Lichtjes op de Canadese Militaire Ere Begraafplaats - Candle Evening

01 Feb Lichtjes op de Canadese Militaire Ere Begraafplaats - Candle Evening

What did you do on Christmas Eve? Around 2500 people including more than 500 children, took time out from their celebrations to honour the Canadian soldiers who fought and died for their freedom.

There are 2590 names on the headstones and 1029 names of missing soldiers on the Memorial Wall. And there are also headstones of unidentified casualties with only the words: ‘Known unto God’. Every Christmas Eve, a candle is placed in front of the graves at the Canadian Military Cemetery in Groesbeek. You can view a timelapse video of the event below. If you would like to make a donation towards this great cause, please visit the organisation Stichting Lichtjesavond Groesbeek  https://www.lichtjesavondgroesbeek.nl/

Lives lived and never forgotten

It is a moving tribute to the sacrifice many Canadians made for the liberation of the Dutch people. And the people of Groesbeek are determined that those lives are never forgotten. A volunteer organsation called Faces To Graves has been set up to remember the lives of the fallen. They want to pay tribute to those young soldiers who lost their lives so far away from home, fighting for the freedom of strangers.
Given the years that have past, many of their comrades who survived are unable to make the long journey from Canada to pay their respects and bring their stories to life. The volunteers would like to recognize every single soldier with a photo and the story of his life, so that they will never be forgotten.

We need your help to build a virtual memorial.

Did you have Canadian relatives who fought in the Netherlands? What about your neighbours? Ask around and encourage people to send photo’s, copies of documents, newspaper cuttings and stories of their family members, friends, comrades etc. You can send information to [email protected]

Do you have a little spare time? We also need volunteers to help with researching the lives of the soldiers and collating the data.

In order to make this happen, we also need funding to purchase a cloud-based database so that everyone can access and read about the wonderful men who will never go home. Even a few dollars or euros will go a long way because all the work is done by volunteers.

Your help is really appreciated.

Julie Allen