Brunssum, The Netherlands:
Sunday 13 November, the annual Remembrance Service was held at St Peter’s Church, Sittard, and the Sittard War Cemetery.
General Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta (Commander), Major General Mark Pullan MBE (Deputy Chief of Staff - Plans - Designate), Colonel Marco Zeemeijer (Senior National Representative - Netherlands) & Group Captain Matthew Roberts (Senior National Representative - United Kingdom) represented JFC Brunssum and laid wreaths.
Amongst others to lay wreaths were: Governor Emile Roemer on behalf of the Province of Limburg, Mayor Hans Verheijen on behalf of the people of Sittard & Geleen and Mrs Eefje Joosten, President of the Sittard War Graves Commission.
On completion of the ceremony children from the elementary school of Ophoven laid poppies they had made themselves on all the graves.
This was the 55th year that the Sittard War Graves Commission has successfully organised such a service of remembrance for Commonwealth soldiers killed in action during World War II. Of the 239 soldiers laid to rest in the Commonwealth War Cemetery, Kromstraat, Ophoven Sittard, 6 remain unidentified. The majority of those buried in the cemetery were members of the Scottish Regiments belonging to the 52nd (Lowland) Division, who were engaged in battle in the local area from 18 to 24 January, 1945.
Another 20 British soldiers (1 unknown) who lost their lives in November and December 1944 are buried at the General Cemetery at Algemene Begraafplaats Vrangendael, Lahweg / Weherweg, Sittard.
The Commission holds a small Remembrance Ceremony there each year on the Saturday preceding Remembrance Sunday.