Wartime Utrecht

[Marc van Aalderen]

Hi David,

The U / h should be v/h, short for "voorheen" which means "formerly".
Gebr. means "Brothers" and since one address is blacked out I guess two brothers split up the old company and went their own way, each one at a seperate shop that used to make up the old company.

Heeren en Jongeheeren, Kleeding en Modemagazijnen translates in Gentlemans and Masters Clothing and Fashion Stores.

There is a building at Biltstraat 6 but I have no idea if it is the same as then.

Hope this answers part of your questions.

Cheers,

[David Dunlop]

Thanks for the translation, Marc. On closer inspection, it was indeed a lower case 'v' in the abbreviation for "voorheen".

I recall my Grandparents commenting that Dad had put on some weight when he returned home. Maybe he had to have his battledress refitted after all the fine Dutch dining he was enjoying! I know for as long as could remember, he hated canned stew or corned beef. Said he'd seen enough of it during the war to last four lifetimes, so being in Holland for a while and visiting in people's homes must have been a delight for him.

David