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The first Commonwealth War Cemetery in the World with grave adoption
Newsletter December 2024
First of all, we would like to inform you about the developments within the Brunssum War Cemetery Foundation.
With the establishment of the Brunssum War Cemetery Foundation in 2011, we were the first British War Cemetery in the world to receive permission from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to have the graves of the 328 soldiers who were laid to rest in Brunssum adopted. Since then, a great deal of work has been done and all the graves were adopted very quickly. This shows that our work is widely supported and appreciated. We are well aware of this and it is our intention that we can continue to carry out our work in the best possible way. In this context, we refer you to the heading “Adoption” later in this letter.
Ruud Scholten in Memoriam.
Unfortunately, in April 2021 we were confronted with the unexpected death of the founder and highly valued chairman Ruud Scholten. Ruud was a much-loved person and without his tireless efforts our foundation would not have existed. His passing is a great loss, not only for his family but also for all those involved in our foundation.
Book “Lest we Forget”
In September 2019, during the festivities of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Brunssum, all 328 fallen soldiers were appointed Honorary Citizens of the municipality of Brunssum. An absolutely unique event. During that period, Ruud’s dream of making a book arose. This book could only be realized through his great dedication and recruitment of sponsors. Ruud was busy collecting articles and photos, of which he unfortunately did not get to see the end result. The work on the book was taken over as best as possible by Shirley van Dishoeck-Sinfield.
On November 11, 2021 (Poppyday), our book “Lest we forget” was presented in the Brikke Oave and we were able to conclude that it was very positively received. The book is dedicated to Ruud Scholten, who saw the Brunssum War Cemetery foundation as his life’s work. The first copies were presented during the presentation to Mrs. Susan Scholten, wife of Ruud Scholten, Mrs. Wilma van der Rijt, mayor of Brunssum and Lt. General Skeates CBE of JFC Brunssum. The book is bilingual and can be purchased in Brunssum at Plan Uw Kantoor, Kerkstraat 326 and at Tabacconist Hofland, Rumpenerstraat 5 for € 29.95. It can also be ordered via info@warcemetery.nl. If it is sent by post, you should take into account shipping costs from € 8.50 for NL including a protective box.
Liberation Route.
We are very pleased that War Cemetery Brunssum has been included in the Liberation Route www.liberationroute.com, which means that there will always be attention for our cemetery and the history of the region, especially WWII. You can read more about this by means of QR codes on the large boulder with the poppies and an information board at the entrance to the cemetery.
New/additional board
Due to the passing of Ruud, we were forced to look for a new chairman. The current composition is:
Jack van Oppen, chairman
Freek Posthuma, vice-chairman/webmaster
Harold Apps, board member and expert on the many battles in our area
Nowy van Hedel, board member, specialized in research into the families of soldiers from WWII
Shirley van Dishoeck-Sinfield, secretary/treasurer (member since 2014)
Chrisje Baar-Luyten, board member and binder of our flower arrangements (since the foundation in 2011)
Jessy Schmitz-Baar, board member (since the foundation in 2011)
Adoption
In 2022, we carried out a “clean-up” of the 11-year-old adopter register. Many adopters have since passed away, can no longer be traced or have moved, At this moment (December 2024) several graves are available for adoption. You can read information about the adoption rules in the separate document.
Website/Facebook
The new website was launched in 2023 and is regularly provided with news items. Also check www.warcemetery.nl regularly. This means that newsletters are in fact no longer necessary. This also applies to the Facebook page. The FB page of War Cemetery Brunssum is called Brunssum War Cemetery.
Save the dates
4 May national commemoration of the dead, 5 October annual commemoration Lancaster monument Platanendreef, 11 November Remembrance Day (Poppyday) and just before Christmas the placement of the peace light
In the confidence that this information will be well received by you.
Kind regards.
Jack van Oppen
Chairman
Stichting War Cemetery Brunssum
