arrived at the scene shortly afterwards. It was impossible to be more accurate as the German who had thrown the mine was also killed. Whether it was thrown intentionally to cause casualties or not, or realising whether it was armed, will never be known. After this unfortunate happening, a feeling of gloom came over everyone, particulary the men of the Mortar Platoon who had lost so many of the comrades. They had travelled together all the way from the beaches of Normandy without a scratch and then, two days after it was all over, lost their lives so tragically. On May 12th, those killed were burried in the cemetery at Hilversum where they rest today. The Dutch people showed sympathy, which was most genuine, by bringing flowers and lining the streets as the lorries carrying the coffins passed by. Afterthoughts on Hilversum As I was calling the roll after the explosion, my attention was drawn to a Dutch civilian who was waving from the middle of the next field. I sent one of the men over to see what he wanted. When he came back, he told me that there was a body. I then went over and found what was undoubtedly the body of a British soldier. This was the body of Pte H Hall, a signaller who had been attached to the Mortar Platoon ever since we landed in Normandy. He was a first class man who had done an excellent job on the long journey from the beaches. The force of the explosion can be judged by the fact that the body was at least 100 yards from the source. On Sunday May 13th, the day after the funerals, the Adjutant, Capt John Stevenson, sent for the CO Anti-Tank Platoon and me. He said that a message had been received from the HQ of the German unit, which had sustained casualties in the explosion. They had taken away a body, which they now thought could be one of our men. We were now to go to this German unit and check this out. On arrival we were taken to a spot where the body was laid out but identification was impossible. I noticed a British army boot, trousers and gaiter but they were not marked with an army number. We returned to the unit and reported to the Adjutant. We later learned that the CWGC had interred the body in the Hilversum cemetery. Remembered With Pride Mortar Platoon AtkinTVHPte FisherJCpl HallHPte HartLCPte HartshornOWL.Sgt LangleyVGPte ObeneyECPte OnionSL.Cpl WainDEPte WhalleyHL.Cpl WhitehallGECpl Anti-Tank Platoon HydeRHGPte WoodRPte