Vector: Rucphen remembers
In the municipality of Rucphen, several monuments have been erected in memory of victims of the Second World War. These are civilian victims who died in the shelling of a bus of the B.B.A. by Allied fighters and during the shelling around the liberation of Rucphen.
In the municipality of Rucphen, several monuments have been erected in memory of victims of the Second World War. These are civilian victims who died in the shelling of a bus of the B.B.A. by Allied fighters on 3 September 1944, and during the shelling around the liberation of Rucphen in the last week of October 1944.
The monument, built in 2024 in front of the church in the village of Rucphen, lists all the names of residents of Rucphen who died as a result of the Second World War. The previous monument, which can be seen in the church wall, did not include all the names of victims. The names of three boys, two of whom lived in Rucphen, have also been included in the new monument as their story had a fatal ending. After the liberation of West Brabant, landmines were cleared and collected in a kind of pit, demarcated by an earthen wall. The three boys were killed whilst playing there.
The s…
In the municipality of Rucphen, several monuments have been erected in memory of victims of the Second World War. These are civilian victims who died in the shelling of a bus of the B.B.A. by Allied fighters on 3 September 1944, and during the shelling around the liberation of Rucphen in the last week of October 1944.
The monument, built in 2024 in front of the church in the village of Rucphen, lists all the names of residents of Rucphen who died as a result of the Second World War. The previous monument, which can be seen in the church wall, did not include all the names of victims. The names of three boys, two of whom lived in Rucphen, have also been included in the new monument as their story had a fatal ending. After the liberation of West Brabant, landmines were cleared and collected in a kind of pit, demarcated by an earthen wall. The three boys were killed whilst playing there.
The second side of the triangle lists the names of the Allies who gave their lives for the freedom of the Netherlands. This concerns the seven crew members of a Canadian bomber aircraft that crashed near the village of Rucphen, and four Canadian prisoners of war who died in a German Hauptverbandplatz (Casualty Clearing Station) in the former girls' school.
The third side contains the text:
They will not grow old
as we who remain grow old,
nor condemn the years.
At sunset and in the morning
we will remember them.
Whilst the village of Rucphen built a monument to commemorate its victims, in the nearby village of Sprundel, Pastor Maertens had a monument built out of gratitude because they suffered relatively little war damage. In 1945, a park with a statue of Our Lady of Fatima was therefore built in the forest.
Other monuments that commemorate the events in the municipality of Rucphen during the Second World War include the graves of civilian victims at the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Sint Willebrord, and three monuments at the crash sites of Allied aircraft. During the Second World War, the municipality of Rucphen unintentionally became the scene of heavy air battles, with three Allied aircraft having crashed on the territory of the municipality. On 22 June 2023, the three monuments were unveiled in Rucphen, Schijf and Sint Willebrord to mark the places where these aircraft crashed and form a lasting reminder of the courage and sacrifices of the Allied crews. They fought for our freedom, and their courage and sacrifice are permanently commemorated. By continuing to tell stories and organise commemorations, their efforts will live on in the hearts of the residents of Rucphen.