Victoria Park Liberation of the Netherlands Memorial

In 1944-45, after fighting their way through Belgium, the Allied Forces, with a large proportion of Canadian troops, liberated the Netherlands. More than sixty years later, the Netherlands, and its emigrants worldwide have never forgotten this gift by Canada, who lost near 8,000 soldiers fighting for their freedom and whose bodies still lay in Dutch soil to this day. On September 22, 2006, this memorial was given as a gift from the Dutch Community as an expression of thanks to Canada and its Armed Forces, for their role in the liberation of Holland and Belgium during World War II. It was presented to the WW2 Veterans of Canada and the City of London in Victoria Park. This memorial consists of 3 sections. The first a unique musical Carillon made of 18 bronze bells suspended on a large stainless steel tower. The second element is a granite sculpture at the base of the Carillon showing the locations of Canadian Forces cemeteries in Holland and Belgium, where 7,600 Canadian WW2 graves are located. Thirdly, as is fitting for the Dutch, a beautiful garden has been created to encompass the entire site.