War Veteran Searching For Tilbury Family To Return Lost War Letters

A veteran soldier is on a mission to trace the family of a man from Tilbury, who fought in a town on the Dutch-German border during the Second World War.

Jeff Haward, 97, saw action throughout the war as a machine gunner with the Middlesex Regiment. He was posted to Dunkirk, El Alamein and Normandy.

In 1945 he was in Holland, in the village of Dinxperlo, since then he has been back several times to visit friends made during the war and members of their families.

Last year he received a letter from one of his friends, who lives in Dinxperlo, called Chris Seesink. He told him some of letters that had been found from the wife of a British soldier to her husband.They dated back to March 1945.

“We thought it would be a wonderful thing if we could trace the family of this couple, and return the letters to them,” said Mr Seesink.

“They were addressed to a Private Ron Goddard who served with the 51st Highland Division".

“There are five letters. They were left on the table at a farmhouse in Dinxperlo that belonged to a Mr Ter Horst. It was from this direction that the 51st HD entered the village to liberate it.

“There was quite a battle and a lot of houses were damaged. It took three days for the Allies to capture the town, which was then a very small village. In total there were 39,000 grenades fired on Dinxperlo, which lies right across the German border. One side of the main street is Dutch, the other is German.”

The first is dated March 19 1945 and the address on the letters is 17th Platoon, D Company, 7th Battalion, A & SH, BLA.

Back at this time the divison had joined up with the Canadians and taken part in Operation Veritable, to clear the Germans from the area between the Maas and the Rhine. They also took part in Operation Plunder, which included the crossing of the Rhine.

“Sadly the house where the letters were found was torn down a few years ago to make way for new industry,” said Mr Seesink.

Mr. Hayward, however, said he believes that the husband and wife are unlikely to still be alive. But he isn’t giving up hope of finding them as their children or grandchildren might be.

“Perhaps there are members of the Goddard family still living in the Tilbury area.”

“It would be nice to return these letters to the people to whom they really belong.”