By November 1944, after the German embargo on all food transport to the western Netherlands the unusually harsh winter had begun. Food stocks rapidly ran out. By February 1945 over 10 000 civilian deaths had been attributed to starvation and many more cited malnutrition as a primary cause
Operation Manna was carried out by the RAF between 29th April and 7th May 1945. They dropped thousands of tons of food to the Dutch people who were close to starvation
...Early in December we had been out repairing the phone line. Why the lines always seemed to cause trouble during the hours of darkness I don't know! Could have been due to rabbits or other small rodents gnawing through the fine cable. On the way back to our position this particular night it was bitterly cold. But at least there was a moon out which made driving without lights a little less treacherous. We came across a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. We approached the cottage and went inside for a few minutes only to find a young chap and an elderly man sitting by the fireplace, and at the table sat a young woman and an elderly one. On the left side of the fireplace on the hearth was a pair of small children’s clogs and on the right side of the hearth was another pair of small clogs. When we asked why the clogs were placed in the positions they were, the answer we received was that, this night 6th December was St Nicholas Eve when St Nicholas brought presents (just like our Father Christmas) knowing that there would be no presents forthcoming for these children, we left a tin of sweets by each pair of little clogs and then went.
Those children would now be in their late sixties. I wonder if they still remember the night St. Nicholas arrived in British Battledress left their presents and then vanished into the night.
It was shortly after this that we finished up over the Christmas and New Year period in Sittard, driving to Sittard was horrendous. The snow and icy conditions were the worst that I had ever experienced, the Dutch people said it was the worst winter for many years, to this day I have never experienced a winter as bad.
New Years Eve 1945
At midnight the Battery fired shells on the German lines to let the New Year in, it wasn’t very long before the Germans returned the compliment.
January and February 1945
We moved across the border into Germany. On the night of 25/26th March 1945 we were near the River Rhine, on that night our guns along with the guns of other Royal Artillery Regiments took part in firing a barrage across the river to give cover for the troops landing on the other side.
Continuing through Germany, we reached Harburg. It was here that I was given some devastating news...
