Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

DEFENSE / 1939-1945 WAR MEDAL

Date Range From

1939

Date Range To

1945

Materials

NICKLE, RIBBON

No. Pieces

1

Length

12.7

Width

3.2

Diameter

3

Description

A. CIRCULAR, SILVER MEDAL. THE BRITISH ISSUE MEDALS WERE MADE OF CUPRO-NICKEL. A PLAIN, STRAIGHT NON-SWIVELING SUSPENDER WITH A SINGLE-TOED CLAW. THE OBVERSE OF THE MEDAL SHOWS THE CROWNED COINAGE EFFIGY OF KING GEORGE VI, FACING LEFT, AND THE LEGEND GEORGIVS VI D : BR : OMN : REX ET INDIAE IMP : THE REVERSE SHOWS A LION STANDING ON THE BODY OF A DOUBLE-HEADED DRAGON. THE DRAGON’S HEADS ARE THOSE OF AN EAGLE AND A DRAGON TO SIGNIFY THE PRINCIPAL OCCIDENTAL AND ORIENTAL ENEMIES. AT THE TOP, RIGHT OF CENTRE ARE THE DATES 1939/1945 IN TWO LINES. B. ATTACHED RIBBON IS 3.2 CM WIDE WITH GREEN, BLACK, ORANGE BANDS OF COLOUR. CONDITION: RIBBON SLIGHTLY DIRTY AND ENDS HAVE FRAYED; DIRT AND SEVERE TARNISH OF THE METAL.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

MILITARY

History

IN 2016, JOHN VAN DEN BROEKE DONATED TWO CAP BADGES AND A WORLD WAR II DEFENSE MEDAL TO THE GALT MUSEUM. VAN DEN BROEKE’S FATHER, GEORGE JOHN VAN DEN BROEKE, AND HIS UNCLE, MARTIN CORNELIUS VAN DEN BROEKE BOTH SERVED FOR CANADA DURING THE WAR. VAN DEN BROEKE’S UNCLE WAS KILLED IN ACTION WHILE OVERSEAS. IT IS UNCLEAR IF THE COMPOSITE MEDAL AND RIBBON BELONGED TO THE DONOR’S FATHER OR UNCLE. THE MISMATCHED RIBBON AND MEDAL ARE CATALOGUED AS RECEIVED FROM THE DONOR. TO ACQUIRE FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING THE ARTIFACTS’ HISTORY, GALT COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED DONOR JOHN VAN DEN BROEKE AT THE MUSEUM ON 6 NOVEMBER 2016. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN EXTRACTED FROM THAT INTERVIEW. VAN DEN BROEKE EXPLAINED, “MY FATHER WAS...A GUNNER [WITH THE 44 A.A. BATTERY]. HE WAS STATIONED AT PRINCE RUPERT. MY UNCLE – I’M NOT TOO SURE IF ANY OF THESE [ITEMS] DEAL WITH HIM – IS ON THE CENOTAPH AT LETHBRIDGE. HE DIED IN VILLANOVA ITALY IN DECEMBER ’44, 1943... THE WAR IS JUST ABOUT OVER WHEN HE GOT KILLED.” “[THESE BADGES AND THE MEDAL REMIND ME OF] THE WAR EFFORT,” VAN DEN BROEKE CONTINUED, “[ALONG WITH] MY UNCLE AND MY FATHER [WHO WERE A PART OF THAT EFFORT]. [WHILE] MY UNCLE DIED IN ’44, MY FATHER [DIDN’T GO] INTO THE ARMY UNTIL ABOUT ’43. HE WAS DRAFTED OUT TO PRINCE RUPERT FOR THE JAPANESE INVASION, IF IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. IT’S [PART OF THE] HISTORY OF OUR FAMILY.” ALONG WITH THE DONATION OF THE BADGES AND THE MEDAL, VAN DEN BROEKE DONATED SOME OF HIS FAMILY’S ARCHIVAL MATERIAL CONNECTED TO THE SECOND WORLD WAR TO THE GALT ARCHIVES (PLEASE SEE ARCHIVAL ACCESSION NUMBER 20161102). OF THAT SEGMENT OF THE DONATION, VAN DEN BROEKE DESCRIBED, “THERE’S A LETTER THERE FROM THE LIEUTENANT WHO WITNESSED MY UNCLE GETTING SHOT IN VILLANOVA, ITALY AND [SAW] WHAT HAPPENED… IT EXPLAINS THAT HE WAS A SERGEANT AND HIS PLATOON WAS TO TAKE A STRATEGIC AREA. THEY WERE PINNED DOWN UNDER HEAVY MACHINE GUN FIRE, AND HE WAS MORTALLY WOUNDED. HE DIED INSTANTLY OF HIS WOUNDS. THE LIEUTENANT SAID HE WAS A VERY GOOD SERGEANT AND THAT HE WAS THERE HELPING TO FIGHT THE NAZI MONSTER, SO THE LETTER IS QUITE INTERESTING AND IT’S IN VERY GOOD SHAPE.” ACCORDING TO THE INTERVIEW, VAN DEN BROEKE WAS BORN IN 1947 AND HIS DAD RETURNED HOME FOLLOWING THE WAR. HE STATED, “[I KNEW THAT THESE MATERIALS EXISTED] FROM WHEN I WAS ABOUT TWENTY, OR MAYBE EVEN YOUNGER. MY GRANDMOTHER WAS MOTHER OF THE YEAR OR WHATEVER THEY CALL, SILVER MOTHER OR SOMETHING, HERE IN LETHBRIDGE IN 1967.” “[MOST OF THE VETERANS] DIDN’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT,” VAN DEN BROEKE REPLIED WHEN ASKED ABOUT HIS MEMORIES OF HIS FATHER SPEAKING ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE OF THE WAR, “PROBABLY THE FIRST REAL TIME I GOT INTO THIS WAS WHEN HE WENT AND TOOK GRAMMA TO THE GRAVE TO LAY THE WREATH. HE ESCORTED HER AS HER SON, AND SHE LAID THE WREATH ON BEHALF OF SOUTHERN ALBERTA. I WAS THERE FOR THAT CEREMONY, AND [I RECALL BEING] QUITE TAKEN BACK BY THE WAY THOSE GUYS COULD SALUTE. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I’D SEEN MY FATHER DO IT, AND IT ALMOST RAISED THE HAIR ON YOUR NECK BECAUSE IT WAS SO PRECISE. SO THAT’S WHEN I STARTED TAKING AN INTEREST IN THIS STUFF.” “[EVEN AFTER I TOOK AN INTEREST IN THAT HISTORY, MY DAD DID NOT REALLY SPEAK MUCH ABOUT IT.] THERE WASN’T A LOT HAPPENED ON THE WEST COAST [WHERE HE WAS STATIONED AT PRINCE RUPERT]. THEY WERE SITTING UP THERE WAITING F0R THE JAPANESE TO INVADE AND THEY HAD ALL THE GUNS OUT ON THE WEST COAST, BUT IT NEVER CAME TO BE,” VAN DEN BROEKE STATED.” WHEN ASKED WHY HIS FATHER DID NOT GO OVERSEAS, VAN DEN BROEKE SPECULATED, “PROBABLY BECAUSE HE WASN’T CONSCRIPTED UNTIL ’43. AT THAT POINT THEY THOUGHT THE JAPANESE WERE [A LARGE THREAT]. THEY PROBABLY ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR BY THEN, I WOULD IMAGINE. THAT’S WHEN THEY SET UP THE TROOPS ON THE WEST COAST. MY UNCLE WENT IN THE WAR PROBABLY IN ’39 WHEN IT STARTED, SO HE WAS PROBABLY CONSCRIPTED AND SENT OVERSEAS, AND THAT’S HOW HE ENDED UP IN ITALY.” “[MY UNCLE] HE WASN’T [MARRIED WHEN HE WENT OVERSEAS]. HE WAS 23 [WHEN HE DIED]. SO HE WAS YOUNG, PROBABLY JOINED WHEN HE WAS NINETEEN. THERE WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE AT THAT TIME SAYING, ‘COME ON, JOIN AND LET’S GO FIGHT,’ SO THAT’S WHAT THEY DID,” SAID VAN DEN BROEKE, “HE HAD A SISTER THAT USED TO LIVE IN CUTBANK, MONTANA NAMED RIKA NELSON. SHE HAD TWO OR THREE OR FOUR KIDS, AND THERE IS A PICTURE OF [MY UNCLE] WITH TWO OF HER SONS (ARCHIVES ACCESSION NUMBER 20161102).” “[ON THE OTHER HAND] I THINK MY FATHER WAS ACTUALLY CONSCRIPTED [TO JOIN THE WAR], BECAUSE HE WAS QUITE A BIT OLDER AND WHEN HE GOT INTO THE ARMY HE WOULD HAVE BEEN [AROUND HIS MID TO LATE THIRTIES].” “I WOULD SAY MY MOTHER [WAS THE PERSON MOST AWARE OF THESE ARTIFACTS OTHER THAN MY FATHER],” VAN DEN BROEKE CONTINUED, “PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME I’D SEEN IT [WAS AFTER] MY DAD PASSED AWAY IN ’67. [WHEN] I WAS ONLY NINETEEN, HE WAS IN A FIRE AT PARK LAKE. HE WAS THE WARDEN AT THE PARK LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK AND A GARAGE BLEW UP AND HE DIED JANUARY 1ST, 1968. SO AT THAT POINT MY MOTHER AND I MOVED FROM PARK LAKE TO PICTURE BUTTE. [I RECEIVED THE ITEMS] WHEN MY MOTHER PASSED AWAY IN ABOUT 1992.” SPEAKING ABOUT HIS FATHER’S EARLIER LIFE, VAN DEN BROEKE SAID, “HE WAS BORN IN HELLENDOORN, HOLLAND IN 1905 ON JANUARY 30TH. HE EMIGRATED TO MONARCH WITH HIS FATHER IN 1911. HIS FATHER WAS A BLACKSMITH IN MONARCH. PROBABLY ABOUT TWENTY-FIVE OR THIRTY [DUTCH IMMIGRANTS WERE HERE WHEN MY DAD’S FAMILY ARRIVED] AND THEY ALL SETTLED IN MONARCH. THAT’S WHY YOU HAVE THAT LITTLE CHURCH OUT THERE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE AT MONARCH. THAT WAS PART OF THEIR CHURCH, ALL MY AUNTS AND UNCLES, AND THEY’RE BURIED IN THE MONARCH/NOBLEFORD CEMETERY.” “[THE DUTCH CONNECTION IS] VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE ROELOF HEINEN USED TO BE REEVE FOR THE COUNTY OF LETHBRIDGE WHEN THEY HAD THAT DUTCH, THEY HAD SOME KIND OF A DUTCH APPRECIATION DAY IN PICTURE BUTTE ABOUT TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO. ROELOF TOOK THAT LETTER THAT I GOT FROM THE LIEUTENANT AND HE WAS GOING TO READ IT AT THAT APPRECIATION DAY, BUT THE PROGRAM GOT TOO LONG AND HE NEVER GOT TO IT,” VAN DEN BROEKE RECALLED AS HE SPOKE OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS FAMILY’S DUTCH BACKGROUND IN CONNECTION TO THE SECOND WORLD WAR, “[MY UNCLE BEING A DUTCH IMMIGRANT FIGHTING WITH THE CANADIAN MILITARY] WAS QUITE UNIQUE. HE WAS FIGHTING FOR CANADA, [AND HE WAS] BORN IN CANADA, BUT WITH A DUTCH NAME AND HE WAS KILLED IN ITALY. HE’S THE ONLY ONE THAT DIED FROM THE MONARCH/NOBLEFORD AREA THAT WENT TO FIGHT, ACCORDING TO THE HISTORY BOOKS FROM THE AREA. AS HIS UNCLE WAS KILLED IN ACTION DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, VAN DEN BROEKE HAS SPECIFIC MEMORIES OF HIS FAMILY’S EXPERIENCE OF THE REMEMBRANCE DAYS AFTER THE WAR. HE SAID, “YEARS AGO I SENT THEIR PICTURES BOTH INTO THE HERALD WHEN THEY FIRST STARTED THAT REMEMBRANCE DAY [PUBLICATION]. I SENT BOTH THEIR PICTURES AND THEY’VE BEEN IN THE HERALD. [AND THAT’S WHY I WAS REMINDED TO DONATE THESE ITEMS TO THE MUSEUM] RIGHT NOW, AS WE JUST HAVE A WEEK TO GO [UNTIL REMEMBRANCE DAY].” AN ONLINE RECORD FOR THE DONOR’S UNCLE, MARTIN CORNELIUS VAN DEN BROEKE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE ARCHIVES DATABASE TITLED, “LETHBRIDGE CENOTAPH,” READS, “MARTIN VAN DEN BROEKE WAS BORN ON JULY 12, 1921 IN MONARCH, ALBERTA TO PARENTS GERHARD AND JOHANNA VAN DEN BROEKE. HE WAS RAISED AND EDUCATED IN MONARCH WITH SIBLINGS, GERRIT AND RIKA… AT THE TIME OF ENLISTMENT, HE WAS SINGLE AND WORKING FOR HIS FATHER AS AN APPRENTICE BLACKSMITH. ON DECEMBER 22, 1942, MARTIN VAN DEN BROEKE ENLISTED FOR SERVICE WITH THE CANADIAN ARMY AT CALGARY. HE SPENT THE NEXT NINE MONTHS TRAINING AT CALGARY, CAMROSE, AND WINDSOR, NOVA SCOTIA. ON SEPTEMBER 1, 1943, SERGEANT VAN DEN BROEKE ARRIVED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. JUST TWO MONTHS LATER, HE WAS SENT TO ITALY WHERE HE WAS TAKEN ON STRENGTH BY THE CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDERS. SERGEANT VAN DEN BROEKE WAS INCLUDED IN COMBAT OPERATIONS WITH THIS UNIT AS THE ALLIED FORCES MADE THEIR MARCH ACROSS ITALY. ON DECEMBER 13, 1944, SERGEANT VAN DEN BROEKE WAS KILLED IN ACTION DURING THE BREAKING OF THE GOTHIC LINE. HE WAS LAID TO REST AT VILLANOVA CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY. FOR HIS WARTIME SERVICE, SERGEANT VAN DEN BROEKE WAS AWARDED THE 1939-45 STAR, ITALY STAR, WAR MEDAL AND CANADIAN VOLUNTEER SERVICE MEDAL WITH CLASP. HIS MOTHER RECEIVED A MEMORIAL CROSS IN HONOUR OF HER SON.” A LETTER PROVIDED BY THE DONOR FROM THE COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION STATES, “M 105808 SERGEANT MARTIN CORNELIUS VAN DEN BROEKE OF THE CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDERS, CANADIAN INFANTRY CORPS DIED ON 13 DECEMBER 1944 AT AGE 23. HE IS BURIED IN THE VILLANOVA CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY, ITALY IN PLOT 7, ROW B, GRAVE 5.” ACCODING TO THE WEBSITE OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CANADA ON THE VILLANOVA CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY IN ITALY, THE CANADIAN 5TH ARMOURED DIVISION, WHICH INCLUDED THE CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDERS AND NOVA SCOTIA HIGHLANDERS, ESTABLISHED A BRIDGEHEAD OVER THE LAMONE RIVER ON DECEMBER 10-11, 1944. THE 5TH CANADIAN ARMOURED DIVISION PARTICIPATED IN LIBERATING THE ITALIAN PROVINCE OF RAVENNA, INCLUDING THE VILLAGE OF VILLANOVA, IN DECEMBER 1944. AS STATED ON THE VETERANS AFFAIRS WEBSITE ON THE VILLANOVA CEMETERY, “THE ADVANCE ACROSS THE LAMONE NEAR VILLANOVA WENT WELL. THE CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDERS WERE QUICKLY OVER THE DYKE AND IN THE VILLAGE, WITH 43 PRISONERS CAPTURED…THE NAVIGLIO CANAL WAS THE NEXT CANADIAN OBJECTIVE, AND THE ASSAULT BEGAN THE NIGHT OF DECEMBER 12…ENEMY FIRE PREVENTED THE RESERVE SQUADRONS FROM EVEN APPROACHING THE CANAL. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, AIR SUPPORT WAS UNAVAILABLE DUE TO POOR VISIBILITY AND THE TANKS WERE UNABLE TO REACH THIS SECTION. IN THAT ONE NIGHT'S ACTION, 21 OF THE REGIMENT WERE KILLED AND 46 CAPTURED…THE SITUATION WOULD IMPROVE IN A MATTER OF DAYS, WHEN AIR AND TANK SUPPORT BECAME AVAILABLE.” A LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED ABOUT THE DEATH OF THE YOUNGER VAN DEN BROEKE. IT STATES, “HE IS THE FIRST SERVICEMAN FROM MONARCH TO MAKE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE.” ARTICLES WERE ALSO PUBLISHED IN THE NEWSPAPER ABOUT PREVIOUS INJURIES MARTIN VAN DEN BROEKE SUSTAINED IN COMBAT. A NOTICE PUBLISHED IN THE HERALD STATES, “SON OF GEO. VAN DEN BROEKE OF MONARCH, GUNNER A. J. VAN DEN BROEKE, WHO IS SERVING WITH A BATTERY STATIONED AT THE WEST COAST. HE HAS A WIFE AND AN INFANT DAUGHTER, CHRISTINE LOUISE, RESIDED AT MONARCH, ALTA., ALSO A BROTHER OVERSEAS…” THE OBITUARY OF THE DONOR’S FATHER WAS PUBLISHED IN THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. IT READS, “PASSED AWAY IN SUDDENLY IN THE CITY ON MONDAY, JAN. 1, [1968], GEORGE JOHN “GERRIT”, AGED 62 YEARS, BELOVED HUSBAND OF MRS. CHRISTINA VAN DEN BROEKE OF COALHURST. BESIDES HIS LOVING WIFE, SURVIVORS INCLUDE TWO SONS, GEORGE JOHN OF COALHURST, AND HENRY MARTIN OF RED DEER; ONE DAUGHTER, MRS. WALTER CHRISTINE LOUISE DUNN OF TURIN; ONE SISTER, RIKA NILSON… HIS STEPMOTHER MRS. JOHANNA VAN DEN BROEKE. THE LATE MR. VAN DEN BROEKE WAS BORN IN HOLLAND IN 1905 AND WAS RAISED AND EDUCATED IN MONARCH.” ACCORDING TO HIS SERVICE FILE, OBTAINED FROM THE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES OF CANADA, GEORGE VAN DEN BROEKE ENLISTED ON NOVEMBER 6, 1942 UNDER THE NATIONAL RESOURCES MOBILIZATION ACT OF 1940. VAN DEN BROEKE WAS LISTED AS BEING A TRUCK DRIVER AT THE TIME OF HIS ENLISTMENT. VAN DEN BROEKE WAS STATIONED AS A GUNNER FIRST AT ESQUIMALT, BRITISH COLUMBIA, THEN AT VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA IN 1943 WITH THE 27, 28, AND 29TH REGIMENTS OF THE 44 AA BATTERY. GEORGE VAN DEN BROEKE WAS DISCHARGED ON MARCH 7, 1946 ON DEMOBILIZATION. PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, GEORGE VAN DEN BROEKE'S SERVICE FILE, AND ARCHIVAL RESEARCH (UOFL ARCHIVES RECORD, COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION LETTER, AND LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES).

Catalogue Number

P20160038003

Acquisition Date

2016-11

Collection

Museum

Less detail