Unfortunately not much to share.
I didn't find out about his wartime exploits until after he passed away.
I have to find the photo I have of him on a Norton motorcycle he was given to move around the yard.

Father served at Deelen Dump
 

Great to find info on the Deelen Dump. My father served there from November 30th 1945 till May 25th 1946. His job was Security Sargent. We just returned from a trip to Holland and we did check out the Museum at Deelen. We were shown the large area that the Canadians used for the Vehicles, it is huge. If anyone has pictures of a White jeep at Deelen, that would be my fathers. He had one painted White so it would stand out in the Camp. On days off he would to travel to Baarn, about 40 kilometers away to visit his future wife, My mother who he meet when his Regiment ( British Columbia Regiment ) was stationed there in the fall of 45 before returning to Canada. I have some pictures of Deelen dump i hope to post in the future.

Nice John and Ron, and please some pictures!! especially of the Norton, I have several of those bikes.

30 years ago I spoke to a man who had worked there, but it was after the Dutch had taken over, many stories, about using Harley's for reinforcement on the roads, so the Sherman tanks did not bog down! also about the big hole they dug, to bury all the left over equipment, and a competition who could ride their Harley's furthest into the hole, just jumping off at the last moment!! and the electrified fence, and the stealing that went on and on.

Cheers,

Lex Schmidt

I remember seeing this picture in a booklet years ago....and have been trying to find out which booklet it was, ever since....

Anyway, my interest was the picture....and I finally found on the web..the picture is taken on an old section of the Deelen site, which is now part of "National parc the Hoge Veluwe" and shows some rusty metal. Unfortuntaley, the picture is rather small....but the reason it caught my eye is that it looks a lot like the inside of a cab13 front clip/footwell...what do you guys think???

Alex

picture source: http://www.dickveerman.nl/2011/01/page/3/

Deelen dump today
 

Small documentary in Dutch, has some nice footage and an F15A driving around the site:

https://youtu.be/5iTt-dfD7M0

Jordan, take a close look at the Otters!

Yes I’ve seen the Canadian Army News Reel film footage before. Some great shots. Wish there was more.

Surprisingly few photos can be found in online photo archives. But here are some more to tide you over.

Attachment 111076
Source: Nationaal Archief (found on Flickr)

Attachment 111077
Source

Attachment 111078

Attachment 111079
Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/a8a1aa...8-003048976d84

Autodump Deelen
 

Some more pictures from the Nationaal Archief.


Attachment 111080
Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/a8a1aa...8-003048976d84


Attachment 111084
Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/a89f36...8-003048976d84


Look at the amount of scrapped vehicles, all remnants of the ravages of war:


Attachment 111081
Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/ad74d6...8-003048976d84

Attachment 111082
Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/a8a8a0...8-003048976d84

Attachment 111083
Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/a8a8a0...8-003048976d84

Rows and rows of vehicles:

Attachment 111085
Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/a8a1b0...8-003048976d84

Attachment 111086
Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/a89f35...8-003048976d84


Spare tyres, all used and reclaimed from wrecked vehicles:
Attachment 111087
Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/a8a1af...8-003048976d84

Everything had to be guarded and kept behind an electrified fence, still a lot of spares were stolen as there was such a high need for them in a country which had been pilfered:

Attachment 111088
Source: http://proxy.handle.net/10648/a89f37...8-003048976d84

Hanno.

Curiosity question(s).

Were the vehicles stored at Deelen at the end of the war always the property of the Canadian Government? This would imply either some form of limited Canadian bureaucratic presence there to oversee sales, or Dutch personnel acting as sales agents for the Canadian Government.

Alternatively, at some point the Canadian Government might have transferred these vehicle assets directly to the Dutch Government for disposal.

Or, perhaps, a combination of the two.

I am just trying to wrap my head around how Canada sold large blocks of specific vehicles and related spares to other countries after the war, if most of this equipment was sitting in Europe in depots like Deelen.

David

Dutch Dumps and Demob Parks
 

Hello David,

I tried to find some reliable sources on this subject:


1) In July 1945 1 and 2 Cdn Demobilization Depot were mobilized under the command of the First Canadian Army - see https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/org.../rcocorbat.htm
These units were tasked with demobilizing Canadian troops in NWE. One of the tasks at hand must have been demobilizing not only troops but also vehicles and other Canadian Army assets.


2) Canadian Army Newsreel no.105 mentions RCEME units were tasked with documenting and classifying each unit of transport, which were then handed over to the Canadian Army Vehicle Demob Park at Arnhem Airport (Deelen is close to Arnhem). The reporter notes that "approx. 36,000 vehicles were stored at the Park and more ariving daily. When the assembly was completed the contents of the Park were turned over to the War Assets Board, which will sell it to bring money back to the Treasury. France, Belgium and Holland were bargaining for the whole establishment."


3) The No. 1 Demob Vehicle Park is also mentioned in War Junk: Munitions Disposal and Postwar Reconstruction in Canada by Alex Souchen:

Attachment 113176

4) Note that there were several locations where the vehicles were stored, as described in Wheels & Tracks magazine (Bart Vanderveen worked as a conscript on one of the vehicle parks):

5) A search on this forum yields generic info, plus a few people mentioning their relatives worked at Deelen after the war.


To answer your question:
As far as I can tell the Canadian government did not sell blocks of vehicles, but rather their entire inventory one year after the war ended. They transferred all the vehicles assembled in Dutch depots in a deal struck with the Dutch government. They agreed on a (partial) trade against the costs the Dutch government was making for billeting and repatriating Canadian troops. I will see if I can find more sources on this subject later.

Hope this helps to give you some more insights.

PS: I think the upcoming book War Junk (https://www.ubcpress.ca/war-junk) will have more indepth insights into this subject.

War Assets Corporation
 

From Alex Souchen's dissertation "Peace Dividend: The War Assets Corporation and the Disposal of Canada's Munitions and Supplies, 1943-1948":
It is worthwhile to download Souchen's dissertation for a good read on how Canada disposed of its Army's assets.

The vehicles supplied by UNRRA to Czechoslovakia came from the Deelen dump before the remainder was sold the the Netherlands government:

https://youtu.be/Y4JDvvPVJeQ

My wife's dad drove a 60cwt from Holland to Czechoslovakia waiting to demob. Maybe he was in that film?

That would be amazing if you could recognize him.... I know the feeling!

Bedford OYD in postwar civilian use in the Netherlands.

Who can tell what the markings on the bonnet mean? Could they be markings applied in the dump to register and categorise trucks?

“N-66684” painted on the bumper is the Dutch licence number.

Attachment 117542
Source: Collectie gemeentearchief Oss

Nice find, Hanno!

I am pretty sure they are. I think the small 4-digit number is the unique vehicle number. Does it say "9545"?

I am reading:

Sectie VII (or VI???) N 9545
CA / BRIT. 295

The same archive has two more pictures of the same Bedford...one shows the markings more clearly.

https://collecties.stadsarchiefoss.n...&id=1373003162




The same archive has two more pictures of the Bedford.

Deelen? No, Bordon
 

At the Deelen dump?

Attachment 120550


Edited to add: Nope, turns out it was at Bordon - the equivalent of the Deelen dump in the UK

"Car auction at Bordon (1946)": https://youtu.be/zmRjKotGMAU

Note the rows of CMPs!

Attachment 120551

Sign owned by Jordy Mensink. From No. 1 Demob Vehicle Park at Deelen?

Mark Tonner commented:

Attachment 127017

This sign was found at a flea market in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands.

Likely to come from one of the dumps in the Netherlands.

Anybody who can identify the number “715”?

Attachment 136671 Attachment 136672

Deelen wasn't the only vehicle park used by Canadians. 27CAR's tank Bomb was stripped of her extra tack-welded armour, and turned into a dump in Belgium.

Hi Terry, I suspect the dump in Belgium was a transit point for equipment which had to be shipped back to Canada via Antwerp harbour.

See a snippet of Alex Souchen's dissertation "Peace Dividend: The War Assets Corporation and the Disposal of Canada's Munitions and Supplies, 1943-1948" earlier in this thread: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...403#post268403

Belgium?
 

When I asked Bing Chat: "Is there any mention of dumps in Belgium in Alex Souchen's The War Assets Corporation and the Disposal of Canada's Munitions and Supplies, 1943-1948?" it replied:

Dump remains
 

This Cab 13 door reportedly came off an ex-Deelen Dump CMP truck. As you can see the truck it came off had seen postwar civilian service at Haarman building contractors in Raalte, The Netherlands.

Attachment 136732
Source: https://www.archief.museumdeelen.nl/...3-6ab083c63c0f

Canadian Demob Depot Deelen
 

"HQ Canadian Demob Depot"

Attachment 136733


Some more photos of the endless rows of vehicles awaiting their fate at the Deelen Dump, ca. 1947

Attachment 136734 Attachment 136735 Attachment 136736

Source: https://www.archief.museumdeelen.nl/, search for "Canadian Demob Depot Deelen"

Staghound
 

AEC armoured cars in the front. Mk.III (75mm) in the middle and Mk.II (6pdr) on the left. Staghounds in the background. Picture from facebook.

… and Jordan’s Otter is lurking in the background somewhere.

Deelen Dump Staghounds
 

Is that second Staghound from the right Guy Simonds' turretless mount?

Good spot. It has the First Canadian Army unit sign and a black square for 'Headquarters' with a big serial '9' on it. I'm leaning towards thinking you're right.

turretless Staghound
 

It may well be Simonds' mount, though I understand there was more than one turretless Staghound? I recall seeing photos in Wheels & Tracks of a turretless Staghound on a range in The Netherlands.