This week Pamela Proctor of Gibsons is greeting Trudy, Simon and Frank Gort of Utrecht, friends of her family since her dad, RQMS Frank Proctor, met Bertus Gort at a Utrecht school yard where Frank was setting up a supply depot for the Regina Rifles after the Nazi fascists were defeated in Holland in 1945.
Frank recalled the final day that ended the war in his book I Was There. He wrote that on May 4, 1945 his unit was in Holland preparing for an attack on the town of Aurich across the German border. He attended a meeting for details where his commander stood with a map in his hands. But instead of a briefing for the attack the commander said that on the next morning there would be a cease fire with complete capitulation of all enemy. Frank felt a feeling of relief and release. The end had come. The atmosphere was quiet and contemplative. It was not a time for celebration. He thanked God that it was over.
Frank was 42 years old that day. For the rest of his life he carried forward the friendship between families in Canada and Holland which is now into its fourth generation. Thank you, Frank for this legacy.
