Cycling route Death Valley De Peel - Monty's place Geldrop (#11)

Monty's place Geldrop

At the beginning of February 1945, the British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery was looking for temporary headquarters in Geldrop. His eye fell on the beautiful villa with a beautiful backyard at Nieuwendijk 52. He would settle there for more than a month. His staff was housed at number 46. Montgomery was in charge of the 21st Allied Army Group. He usually led them from a mobile head office, located in caravans. It was therefore special that he had a permanent headquarters set up in Geldrop. English Prime Minister Churchill and American General Eisenhower were guests.

The headquarters was, of course, kept secret. There was therefore no surveillance at the latest. Striking was the cage with the canary in front of the window. If it was on display, Montgomery was there. Despite the secrecy, the Germans got wind of the headquarters. They carried out attacks with heavy machine gun fighter planes. It was nothing more than material damage. On the Nieuwendijk you will find a listening column where you can listen to the story of Montgomery in Geldrop.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Jeroen Koppes (1, 2), Martin Damen (3, 4)