Cycling route Death Valley De Peel - George Foster (#1)

George Foster

The English army unit to which Lieutenant George Foster, then 31, belonged, the Green Howards of the Yorkshire Regiment, liberated Deurne from Zeilberg. On Sunday, September 24, 1944, they marched from Molenstraat through Lindelaan to Kerkstraat. Foster was fatally hit by machine gun shots in Molenlaan, according to his superior Captain Higgins, who later wrote to George's mother.

Foster's body lay in the street, his comrades lay in cover and did not dare to advance any further.
Captain Ernest Campbell, from another unit, found the men in this situation. To show them that there was no more danger, he walked to the body, picked up George's gun and returned without anything happening. He later admitted that it seemed to him like 'walking to the gallows'.

Foster was given a temporary resting place in the garden of the Stevens family, corner of Molenlaan and Kerkstraat. The neighborhood took care of the grave and the Special Voluntary Landstorm formed a guard of honor. George was later reburied at the Venray War Cemetery.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Martin Damen