Regina rifles hat pin exchanged for Dutch dime bracelet...

[Trudy]

ok let me try this again .. I am not good at this forum stuff.
Seems my last post was sent .. but I can not find it so I shall try again and hope it does not duplicate.. oh well.
I have spent 2 days now reading all about the advancement througn North Holland in the area of Steenwijk. As I do not have much army background the regiments and brigades are all mixing up for me .. I think it might be either the 9th infantry or the 8th reconnaissance that were in the area of Tuk, Steenwijkerwold, Steenwijk near the end of the war.  Once I get that figured out I think my next goal would be to find a list of these members and see who might still be alive to ask them questions.. do list like that exist ??
I find reading these stories interesting especially to think that my family was there at the time living it . I used to hear these stories when I was younger but they mean a lot more now the older I get .I should check the Dutch webpages in that areea for any info . hmmmm ?

I look forward to contact with the past commanding officer.. Hope he connects then maybe he can lead me in the right direction. Thanks for that Good2Golf.

BenDawg I think that is so great that your mom had a braclet of Dutch dimes. Mom says they were quite common back then . Sounds like other woman exchanged this item . I wonder how many men gave away thier hat pins ?? It was near the end of the war so you never know.
ok .. those are my thoughts for today .. Later

OH... is it possible to post pictures on here.. I should check that out then  I could put the picture of the pin up .. even a picture of the  house in Holland.. It is still there and has been restored to original so maybe it might even look familiar to someone .

 

[BernDawg]

Trudy, there are a couple of ways to post pictures.  The one I prefer is to attach it to the post by clicking on additional options at the bottom of the reply page and then browse to the picture, I normally save it on the desk-top so it's easy to find, then double click on it and voila there's a picture in your post.
Is this the hat pin in question?

 

[klambie]

Trudy,

Assuming that you are confident that this man was a Regina Rifle, from the Reginas War Diary that I have on my site, it is likely that your soldier was with B Company of the Reginas.  They arrived near Tuk on 15 Apr 45.  The coordinates in the diary place them here (at the location of the arrow, not the A label):

http://tinyurl.com/2bp476r

Another Company was in the south of Steenwijk at the same time, around what is called Zuidveen on current maps.  A third company moved into Steenwijk at some point, along the railway line east of the road Gagelsweg.  I am uncertain if men from these Coys would have wandered as far as Tuk.  Over the next few days, passes were issued for Steenwijk and Meppel (the Reginas were covering the entire area between these two towns and as far west as Zwartsluis), so others could have been around for a bit of a break from duty.  The diary says "Our arrival in this area is the occasion for great celebrating among the civilian population and there are more orange ribbons than at an Orangeman's parade.  The girls are getting better looking too!  Or perhaps we need leave badly."

At some point, B Coy moved a bit to the west:

http://tinyurl.com/24bjywd

After a few days of relative quiet, the Reginas left on the morning of 19 Apr for the area north of Groningen.

The chances of finding a particular B Coy veteran are not great, but I will get in touch with other RRR researchers and the Regimental Association to see what turns up.  There is the possibility of including something in the next Association newsletter, which would be the best way to reach the widest number of veterans.

 

[Trudy]

My heart is beating very quickly .. so exciting ..
I would put money on it that the soldier that came to my mom and dad's home would be the ones that were camped where you have put the arrow .. so from the B company. My mother has kept the pin from this gentlemen for more then 65 years. Our whole family have seen it and it is a pin from the regina rifles. I can only assume that he would have given her the pin fromhis hat and not some other pin that he might have had on him .  There are no numbers to trace on the pin .. well there is numbers but they do not link to him as far as I know.
I will phone my mother this evening ... ohhh she will be so excited that we have even figured out what group might have been camped in the fields behind the house. All my life I have heard about Tuk en Tiij ... that is where our family still lives today .. YEA !!!!
I call my mom ..  more story later !!!  ;D
More later 

THANK YOu!!
You know I have read these parts of the diary .. but  I have never been able to find the coodinates or locations of troops on any maps .... thank you for this .

 

[klambie]

What are the numbers on the badge?

 

[Trudy]

Called MOM and she told me the story again .. more on that later..
From her story it is the location that you have on the maps. The tents were in a farmer field between Tuk en Tij  just off of Oldemarkseweg. So we know that now .. yea !
More of the story later.
The numbers on the pins I am working on as I am not the person who is in my home. My big brother who was 5 years old at the time of the exchange is the lucky one who get to have it as a family heirloom. I have called him and as soon as we connect I will get that info. I also have a drawing of the pin that I made 10-15 years ago . If I could find that I know I have all the numbers there. I will get that as soon as possible.
thanks all... this is so wonderful. Tell my mom that we found the group of soldiers and knowing that we have the location correct has already made her so happy. SHe told me the story again .. each time I learn more. She said they were first scared of the soldiers because they were still under the Germans and some young German soldier were known to pretend to be Canadian soldiers.. BUt they were nice soldiers she said .. .. more later .. I love this story !!!
Who would have thought that she would be Canadian in the end . !! We live in Alberta .. so that it is a Regina Rifle is also so neat !!
gotta go

 

[GK .Dundas]

It's funny my dad came home with one of those form my mother years later I wonder what happened to the braclet and what the story behind  the bracelet was.

 

[GloriaVictis]

Wow. Your story gave me chills. What an amazing piece of history to have in your family. Good luck with your quest!

 

[Trudy]

WOW.. iIFOUND OUR HOUSE IN HOLLAND ON GOOGLE AT STREET LEVEL !!!
fun !

 

[Trudy]

So we connected over the pin .
The front of the pin is the same as in the picture.. . The back of the pin has the words W.Scully and Montreal but we think that is the name of the manufacturer. So no real helpful info from the pin .

I guess these soldiers had coffee, sugar and tea in small packages that they gave to my mom . She wanted to thank them and that is why the bracelet was exchanged. The he gave her the pin . I asked what he looked like and all she knew was that he was very young and they laughed alot . She only remembers that they had trouble talking to each other because she and Dad  could not speak English . My uncle and my Dad were there and she thinks that my Opa was there too. She thnks too that they had some of my Uncles wine  . The soldiers stayed too long and missed curfew . So they stayed in the attic of my father's wooden shoe store. In the morning when my parents woke it was 8 am and they thought the soldiers had slept in as they were wanting to be back at the tents by 7 am . My father went quickly to check on them but they were already gone. Mom says that the strange thing was , was that the door locked on the inside , they had left but the door was still locked. They could not figure out how the soldiers had gotten out of the house and were still able to lock the door. Over the years my mother finally thinks she has figured out how they did that . She thinks that the one soldier stood on the shoulders of the other one and he was then tall enough to reach through the high window and reach the sliding lock on the inside !! fun eh .. that she remembers all this stuff.

The house in Tuk is one what was the main road at the time. It is a very big house so quite memorable I would think. Also My father was the wooden shoe maker so that would also be something that a veteran might remember .
oh well .. we keep looking.
bye for now

 

[BernDawg]

You are correct about W. Scully.  William Scully is a firm in Montreal that makes insignia and accouterments for several institutions.

http://www.williamscully.ca/