Looking Back: Provost Support to the Liberation of the Netherlands and Victory in Europe
By Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) Paul Thobo-Carlsen, CMPA Director of History & Heritage.
From September 1944 to April 1945, the Canadian Provost Corps (CProC) played a critical role in supporting the First Canadian Army as it battled to liberate northern Belgium and the Netherlands from German occupying forces. These operations culminated on 5 May 1945 when Canadian forces accepted the surrender of all remaining German troops in the Netherlands and north-western Germany. Two days later all German forces across Europe surrendered. To celebrate this momentous achievement, 8 May 1945 was officially designated by the Allied forces as Victory in Europe (V-E) Day.
To help mark the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands and V-E Day, what follows is a selection of still photos and film clips showing CProC personnel in action during this final and crucial phase of the Second World War in Europe.
Lance-Corporal N. G. Rosborough of No. 8 Provost Company talks with Belgian Resistance members during the Battle of the Scheldt, Bruges, Belgium, 13 September 1944. (Photo: Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/Image no. PA-116733)
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Lance-Corporal A. A. Shaylor of No. 2 Provost Company, and members of the Royal Canadian Engineers, assist Belgian refugees across a Bailey Bridge over the Albert Canal, Belgium, 28 September 1944. (Photo: Lieut. Ken Bell/DND/LAC/PA-179615)
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Near the Netherlands/Belgium border, Private Cumiski of No. 2 Provost Company directs a medical column along the road to Antwerp, 13 Oct 1945. (Photo: DND/reproduced from "The Canadian Provost Corps Silver Jubilee: 1940-1965," Director of Security/Canadian Forces Headquarters, May 1965)
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Lance-Corporal P. L. Simpson of No. 2 Provost Company directs traffic at 2nd Canadian Infantry Division Headquarters, Netherlands, 13 October 1944. (Photo: Lieut. Ken Bell/DND/LAC/PA-137314)
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Lance-Corporal Bill Cooksey, CProC, directs traffic near Nijmegen, Netherlands, 9 January 1945. (Photo: Lieut. Michael M. Dean/DND/LAC/PA-192021)
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In 1942, the Canadian Army began producing a series of 16mm newsreels to boost the morale of soldiers serving overseas and provide Canadians back home with news about the war. Many of these films captured CProC personnel in action, and they remain one of the best sources of moving film documentation from this era. These newsreels are available for viewing in their original format on YouTube courtesy of the War Amps of Canada.
The first video (top right) is a compilation from Newsreel No. 51 (Dec 1944) featuring CProC troops. It begins with a very short clip of provost personnel receiving their Christmas mail, and continues with a longer story about the Canadian Army's hosting of a Christmas party for Dutch children in the liberated southern part of the Netherlands. Several shots at the beginning and end of the second story show CProC members in action, including some mounted on their motorcycles.
The bottom video, clipped from Newsreel No. 59 (Jan 1945), contains a story about Canadian Army roads signs in the Netherlands. Canadian Provost Corps troops painted, posted and maintained all traffic control signage in the Canadian area of operations, as well as a good number of the other informational signs that sprang up in the forward and rear areas (see photos below). This newsreel shows a variety of these signs, including the iconic "Maple Leaf Up" route markers, as well as others brimming with battlefield humour.
[Videos clips may take a few seconds to load depending in Internet connection]
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(Source: Canadian Army Film Unit/LAC/MIKAN No. 77708/Newsreel No. 51)
(Source: Canadian Army Film Unit/LAC/MIKAN No. 77708/Newsreel No. 59)
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CProC members Lance-Corporal Eddie Halverson (left) and Lance-Corporal Phil LaRoque in conversation, Nijmegen, Netherlands, circa 9 January 1945. (Photo: Lieut. Michael M. Dean/DND/LAC/PA-140118)
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Lance-Corporal R. B. Wrightman of the CProC reads a sign board erected in Calcar, Germany, 26 February 1945. (Photo: Capt. Ken Bell/DND/LAC/ PA-145762)
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With German shells exploding in the background, a CProC pointsman directs traffic through the shattered streets of Cleve, Germany, circa 10-11 Feb 1945. Note provost jeep team on far left. (Photo: DND)
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Lance-Corporal H. G. Roseborough of No. 8 Provost Company paints road signs in Boxtel, Netherlands, 15 March 1945. (Photo: Capt. Jack H. Smith/DND/LAC/PA-113684)
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Lance-Corporal Bill Rombough of No. 2 Provost Company examines the papers of a German deserter in Ulft, Netherlands, 1 April 1945. (Photo: Lieut. Michael M. Dean/DND/LAC/PA-131652)
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While portions of northern, central and western Netherlands were still to be liberated, the First Canadian Army penetrated into the German Rhineland during a series of battles from 8 February and 11 March 1945. This included Operation Veritable to seize the Reichswald Forest area and Operation Blockbuster to take the forested Hochwald ridge and town of Xanten to its east.
This video clip comes from Newsreel No. 67 (Apr 1945) and shows a Canadian Provost Corps sign painting operation in the Reichswald Forest area that was carried out in support of the 8th Victory Loan campaign. LCpl Roseborough (see above photo) is one of the provost sign painters shown in this newsreel.[1]
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(Source: Canadian Army Film Unit/LAC/MIKAN no. 77708/Newsreel No, 67)
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Lance-Corporal E. R. Beattie, CProC, directs traffic in Winschoten, Netherlands, sometime after the town's liberation on 15 April 1945. (Photo: DND/LAC/ZK-992)
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On 16 April 1945, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division liberated the town of Groningen in the northern Netherlands after four days of very hard fighting. The Canadians, assisted by Netherlands Forces of the Interior (comprising various resistance groups), fought one of the toughest city battles of the campaign here against a force of between 7000 and 7500 German defenders assisted by a number of fanatical Dutch and Belgian SS soldiers.
The silent film footage, at right, was taken during and after the Battle of Groningen. At minute 3:40, a number of German prisoners of war are seen being escorted by Canadian troops including two CProC jeep teams from No. 2 Provost Company.
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Images of the Liberation of Groningen (Source: Polygoon-Profilti [producer]/Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision [administrator]/Creative Commons License BY-SA 3.0 NL)
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Entrance gate to No. 1 Canadian Detention and Field Punishment Barracks, operated by the CProC, in Vught, Netherlands, circa 21-23 April 1945. (Photo: Lieut. J. Ernest DeGuire/DND/LAC/PA-138241)
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Canadian Army service detainees drilling on the parade square at No. 1 Canadian Detention and Field Punishment Barracks, Vught, Netherlands, circa 21-23 April 1945. (Photo: Lieut. J. Ernest DeGuire/DND/LAC/PA-138246)
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The winter of 1944-45 was very difficult for people in the German-occupied areas of Netherlands—particularly those in Western Holland. A general railway strike, ordered by the Dutch government-in-exile in expectation of a general German collapse near the end of 1944, led the Germans to cut off food and fuel shipments to the western provinces where 4.5 million people lived. Although the German embargo was partially lifted in November 1944, allowing some food transportation via water routes, the unusually early and harsh winter caused canals to freeze over and become impassable by barges. The cumulative effect of the war and collapse of the transportation system caused a severe breakdown in the food distribution network. This dark period is known in the Netherlands as the Hongerwinter ("hunger winter").
Many citizens in the central-western Randstad area (including Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, and The Hague) were receiving food rations meeting less than half of their nutritional requirements. The black market flourished and prices soared, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee the cities for the countryside in hope of finding a better food supply. More than 20,000 people eventually died from starvation or nutritional deficiencies. Relief finally came on 2 May 1945 when the Allies launched Operation Faust, in which the 1st Canadian Corps played a leading role. An agreement was negotiated with the local German military authorities, who by now knew the war would soon end in the Allies' favor, to allow aid convoys to cross German lines to deliver food and medical supplies to a distribution point near Wageningen. Canadian provost personnel provided important traffic control support for the movement of these convoys in and out of the handover area. The Germans agreed that only their own military policemen (Feldgendarmen) would be armed in the drop-off area to provide security for these precious commodities.
German Feldgendarmen (military policemen), guarding a food dump during Op Faust, talk with a Dutch driver who is distributing food in a Canadian-supplied truck. A Dutch civilian policeman looks on. Wageningen, Netherlands, 3 May 1945. (Photo: Alexander M. Stirton/DND/LAC/PA-134416)
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Canadian provost guards the entrance to a meeting on the surrender of German forces in the Netherlands. Wageningen, 5 May 1945. German officer (center) is Lieutenant-General Paul Reichelt, Chief of Staff 25th Army, and Canadian officer (right) is Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes, Commander I Canadian Corps. (Photo: Alexander M. Stirton/DND/LAC/PA-116833)
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Lt. Gen. Reichelt departs meeting with Lt. Gen. Foulkes to carry the surrender message back to his headquarters. Wageningen, Netherlands, 5 May 1945. Note the two CProC motorcyclists positioned begin his vehicle. (Photo: Alexander M. Stirton/DND/LAC/PA-134420)
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Corporal M. D. Matterson of No. 4 Provost Company guards a barracks entrance with an armed German companion in Aurich, Germany, 5 May 1945. The marching soldiers are also fully armed. After the capitulation of German forces allowances were made for formed units to return to barracks after which time the weapons were collected and secured. (Photo: Donald I. Grant/DND/LAC/PA-134454. Reproduced from "The Canadian Provost Corps Silver Jubilee: 1940-1965," Director of Security/Canadian Forces Headquarters, May 1965)
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Rare photo of a Chevrolet C15A, 15-cwt (3/4 ton) truck with CProC markings, believed to have been taken during the liberation of Delft, Netherlands, circa 5-8 May 1945. Each Canadian provost company had two 15-cwt trucks in its transportation platoon. (Photo: unknown)
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Headquarters of No. 1 Provost Company, CProC, Rotterdam, Netherlands, sometime on or after 8 May 1945. The civilians in the foreground are likely digging for fuel substitutes for cooking and heating. (Photo: Unknown)
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Arthur Seyss-Inquart, former Reichskommissar of the occupied Netherlands, in the custody of CProC troops at Hengelo, Netherlands, 8 May 1945. The escorting officer with a revolver on his right hip is Lt. Col. G. W. Ball, Deputy Provost Marshal of the First Canadian Army. At the Nuremberg trials, Seyss-Inquart was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, sentenced to death, and subsequently executed. (Photo: C.E. Nye/DND/LAC/PA-176571)
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The top video, taken from Newsreel No. 71 (May 1945), provides an overview of the Canadian Army's involvement in Operation Faust. Several scenes show Canadian provost personnel conducting traffic control. One clip shows a German Feldgendarm wearing the distinctive Ringkragen badge (a metal gorget worn on a chain around the neck). This unique symbol of authority was central to the pejorative nickname given to military policemen within the German Army—Kettenhund ("chain dog").
[Note: The men wearing black uniforms in several scenes are Dutch civilian policemen from the German occupied-zone.]
The bottom video, from Newsreel No. 73 (April 1945), starts with a short clip showing two Canadian provost troops on duty at a post-war church parade. This is followed by a story which shows the German war criminal and former Reichskommissar of the occupied Netherlands, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, being escorted by a Canadian Provost Corps security team headed by Lt. Col G. W. Ball (Deputy Provost Marshal of the First Canadian Army). This was filmed on the same day that the photo above was taken.
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(Source: Canadian Army Film Unit/LAC/MIKAN no. 77708/Newsreel No, 71)
(Source: Canadian Army Film Unit/LAC/MIKAN no. 77708/Newsreel No. 73)
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Lance-Corporals J. Lang and P. C. Ajas, of No. 1 Provost Company, guard German mini-submarines at IJmuiden, Netherlands, 25 May 1945. (Photo: Lieut. Donald I. Grant/DND/LAC/PA-151917)
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Lance-Corporal J. G. Kallenberger, CProC, searches a group of surrendered German soldiers en route back to Germany, at Den Helder, Netherlands, 27 May 1945. (Photo: Lieut. Ken Bell/DND/LAC/PA-135996)
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CProC Corporal on duty at a liberation parade by the Princess Irene Brigade [Dutch Free Forces], Amsterdam, Netherlands, 31 May 1945. (Photo: Tom Bouman/via Netherlands Institute for Military History/under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication)
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The top video, clipped from Canadian Army Newsreel No. 77 (June 1945), starts with a story about soldiers voting in the 1945 Canadian federal election. This story ends with a short clip of several Canadian provost troops ready to cast their ballots at a field polling station. The following story records some CProC members searching surrendered German soldiers before being allowed to depart the Netherlands for Germany. These provost are looking to confiscate any items looted from the Dutch population.
The second video, from Newsreel No, 92 (Aug 1945), details a provost-led sign painting operation in Oldenburg, Germany in support of the ninth Canadian Victory Loan campaign. One of the signs appearing in the film, being painted by local German artists, is the same one shown in the colour photo below . As can be seen from several of the other photos and videos in this article, the CProC took on a prominent role during the Second World War in promoting the Victory Loan program by tapping into its resident road sign painting and posting expertise.
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(Source: Canadian Army Film Unit/LAC/MIKAN no. 77708/Newsreel No. 77)
(Source: Canadian Army Film Unit/LAC/MIKAN no. 77708/Newsreel No. 92)
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After the cessation hostilities in Europe, the Canadian Army's 3rd Infantry Division became the nucleus of the Canadian Army Occupation Force (CAOF) in Germany. The divisional military police unit, No. 4 Provost Company, remained in Germany until the COAF was withdrawn in June 1946.
Members of No. 4 Provost Company attract curious onlookers while hanging a sign for the ninth Canadian Victory Loan campaign, Oldenburg, Germany. circa Aug 1945 (Photo: DND/LAC/ZK-1065-2)
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A provost with the Canadian Army Occupation Force in northern Germany reads the army's Maple Leaf newspaper after Japan surrendered in the Far East theatre of operations—finally ending the Second World War. 16 Aug 1945 (Photo: G. Barry Gilroy/DND/LAC/GBG 56399)
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This last video clip, from Newsreel No. 103 (originally released in late 1945), provides a nice summary of the Canadian Army's involvement in the liberation of northern Belgium and the Netherlands. It also contains some footage of V-E Day celebrations in England and Canada and introduces some of the Army's tasks in the immediate post-war period, including the 3rd Canadian Division's new role as the Canadian Army Occupation Force.
The video begins with a very short clip showing Canadian provost troops providing security for General Montgomery, Commander of the 21st Army Group (under which the First Canadian Army fell). Several subsequent scenes also show CProC members in action.
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(Source: Canadian Army Film Unit/LAC/MIKAN no. 77708/Newsreel No. 103)
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Additional photos of Canadian Provost Corps personnel taken during the liberation of the Netherlands can be viewed at the Image Bank WW2 website (www.beeldbankwo2.nl), a Netherlands-based site hosted by the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The following links will take you directly to the relevant pages:
[These pages may be displayed in the Dutch language. If using Google Chrome, right click on the page and select "Translate to English" from the pop-up menu]
Note:
1. The first archival photo in this article (PA-116733) shows Lance-Corporal "N. G. Rosborough" of No. 8 Provost Company. A subsequent photo (PA-113684) shows Lance-Corporal "H. G. Roseborough" of the same unit. It is very likely that this is the same person and his initials and surname spelling were either incorrectly recorded by a photographer or mistranscribed in the archival records.
1. The first archival photo in this article (PA-116733) shows Lance-Corporal "N. G. Rosborough" of No. 8 Provost Company. A subsequent photo (PA-113684) shows Lance-Corporal "H. G. Roseborough" of the same unit. It is very likely that this is the same person and his initials and surname spelling were either incorrectly recorded by a photographer or mistranscribed in the archival records.