Wedding of Wallace and Marie Ponsford

Photo of the first wooden cross and of the next one, both taken in 1945. The first photo was taken by Father Linskens, a Priest that befriended my father in Dreumel, and sent to my mother Tony Ponsford

Letter From Marie Ponsford to the Mayor of Brunssum - 6th May 1946. I found this letter in the old archives of Brunssum. For further information see:   www.rijckheyt.nl access number: T302, inventory number: 6119

Front of the book which has been written by Tony Ponsford. This is not a war story but a story of love between two people and the war's effect upon their love   Peace is the hope that makes men fight In December it will be 67 years since my father was killed fighting into Germany. Recently I edited my parents’ letters, written during four years of war. I published them as a book for my children and my father’s other relations. They are warm, loving and very demonstrative letters: they had to be because no one could afford to leave anything unsaid in those uncertain times.  What struck me about my father’s letters was that they were full of mundane domestic matters, finding a new job after the war, housing costs, whether my mother and his parents could manage financially, etc. I had not expected details of his war, censors would have cut these, but nevertheless I was surprised at the domestic content from a man fighting at the sharp end as a Sergeant in a Reconnaisance Regiment.  In researching the war to put round the letters I found a colleague of my father’s, Ron, who was in the same Troop and had been just 30 yards away when my father was killed.  I asked Ron about the domestic content of the letters. His answer was “Domestic life was our hope for the future. How the Hell do you think we kept going without that hope?” Mr. Tony Ponsford

The Ponsford Family on their visit at Brunssum War Cemetery on

22 March 2009

Tony Ponsford (Right) & His Son David (left). On a visit to his fathers - grandfathers

 grave at Brunssum War Cemetery - 22 March 2009

Tony Ponsford (left) & Ruud Scholten (Right-Webmaster)

Photos from the place, where my father was killed in action and the view that he was observing at the time - (Geilenkirchen/Germany) Tony Ponsford - March 2009

For more information about the visit from the Ponsford Family to Holland klick here

23-11-2009, interview with Mr. Tony Ponsford Jeroen Daemen of Wishbone Pictures is making a DVD serie about the liberation of South-Limburg www.wishbonepictures.com

 

Visit of Tony and Andy Ponsford 23+24-11-2009

Dear Ruud, Jos has given me your email address and I would be very happy to send you a copy of the book I compiled about my parents if you will send me your address. As you will know from the Tremele website my father was one of those trying to relieve the paratroopers at the Nijmegen and Arnhem bridges in 1944. He was killed inaction in Geilenkirchen. Two years ago I got hold of my parents’ letters between 1942 and 1944. I decided to get them typed up for my children then started to put the war around them. The book is not so much a war story, it is more a story of love caused, affected and terminated by war. A group of 8 of us (one of my sons and my cousins) are visiting Dreumel and meeting Jos on Saturday 21st March and I am taking them to visit the grave on 22nd. We then hope to visit the place where my father was killed in Geilenkirchen Regards, Tony Ponsford   Hi Ruud, It is good to hear from you I visited Brunssum War Cemetery with my mother and a party from the Royal British Legion around 1960 but have not been back since. The book will be in the post to you tomorrow. In it you will see that I have a photo of the first wooden cross and of the next one, both taken in 1945. The first photo was taken by Father Linskens, a Priest that befriended my father in Dreumel, and sent to my mother. I also have an up to date photo of the headstone that is now in place but this picture is not in the book. I do have a lot of information about the cemetery and downloaded it from your site and the War Graves Commission some time ago. I have to rush this trip because some of our party flies out very early Monday morning to get back to work. Because I am pushing them around the country so hard I want to come to you from Nijmegen, visit the grave, see where he was killed in Geilenkirchen and get back to Schiphol in time to drop our vehicle and take the train into Amsterdam for dinner. It is going to be a long day! As I said to Jos I will need to come back and follow in my father’s footsteps at a slower pace so that I can take time to see things and meet people properly. When you read the part of the book referring to my father’s time in Holland and the letters written after his death you will understand what I am trying to do. As part of the 43rd Reconnaisance Regiment my father was billeted in Brunssum from 11th November 1944 until he was killed on 7th December. Both he and those veterans still alive remembered the hospitality of those in Brunssum with great warmth. I do not know exactly where he was billeted but for part of the time he shared a room with 2 other sergeants from the Regiment. Ron Leach, one of the veterans still alive, sent me this: - Looking at Google satellite map of Brunssum, I recall that the Troop were parked up a very wide street which looks like part of Dorpstraat where it doubles up with Kloosterstraat.   It is built up a lot in 60 odd years but I am sure that is where we were parked and would have been billeted around there close to the cars. I would like to meet you if it is convenient for you but please do not be surprised if we do not spend very long at the grave itself. It sounds odd having travelled so far to see it but there is little we can do once we have had our private thoughts. I do not know what time we will get there – I will try to get there mid morning. If this time is not ok for you I will make sure that I pick a better time to meet you on my next visit. We will be in Holland from the afternoon of Friday 20th. If you would like to give me your number I will try and ring you on the Saturday and give you a better idea of our expected time of arrival on the Sunday. One final thing – I attach a map sent to me by Ron Leach which shows the exact place where my father was killed the other side of Geilenkirchen. It is where he has written “Wally”. My father was hit in the forehead by a small shell splinter. I have heard that he had a habit of tilting his helmet back and this may have contributed to his death. I doubt if you have as much detail for many that you look after in the Cemetery! With kind regards, Tony Ponsford

Christmas 2011

Source-Bron: Tony Ponsford + Jos van Koolwijk www.tremele.nl