Liberation March The Canadian Liberation March from Hoofdplaat to Knokke-Heist commemorates the 1944 liberation of Belgium and parts of the Netherlands by Canadian forces during World War II. It retraces the 33-kilometer route taken by the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade during Operation Switchback. The First Canadian Army played a pivotal role in liberating the Belgian coastal town of Knokke-Heist. Their advance began in Hoofdplaat, Netherlands, and pushed through villages lik

During my visit to the Channel Ports, I stopped at a number of Atlantic Wall fortifications and visited Dunkirk, the site of the great...

One of this spring’s tours was to follow the Canadians as they fought their way north from Normandy to clear the channel ports to reduce...

As part of my tour tracing the paths of Uncles Norm Kightley 8th Hussars and George Johnston, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada...

8th Hussars and the Argylls Rachel’s buddies Janaya and Beth were visiting for the weekend, so I took the opportunity to follow my Uncle...

Norm Kightley was my uncle on my mother’s side of the family. He and his wife Marj were frequent visitors to our family, and I knew him...

During our tour of Malta, we went to the Lascaris War Rooms, where the British controlled the air defence of Malta. The same location was...

Malta was the most heavily bombed country in the Second World War. The history of Malta is fascinating and the struggles the island and...

Background I was looking for something else and came across a number of RCAF aircrew who are buried in the Maastricht General Cemetery,...

Early Years Percy Ivan Mervyn was born on February 20, 1925, to Albert Mervyn and Dorothy Mittie Dickson in Sault Ste Marie. He was their...

This year was the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands and the 50th Anniversary of the Canadian Liberation March. The Canadian Liberation March commemorates the liberation of the Belgian town Knokke-Heist by Canadian forces in November 1944, part of the larger Battle of the Scheldt. Each year, participants follow a 33-kilometer route from Hoofdplaat, Netherlands, to Knokke-Heist in Belgium. This journey traces the steps of the First Canadian Army,

My next stop on the D-Day tour was Gold Beach, the British Beach in the centre of the D-Day landings. Gold Beach had 4 sectors, but due...

As I continued on my Normandy Tour, I took a one-day Canadian Beaches and inland tour. I had been to Juno beach before but felt since the...

US Beaches I hadn’t visited any US D-Day beaches during my previous visit to Normandy, so I decided to take a one-day tour of the...

Back Story During a recent visit to Normandy, I visited a number of locations associated with Flight Lieutenant Robert McKenzie, a...

The exploration of the Battle of the Scheldt continued, looking at the Action on the Northern Bank. Fortunately, I did not have to sleep...

Thanks to a teacher girls’ weekend in Milan, Rachel’s car and I got to spend some time exploring the Battle of the Scheldt, a major...

As part of the 80th Anniversary of Operation Market Garden there was a demonstration of the parachute drop at Eerde, just north of...

I was fortunate to arrive back in the Netherlands in time for celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Limburg...

Adjacent to the Sea War Museum was the Thyboron Fortress, a portion of Germany’s World War Two Atlantic Wall.  The Atlantic Wall contains...