Living in Geldrop nowadays, we are a part of the municipal Geldrop-Mierlo. Being interested in World War 2, I of course had to check out the small war cemetery of Mierlo located in the middle of a forest area.
The cemetery is the last resting place of 665 people, out of which 1 did not die during the world war. Seven of the graves are unidentified.
The cemetery was started in the spring of 1945, in the tie when graves were brought in from the surrounding districts. Most of them are casualties of September/November 1944 when the southern region was liberated.
The 665 graves consist of 646 ground forces, 19 air forces. The nationalities are 655 British, 5 Australian, 4 Canadian and 1 Dutch.
Lewis Tombs, a WW2 survivor, took responsibility of the graves in the cemetery. After his passing in 1982 he was also burried in the cemetery of Mierlo. His wife also rests with him, making her the only woman that found her last resting place here.
Originally, the graves had a wooden unity cross. In 1948 the crosses where exchanged for iron crosses. The unity stones that are currently located there date from 1954. At that time also the Portland nature rock honor cross with bronze sword was placed.
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Passed by there every day when we lived in Mierlo and took train from Geldrop to Amsterdam. So many UK lived lost and honored here (liberating Brabant). We have the watch.
‘May the wind always be at your back….
…and until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hand’