Sunday 1.4.45
Arrived Sevenum today - about 6 miles west of Venlo. Route via Liessel and Maasbree: evidence of much heavy fighting in Liessel area. Billeted with elderly Dutch couple. Dicky and I sleeping on floor. Huge petrol dump along road E. of Venlo.
Monday 2.4.45
An hour or two on vehicles this morning. Spent much time in sgts mess reading and writing.
Tuesday 3.4.45
Usual routine: Liberty trucks to Eindhoven. Chief local entertainment appears to be antics of bulls in local stud farm!
Wednesday 4.4.45
Usual routine. Much rain: spent the day in the mess.
Thursday 5.4.45
Usual routine. Believe we are moving from here on Saturday, but no preparation as yet. Later. Informed at 10.30pm that we are moving tomorrow.
Friday 6.4.45
Awakened at 1.30am and informed that we move at 9.30am today. Departed to schedule. Route via Venlo, Uedem (in ruins: absolute chaos) Hochwald Forest, and Marienburg (Marienbaum on 1.44 War Office map) for nights harbour. Evidence of heavy fighting in the forest. Slept in deserted and partly ruined German house. Marienburg badly battered and completely deserted, apart from a few troops. We cross the Rhine tomorrow at Rees.
Saturday 7.4.45
Leisurely morning: beautiful day. Ready to move at 3.0pm: Journey under strict orders of M.C. due to bridges. Eventually the Battn got away about 4.0pm - Journey to Rhine thru perfectly flat country, with a few German farmers working in the fields. But much evidence of recent heavy fighting, including piles of unused ammo still to be collected. Also plenty of evidence of "smoke screen" over 2nd Army during assault preparation. Hundreds of cannisters etc littering the fields.
Crossed Rhine about 6.0pm at Rees. River much tamer looking than expected. Perfectly flat country each side and comparatively smooth flowing water. (Ed. note: RTG was a devotee of Wagner's music, especially the Ring of the Nibelung, whence I suspect he had a pre-conceived romantic image of the Rhine. The reality was clearly a bad let-down! But it did nothing to diminish his love of the Ring opera cycle.) There were three Bailey Bridges in use at Rees, and much bridge building equipment on W. side of river. A much larger bridge appears to be under construction. The town of Rees is completely battered - a mass of ruins: we passed through without halting.
Beyond Rees, country very flat and uninteresting with much evidence of recent fighting - ruined farm buildings, burned out vehicles etc. And so to Bocholt, a one-time fairly large town, but now a mass of ruins. The R.A.F. must have plastered the place fairly recently. Hardly a building left in the town - only gaunt and blackened walls and heaps of rubble.
Saw several groups of civilians searching amongst the wreckage and pushing all kinds of wheeled vehicles from prams to handcarts. Scenes very typical of France, Belgium and Holland - but now the Herrenvolk are having a taste of war with a vengeance.
From Bocholt, across Dutch frontier and so to Winterswijk - a small Dutch town where we were given a great welcome. The place was only liberated a week ago, so troops in khaki are still a novelty. The town is gaily decorated with flags, streamers etc. Practically every house and shop has a flag flying. This place has suffered little damage from the war - the railway sidings only appear to have been bombed.
Civilians appear to be well-dressed and well fed: they are obviously far from starving. Our harbour is in a good class residential quarter and we are billeted with local civilians. It is almost strange to see rows of well built and new houses perfectly intact - there aren't any broken windows even.
Dicky and I sleeping in same house. Good bed, with sheets! wash-bowl in bedroom, carpets, etc. Also a decent W.C. - piano - etc. It is a well equipped home and very comfortable. Noticed a complete absence of religious junk, and presume we must now be in a Protestant area.