A Guelph-based charity's efforts to recognize those who helped liberate the Netherlands in World War II will finally get to hold their liberation pilgrimage to that country.
Originally scheduled for May 2020, In Our Fathers' Footsteps: A Dutch Liberation Pilgrimage, will go ahead this September after several COVID-related postponements.
"Over a hundred Canadian descendants of Second World War liberators from across the country will walk 60 km along the route of the Canadian troops in the Netherlands, participating in commemorations and celebrations along the way. The one-time, not-for-profit event, which sold out in 2020, is accepting participants until July 28," said a press release.
More information on the trip and participating is available here.
The IOFF contingent will carry The Canadian Remembrance Torch currently being designed and built by a team of engineering students at McMaster University. Those students will accompany the group and take part in a special ceremony at Het Loo Palace with Princess Margriet during which The Canadian Remembrance Torch will be passed “to the next generation.”
“The highlight will be our walk, as a large Canadian contingent with flags and a military band, into Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn where we’ll be met by Princess Margriet,” says Karen Hunter, IOFF’s organizer.
The Canadian Remembrance Torch is a registered charity with a mission to make Canadian remembrance relevant, vibrant, and accessible—especially for young people—so as to inspire year-round gratitude for peace and freedom.
