The fatal split

In the bright sunlight, the monument in Sint Anthonis casts its shadow over the stones.
A few cars, cyclists and pedestrians pass this spot.
Now it is a rustic spot in the village.
But at the same time, it is the spot that all those years ago was the dramatic finale of a series of rapidly successive events. Where the liberation of the village seemed to take place without any problems, but where that day still became a day with a big black edge.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Overloon, popularly known as the English cemetery, contains 281 graves. Each with its own story. In a series of reports, the Overloon War Chronicles Foundation highlights one such special story each time. This time, grave number 14, box III, row E of Hubert Gerald Orr.

“We stationed troops on that other street, didn’t we?”
“Yes, of course we have.”
“But I don’t think this was one of ours. It sounded like a German machine gun.”
“Yes, it sounded somewhat like that.”

Hubert Gerald Orr was born in 1910.
He is the son of Lieutenant Colonel Gerald M. Orr and Evelyn Orr.
Hubert married Helen Leir, from Camberley (Surrey), and managed to rise in the army to Lieutenant Colonel, the same rank his father held in the army.

In September 1944, Hubert is the Lieutenant Colonel, Battalion Commander, of the Durham Light Infantry, 3rd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment (3MONS).
This battalion is mobilised at the outbreak of World War II as part of the 159th Infantry Brigade (the 159th Brigade). Training followed in Northern Ireland and England.
Yet it takes until 1944 before the battalion will be deployed. On 14 June, eight days after D- Day, 3MONS lands in Normandy.

Read how it continued in Hubert Gerald Orr’s biography.