Pictured above is Willemien Rieken.

She was only 9 years old when she first began laying flowers on the grave of William Edmond, a British soldier who fought and died to liberate her Dutch Village.

From the day he died, and for 75 years, she looked after his grave and kept his memory alive.

During WWII, William served with the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron and took part in the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands.

Sadly, on September 17, 1944, he was shot in the back by a German sniper and fell to the ground.

One of his comrades, St David Christie, rushed to his aid, but nothing could be done to save William. Seconds before dying, he said to David: "Tell my wife I love her."

This British soldier was then buried at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery.

Willemien Rieken passed away in 2020. She was one of the last surviving Flower Children, young people who laid flowers at hundreds of graves of Allied casualties in a ceremony after the end of the war.

Niall Cherry, secretary of the Arnhem 1944 Fellowship, said: "She was one of the last surviving Dutch civilian links to the Battle of Arnhem.

Willemien was a lovely lady who tended to the grave of Trooper Edmund for many years. She will be sadly missed."

thank you for reading.

don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Comments

A great story about a little bit of 'humanity' during a terrible war.

A great story about a little bit of 'humanity' during a terrible war. In April 1945, 2nd Lt. Peter During was a South African fighter pilot (N.7 Squadron) running missions over Italy when his Spitfire was shot down by German AA fire. He managed to crash land his plane behind enemy lines where he was immediately captured. Whilst been escorted to a German Lufwaffe Prisoner of War (POW) camp (he was a pilot and thus his interrogation and imprisonment was the responsibility of the German airforce), he opened a conversation with his captors. He was quickly able to establish that they could already see the writing on the wall, that the war was at an end and Germany would lose it. ...

After the end of world war 2,this letter was found in nazi concentration.

After the end of world war 2,this letter was found in nazi concentration camp,which contains following message adressing the teachers. Dear Teacher, I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no man should witness: Gas chambers built by learned engineers. Children poisoned by educated physicians. Infants killed by trained nurses. Women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates. So, I am suspicious of education. My request is: Help your students become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated illeterates. Reading, writing, arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more humane. Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Mayuge Girl Defiled, Impregnated and Rotting From a Mysterious Infection.

Mayuge Girl Defiled, Impregnated and Rotting From a Mysterious Infection One poverty stricken family in Mayuge district is stranded with its young daughter, recently defiled, impregnated and now rotting at home after a mysterious infection attacking her breasts. The seventeen year old Jane (not her real name) residing with her parents at Mugeri village of Bukatube Sub county in Mayuge district was on August 8 visited by this publication and she tearfully narrated the pain she is experiencing at the moment. Displaying her swollen, elongated up to the waistline and near to decomposing breasts, Jane explained that it all started in December last year with some simple itching that was followed by the swelling that has with time resulted into the current situation. To make things even worse, Jane was in the recent past defiled and she is nine months pregnant hoping to be delivered a baby anytime whose father is away and on the run for fear of being arrested for the offence. “With these...

WORLD OF ALL

Search This Blog