On 10 May 1945, the
Battalion was in Hilversum. The Germans had
surrendered two days before and the Battalion
was tasked with disarming German forces in the
area. On 10 May they were disarming elements of
the "Hermann Goering" Regiment. All of a sudden a mine
exploded in a pile of ammunition which blew up,
killing 11 men of the Battalion. Among them was
Pte Hart. Two men from an anti-tank
platoon also died, along with a number of
Germans.
27 year old Sgt. John Dean,
who was also with the Battalion, survived the
explosion. He later said: "Up until then, we had
been in a good position as far as casualties
were concerned. Just two men had died between
our arrival in Normandy, just after D-Day in
1944, and the end of the war.
As we moved through France and Belgium, the
Germans were shelling us and we were shelling
them.
On May 8, 1945, victory was declared and we were
able to move more or less through the German
lines without being shot.
Knowing that hostilities had ceased felt good.
It seemed strange to see so many Jerries without
having to have a scrap. They were really at rock
bottom.
By May 10, we were just outside the town of
Hilversum - south-east of Amsterdam - disarming
the men from Goering's parachute regiment. There
was no animosity towards them, even though we
had had several battles with them. It was all
going well. Then, suddenly, part of the dump
that contained the mines exploded. We
rushed over to the wounded and found 13 men had
been killed and eight badly wounded.
It was heartbreaking. To think those lads had
come all the way across three countries
successfully and then, bang, we had lost them.
As far as I could determine, it was caused by a
German throwing a mine on to the ground. It must
still have had a fuse in it. It was impossible
to find out if it had happened on purpose
because the German was killed in the explosion.
I was about 30 yards away, but it threw me off
my feet. The whole dump had gone up. I felt
awful. There was a numb feeling to think I had
lost those men after the war was over." [1]
The deaths were all the more terrible as in the preceding months the battalion had fought its way off the beaches of Normandy and through northern France and Belgium with the loss of just two men.
Pte Lawrence Hart was
24 and is buried at Hilversum Northern Cemetery,
Plot 1E. Row 6. Coll. grave 10-16.
(picture
courtesy of Wim Bastiaanse)
Untill The Day Break
And The Shadows Flee Away
