Dutch civilians attending the burial of fifty-five Canadian Soldiers, all members of Canada's Black Watch Regiment

55 Canadians killed

In the foreground, half submerged is Churchill tank "Calgary" from C troop.  Comander: Lieutenant B.G.Douglas
Driver: Corporal J.H.P. McCann
Co-Driver: Sergeant A.S. Wagstaff
Gunner: Trooper K. Smethurst
Loader/Radio Operator: Trooper D.G.Scott.
Calgary landed on the eastern side of Red Beach near the harbour.  It was under the command of C Squadrons Reconnaissance officer, Lt. Douglas.  After landing it turned right and moved along the beach running parallel with the sea wall towards the cassino, searching for some where to cross onto the promenade.  About half way along White Beach it's left track was suddenly blown off.  After loosing a track Calgary took on the role of a pillbox and used it's 6-pounder on targets like the cassino and the tobbaco factory.  Trooper Scott in "Calgary" remembers: "We were sitting with no cover and so had a good view of the beach.  Lt. Douglas found enough targets to keep Smethurst busy until we had used up all of our ammunition.  We were attracting a lot of gun fire, we took some direct hits on the turret, hard enough that the paint was melting and running down on the inside.  The heat inside, along with the smell of the smoke and cordite, was almost unbearable, so much so that Sergeant Wagstaff, who was down in the co-drivers seat was put out of action.  We stayed in the tank until we were ordered to surrender.  "Blossom" and "Bluebell" can be seen in the distance.

Half submerged Canadian tank "Boar"

These men are typical of the guards in the Canadian POW camps.  They are members of a unit called The Veterans Guard.  These men usually were First World War veterans too old to serve in frontline combat units  Most of the men in this photo are wearing service ribbons that would have been earned in the trenches of france in WW1.  They all appear to be decorated veterans except for the sour looking overweight Oliver Hardy lookalike second from the right.  A fairly large number of these men actually died while in service, many from heart attacks and other deseases related to respiratory ailments etc.  These men should have been living out their old age in relative comfort but instead volunteered to perform these duties to free up younger men to fight.  Some might say this photo should be in the Canadian section but I think it relates to the few posts I have put up in the German forces section.