Set free by the Germans

Heroes Remember

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Set free by the Germans

Transcript

So we all got away, walked away and we all went as a group, we lined up and we marched back but we, a lot of the fellas took their shirts off and waved them you see, white shirts to let anybody coming this way know that we're a peaceful group. We, again, and again we had to go across over the bridge, you see. And there was René on the end of the bridge waiting for me and he took me to this other place that they had gone to hide and we stayed in that house until the next day and the next, and that day the Americans arrived with all their armour and all sorts of stuff. The Americans boys across the road they came out of hiding but they hadn't been taken the first time you see. If they had done a house-to-house search of not only our place but their place, there would have been three airmen in hiding, at least three airmen. And well it would have been a, maybe it would have been a whole different picture, we might have been shot. I don't think it was something that, I, I think it was an experience that very few people would have; I do have a great memory of it but I guess it's made me more aware of things that are not so good you know and how lucky I am.

Picture of Rene Volders.

Picture of Emma Volders.

Picture of the men of the underground.

Description

Mr. Gouinlock describes how they went back to Liège after being set free by the Germans and how lucky he feels that he was not shot.

Jack Gouinlock

Mr. Gouinlock was serving as a navigator with the Canadian Air Force when the plane he was in was shot down over Holland. He ended up spending about two months in Belgium, hiding from the Germans, staying with different people and moving around within Belgium. He was eventually taken prisoner by the Germans but was let go the next day as they did not know he was a Canadian soldier. Two Belgians that had been captured with him were not so lucky as they were shot right in front of the rest of the prisoners.

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