police station. 15 minutes after their arrival the 3rd and 4th platoons of the Toronto Scottish Regiment A-Company drove into Meppel from two directions with 11 brencarriers under the command of Captain Bryan A. Upjohn with 37 men. 
Residents of Meppel standing on the corner of Vos van Steenwijlaan, saw the first of several brencarriers appear from behind the elevated railroad. The Canadians were welcomed with thunderous cheers when they drove through the overcrowded streets. At the same time, the O-Section of the 108th Battery of the 2nd Canadian Anti-Tank Regiment drove into town with three Valentine Tanks under the command of Lieutenant John M. Hamilton. The tanks were positioned so as to cover several of the bridges. Every year, on April 13th, countless flags are put out all over Meppel.

HILLEGOM
A free country and town

There is a book on Hillegom during the war years. It says that the Germans were in control up to the evening of May 4th, 1945. The population of Hillegom dared not believe that change was imminent .... but on Saturday, May 5th, at 8:00 p.m., the wonderful news came: the Germans had capitulated. Hillegom whooped it up in celebration of the liberation. Photographs of the first few days after the liberation show how the Canadian soldiers were welcomed with wild enthusiasm. The pictures were taken by a resident of Hillegom and say more than a thousand words. Celebrating people who are clearly relieved that the war is over. The people of Hillegom were grateful, emotional and warm in welcoming their liberators, the Canadians. There is a (young) inhabitant of Hillegom whose hobby is American World War II re-enactment. Based on liberation pictures he has studied the liberators that drove into town. The first vehicle to enter Hillegom was a jeep marked PROVOST, it had the number 83 with a white stripe above it and on the other side a diamond shape containing the Maple Leaf. So it was a Canadian jeep! There are also pictures of a Sherman 174 IC tank, brencarriers, and a scout car, all belonging to the Canadian army. As part of the 60th commemoration activities, Hillegom has organized all sorts of special events. Our liberators, the Canadians who made it possible for the Hillegom population of 2005 to live in a free country and town, take centre stage.
On May 4th, Remembrance Day, and on May 5th, Liberation Day, the memory of those who laid down their lives for us will be honoured with respect and admiration.

The population of Hillegom renders their thanks to all the Canadians who dedicated themselves to the liberation of the Netherlands and the town of Hillegom in particular. The memory of these courageous people will live on forever in the hearts of the people of Hillegom.
A. Mans, Mayor of Hillegom

DONGERADEEL
The people could sleep in peace.

The Liberation of Dokkum
Dokkum, April 14, 1945
It was 8 o'clock in the evening. Members of the Dutch National Socialist Movement (NSB) had already cleared the town when suddenly a cheer surged through the city. Canadian tanks rolled down the streets of our town. The leader of the Assault Group in Friesland, Mr. P. Oberman, rode on the front tank together with many local resistance fighters. Strong emotions could be read on the faces of many; expressions of gratitude rose up in many a heart to God, because the liberation had come, the yoke of oppression was crushed. 
Our Canadian allies were welcomed into our town with much enthusiasm. The soldiers soon became good friends with the citizens and anyone who could speak a word of English did their best to converse with them. Crowds of people presently filled the market square where the tanks were lined up; flags were hoisted and waved everywhere and soon our national anthem, the Wilhelmus, sounded poignantly and solemnly across the twilit city.  We entered our first night of freedom. For the first time in many years the people of Dokkum could sleep in peace.
Source: Nieuwe Dockumer Courant (New Dokkum Daily), Newspaper for North-East Friesland, Tuesday, May 1, 1945

BEST
We feel it as our duty to tell our children

The text is part of a speech given by Mayoress A. Demmers when veterans (Scots, Americans and Canadians) visited Best in September 2004.
September last year I was pleased to offer a lot of our liberators a warm welcome in Best on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Best. Different from these

celebrations was the reason of their real visit to Holland during the war in 1944.
No happy days, no sign of a future freedom for all those people who were damaged by the war in our country and so many countries around us. The only reason to be hopeful at that time (for the people in this area) was the coming of the allied soldiers. 
I am sure that it is known that the fighting in this area (the south of the Netherlands) resulted in heavy casualties. There were a lot of losses; among the allied soldiers and also among the population of Best. The value of freedom becomes stronger nearly every day as we are all witnesses of violence all over the world. These battles have no names; they are not called World War I or II, but they exist.
By seeing all these tragedies we will more and more learn to be aware of the great gift given to us: our freedom. We must realize that your battle for liberation gave to us the possibilities we all have now. And especially the choices we have in order to deal with all these chances. Therefore we feel it as our duty to tell our children what price had to be paid in order to get our freedom. And to tell them about your courage in those days in which you risked your lives and unfortunately lost many of  your comrades who are always in our thoughts during the commemorations.
For all your bravery and devotion I want to thank you again. We will never forget!
Mrs. A. Demmers – van der Geest
Mayor of Best

COEVORDEN
They were still just boys

The Liberation of Coevorden
Taken from the city archives
Thursday, 5 April 1945
We were suddenly startled by the alarming whine of the siren. We couldn't hear any airplanes, so what was happening?
Then someone shouted in German: "Fenster aufmachen, die Brűcke wird gesprengt”. (Open your windows, the bridge is being blown up.) Everyone rushed off to take this advice and also to prepare the cellar for a few days' stay.
It was drizzling out. Those who had worked for the O.T. were allowed to return home, the gentlemen themselves also left, their task having been completed: they had had 1766 holes dug. How many of them would be used?
When an hour later the Bentheim Bridge had still not be blown up, most of us started getting bored down in the cellar and so went out to take a look.
The Germans, most of them still young as the older ones had already departed, wearing

22