Obviously one of the containers held a ‘split’ casing

Clifford E. Murch - Some of my experiences in wartime Holland.  .  .  .  .

After enlisting in the Canadian Army on December 13, 1942, I completed basic training in Camrose, Alberta, and then went on to Armoured Corps training at Camp Borden, Ontario.  In November of 1943 we left Pier 21 at Halifax and sailed aboard the Mauratania to Liverpool, England.  After further training sessions, I was posted to the British Columbia Regiment of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division.  Our Division joined the invasion force at Courseilles, France, on July 26, 1944, and moved on to the battle area south of Caen. We were now part of Operation Totalize, the big drive to close the Falaise Gap and trap a large portion of the German army.  In our first engagement with the enemy, our regiment suffered the loss of many men and 46 tanks.  By August 12th the regiment had rebuilt and we continued our role in pursuit of the Germans along the coast which led us to Holland. The First Canadian Army had been assigned the task of clearing the area of the Scheldt, as a prelude to opening the post of Antwerp.  I was with the British Columbia Armoured Regiment through the battle of Normandy and along the coast of Holland.  We arrived in the Bergen op Zoom area on October 29, and I must say I was not impressed with the area.  Much land had been flooded and it was cold and raining; we spent very little time in dry clothes.  Some of our tanks engaged enemy forces cross the estuary at the Island of Shouwen and were successful in sinking three German corvettes.  A bell from one of the ships is now in our Regimental Museum in Vancouver.  At about this time we experienced for the first time the German weapon ‘V2’ which landed at Brigade headquarters.  I remember some nice weather in early November when our Regiment was together near Bergen op Zoom for the first time since we left France.
From here, in the later part of November, we moved to s’Hertogenbosch where we spent a few days while the Second Armoured Brigade moved through us.   It was here that we had a chance to really meet some Dutch people and my first impression of Holland and its people, changed. We were assigned a sector south of the Maas River and it was here we would spend most of that winter.  On Christmas Eve we were warned of a pending German Paratroop attack, but it did not materialize.  Most of December was given over to training, maintenance and organization.  Our troop (4 tanks) had just finished a training exercise and was sitting around a campfire, burning the containers our shells came in.  I had just gone to our tank and taken a picture of the group, when the fire exploded, killing three men and injuring nine.  Obviously one of the containers held a ‘split’ casing, which means the explosive had become separated from the shell casing,

Clifford E. Murch - WWII Veteran
Posted to the British Columbia Regiment
of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division.
Liberator of the Netherlands

and his brother

Hewitt J. Murch - WWII Veteran
Royal Canadian Signal Corps
2nd Armoured Brigade
Liberator of the Netherlands
 

 











   Clifford

Hewitt