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Because there were no ballpoint pens yet, Francien wrote with a pencil in a very small book with a floral cover. Below are some quotes from it:
September 17, 1944 . At about 11 o'clock there were a lot of planes. They flew in groups of six. They went in the direction of the Maas. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon a lot of planes came again, but they now flew very low. They threw out paratroopers. Also in Eerde. Veghel was soon occupied. That day we saw no English people. At night we visited Ties van de Tillaar. We sat in the kitchen all night.
September 18, 1944 . Nothing happened all day, only in the afternoon we saw two English cars. Towards evening we saw the first five soldiers on foot. There have been many planes again. Very low.
With great difficulty he could say “how are you?”
September 19, 1944. During the 8 o'clock Mass, English cars, motorcycles and tanks passed by. All the people were standing in the street waving. At half past eight the flag was already hanging outside .
At one o'clock we had talked to the first Englishman at the church. It just kept moving on. When the cars stopped we quickly went there. In the afternoon our Toos was called to our neighbor De Mol. There was an Englishman who wanted to learn Dutch. With great difficulty he could say “how are you?”
Read all quotes in ' Small in a World War, Mariaheide liberated for 75 years'
At the end of March 1945, Francien stopped writing, the booklet was full. She kept it all this time. When we visit her in August 2024, Francien will be 95 years old. Her memories are still crystal clear. After the war she corresponded with Eddy from England for a long time. 'It's a pity I didn't keep those letters.' She tells about the time they crawled under the table when a V-1 came over and struck nearby. And about the times they crawled into the storage cellar of innkeeper/grocer Driek de Mol and sat on the bags of sugar. Driek stood outside, was curious. Until they shot a power pole in half right in front of him.
Francien usually enjoyed spending time with the soldiers in the house. 'Except for Old Jack, who was no good. He came too close. I punched him in the face…'
Francien Versantvoort often thinks back to the war. And says that she has often been anxious.
** You can read many war stories in ' Small in a World War, Mariaheide liberated for 75 years' , 2019 edition.
