Bevrijding Dieteren WWII

George Arthur Oades werd op 2 november 1915 geboren in Westham als zoon van Frederick en Elizabeth Oades(nee Mossman).
In 1938 huwde hij met Annie May Jones. Volgens de census van 1939 woonden zij toen op het adres 114 Basildene Road in Heston/Hounslow. Als beroep staat genoemd bij George “Aircraft Fitter (Details)” en bij zijn echtgenote Annie May “Machine Operator Engineers Shop”. Samen kregen ze 2 zonen en ze hebben George voor het laatst gezien toen hij in 1944 vertrok naar het front. Ze woonden toen 78 Victoria Gardens in Heston/Hounslow.

Van zijn oudste zoon Michael Oades kreeg ik de nog volgende informatie:
Frederick James Oades(elder brother of George), was overwhelmed with grief over the death of his brother. He had never met his nephews (children of George) and felt a great responsibility for their welfare.
When he returned from 6 years active service he married his brother's widow Anne May also known as Nancy. He was a loving father to the children and the family was completed with the birth of another son.
My only memory of my father George is sadly one of his departure from our Heston home in 1944 for what we now know to be the invasion preceding the Battle of the Bulge.
I have equally emotional memories of visiting the beautifully kept cemetery in Nederweert in 2014 after travelling from Perth, Western Australia, where I now live. The generosity of the local people in escorting me to his final resting place still resonates. The local chemist insisted that one of his staff drive to the cemetery with me in tow in my rented vehicle!

George Arthur Oades in uniform. Thanks to: Michael Oades

Tijdens operatie Blackcock is George Arthur Oades gesneuveld op 21 januari 1945 en werd hij begraven op de militaire begraafplaats in Dieteren. Op 27 september 1946 werd hij herbegraven op de War Cemetery in Nederweert.

Soms wordt de naam van de soldaat ook genoemd op een War Memorial in de plaats waar deze in Engeland woonde. Voor George zou dit dan Heston of Hounslow kunnen zijn. In beide plaatse staan dergelijke memorials maar hierbij zijn geen namen van gevallenen uit WW2 opgenomen maar een algemene tekst.

Op dit War Memorial in Heston staat onderaan:
REMEMBER ALSO THE MEN AND WOMEN OF HESTON WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945

Op dit War Memorial in Hounslow staat op Tableau:
IN HONOUR OF ALL THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES AT HOME AND ABROAD IN THE CONFLICTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY FOR THE SAKE OF A BETTER WORLD

Hij sneuvelde tijdens de bevrijdingsoperatie vermoedelijk nabij Echt waarschijnlijk te Peij op 21 januari 1945.
We lezen het volgende in de War Diary van de DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT
War Diary unit: 2nd Bn, The Devonshire Regiment. Month and Year: January, 1945 Commanding Officer: Lt. Col P.H.W. Brind.


Place	Date	Hour	Summary of events and information
PEIJ	20		A big problem arose at this stage. In the ‘D‘ Coy area there were a
			great number of civilians some who lived in HINGEN and others who had evacuated
			from ECHT and SCHILBERG. Quite a number of civilian casualties occurred
			amongst which were the C.A. reps who had been sent by Bde
		1550	The houses shop up by ‘A‘ Coy this morning was again engaged at
			1550 hrs. Enemy were seen to run from houses and the Coy claimed 2 killed and
			2 wounded. At 1930 hrs it was reported by ‘C‘ Coy that an enemy patrol
			of 8 men were seen in the area 711783. Bn HQ ‘stood to‘ but nothing
			materialised. Throughout the day the Bn area was fairly heavily shelled.
	21		Shortly after midnight a patrol from the carrier platoon found the
			houses at 715785 occupied by the Hun. The patrol Comd was slightly wounded
			when the enemy opened up on them but they returned safely. Throughout the
			remaining hours of darkness and during the day, the Bn area was contiously
			shelled and ‘B‘ Coy HQ suffered direct hits. On our right the Queens had
			been moving up and the DLI and RB had cleared St JOOST after heavy fighting.

Grafsteen George Arthur Oades in Nederweert

Misschien zijn er nog mensen die informatie hebben over die tijd zoals verhalen of foto's. Neem dan contact op met de webmaster info@deetere.nl wellicht kan het bijdragen aan de geschiedschrijving van onze streek en mogelijk ook van belang voor familieleden van onze bevrijders!