Ede, Holland 1945

[Jon McGrath]

In the photo of the Panther (?), there appears to be "fencing", on either side, that looks to me like tank tracks. If so, might this have been a hastily placed defensive position?

Alex, I checked my "statistics" and see that I had posted the photos previously. I just re-discovered them this week and unintentionally re-posted.

Jon

[Jakko Westerbeke]

Originally Posted by Jon McGrath

In the photo of the Panther (?), there appears to be "fencing", on either side, that looks to me like tank tracks. If so, might this have been a hastily placed defensive position?

It is a Panther Ausführung G, and the tracks are Panther tracks. Not sure why they would be snaking along there, but I get the impression they have been placed there to form a fence for some reason. In the left foreground (so behind the tank) there is also a drive sprocket ring, probably from this same Panther.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Jon McGrath

Alex, I checked my "statistics" and see that I had posted the photos previously. I just re-discovered them this week and unintentionally re-posted.

Jon indeed you did, I see I even replied to it. Have now merged the two threads.

It is no problem to bring a topic back to top every now and then because you'll get new readers and responses. It is not unheard of here on MLU that a thread 10+ years old is revived

[David Dunlop]

The turret on that Sherman Flail looks VERY disconnected from the hull and the background building in that photo looks very similar to the one behind the Panther. It might be possible to pinpoint the area in Ede from that building, if it has survived, and learn a bit more about what happened to both vehicles.

David

[David Herbert]

Yes, well spotted David. Also there is a high wire fence between the tanks and the building that looks the same in both photos. The Sherman has certainly been blown up and the turret moved back about a foot.

David

[David Dunlop]

A long shot perhaps, but could those photos have been taken in the area of the Simon Stevinkrausene Barracks complex in Ede?

Another possible search direction might be to determine what unit was using Sherman Flails in Ede and if Regimental Diaries list any fatal casualties, when and where. As for time, I would think 17 - 24 April 1944 would be a likely start point.

David

[Jon McGrath]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

A long shot perhaps, but could those photos have been taken in the area of the Simon Stevinkrausene Barracks complex in Ede?

Another possible search direction might be to determine what unit was using Sherman Flails in Ede and if Regimental Diaries list any fatal casualties, when and where. As for time, I would think 17 - 24 April 1944 would be a likely start point.

I've re-read some of my dad's notes. He was in the 1st Bn, Canadian Scottish (I didn't recall, when I posted the photos). He arrived in Arnhem on May 9 or 10, 1945, spent some time there before being assigned to the 1st Bn. There is no mention of the barracks, only that he was in a camp in Ede, until he returned to Canada in October 1945 and to the artillery, from which he retired in 1964.

It would be interesting to see a more recent photo of the area.

Thanks for your interest.

Jon

[Hanno Spoelstra]

I did a bit of research and Ronald van Riet of the Platform Military History Ede told me these photos were taken at hotel-restaurant De Langenberg. A quick search in the internet yielded some more info.

Shortly after the war ended, around the time Jon's father was there, a small military museum was established. The association "Oorlogsherinnering - Museum Ede" (War remembrance - Museum Ede) was selling ashtrays made from the tins in which food was distributed in April-May 1945 (see Operation Faust). By selling 40,000 ashtrays they hoped to make a profit of 20,000 Guilders to buy De Langenberg and the terrain next to it. Before the war, the owner had built some barracks to house groups for school holidays. A Scouting group also was housed there, but they could not return after the war because of the plans for the museum. During the war, these barracks were used to house NSB (Dutch national-socialist party) youth, horses, and then the roofing material was used for defense trenches. The remains were sold off and Canadian Army had levelled the terrain with bulldozers. Note: in Jon's first and second photo the buildings in the background seem to be in a reasonable condition. So these are other buildings than the barracks next to De Langenberg? I think De Langenberg itself can be seen in the background of the third picture.

Somehow the museum association managed to collect the Panther, Sherman Crab and Char B1 they even managed to source a small submarine. No doubt the transportation was done by a Canadian Army unit, probably the same one which did the levelling of the terrain. Reportedly, the Panther's gun was still live - and loaded - and kids often played in it. (I doubt the gun was really still loaded as no doubt the playing kids would have found a way to fire it.)

In September 1946 the Association decided not to proceed with their plans for the museum, as the local government wanted only one war museum in the region and Arnhem (approx. 20 kms. away) was deemed a more appropriate location. The intention of the Association was to support the formation of the regional museum by donating all the artefacts they had collected, but it is unknown where the artefacts ended up. None of the tanks nor the submarine went to what would become the Airborne Museum at Oosterbeek, though possibly smaller artefacts went there. Ronald van Riet assumes they went to the Overloon War Museum. I am not sure about the Panther, but the Sherman Crab is not the one in the Overloon museum and the Overloon museum has never had a Char B1. I reckon they were scrapped as there was an enormous need for scrap metal in the early postwar years.

De Langenberg is still a restaurant today. In 1990, a Sherman M4(105) was placed on the other side of the road as a memorial for the Canadian liberators - see Google streetview for a current view of the location.


References (accessed on 17 December 2020):

1. Hotel-restaurant De Langenberg: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Langenberg
2. Langenberg Scouting group: https://www.langenberggroep.nl/about...ggroep-deel-2/
3. Ashtray made from food tins (photo attached): https://www.goedgevonden.info/verzam...logsmuseum-ede
4. Google streetview: https://goo.gl/maps/Yv5sh79oTC4vVAyL7
5. Pre-war photo of De Langenberg (attached) in Gemeentearchief Ede: https://www.archieval.nl/detail.php?...394&id=1370031
6. Edese Courant newspaper (attached), 13 November 1946: https://www.archieval.nl/detail.php?...5&id=244005339

GA31318.jpg c1e56ded-3c34-4b2f-b717-6a8d9220d485.jpg

Edese Courant 13-Nov-1946.jpg

Edese Courant 13-Nov-1946_1.jpg Edese Courant 13-Nov-1946_2.jpg

[Alex van de Wetering]

Originally Posted by Jon McGrath

Alex, I checked my "statistics" and see that I had posted the photos previously. I just re-discovered them this week and unintentionally re-posted.
Jon

Better safe than sorry, Jon.....as the pictures are very interesting.

but I get the impression they have been placed there to form a fence for some reason.

My thought exactly. Heavy duty tracks as a replacement for a damaged fence?
In that case I think it's more likely a house or school in the background, rather than one of the army barracks.
Ede at one point had 5 or more Army bases! I visited the sites a few months ago. The whole area is turned into a residential area; some buildings were taken down, while others were redeveloped into houses.

Alex