大象传媒

Dec. 31-'04.

We got our British uniform and felt like we blended in with all the uniformed people.
No military training yet.
We had only to be in at a certain time at nite,the days were ours to spend.
And boy! did we.
We boarded the 2 deckers so we could have a better look at London.The bombed areas were terrible,some reminded us of Holland -that seemed so far away now-.
V2 's were still exploding. We were told when one hears it,it is going to hit some one else.Scant consolation.
We learned to use the underground:the "Tube", we were told.
We went to Hyde Park,to Albert Hall , Trafalgar Square.
We could not get enough of London and it's people.

But what we really liked was go and eat just anywhere . We went often to Selfridge's (Lyon's Corner House??)
We just loved chocolate trifle and icecream; we could not get enough of it.
British people are reserved,but even so our black beret caused some interest: We were asked where we were from.
Guess what:? some thought we were Russian women of a....
Tankcorps. When we asked why? :they associated black berets with tankcorps people.
When we told them that we were from a liberated part of Holland the conversation changed and we were asked how the occupation was etc.Some asked whether they could treat us to something we really wanted, since we probably could not get it in our occupied country.

One sunny Sunday afternoon I sat at the basin of Trafalgar square enjoying the people,the pigeons and generally the traffic. A Canadian in uniform approached me.
We introduced ourselves. He asked about my uniform, where I was from of course; the black beret was also mentioned.After some small talk he asked a favor of me:would I mind if he drew a picture of me: there was going to be an exhibition of the allied in their uniforms in Canada and he would like to draw me as a typical dutch girl
from occupied Holland. I told him to go, ahead,but also that I was not typical dutch:no flax coloured hair and blue eyes. But he went ahead regardless,promised me a copy of the drawing but never asked me an address to mail it to.
I wonder about the exhibition?No harm done though.

One thing will stay in my mind for the rest of my life:
On a Sunday I went to St. Paul's and attended a High Mass...
The choir, the organ music, the sermon just about moved me to tears;also all the uniformed people from all the occupied countries praying for the liberation of their country.They must have thought about their homeland and wondered whether they ever would return. Would they find their families still alive??
When would the war end and how?

Many would loose their life ;it is a good thing that we cannot look into the future and know ahead what will happen to us

All good things come to an end: we knew we had to leave London, the city and it's people we came to love and admire.
We got our movement orders: to go by train to Wolverhampton,the last stop to" THERE:" our troopship that would eventually take us to Australia and if and when the war ended to the Dutch Indies.

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