Restoring a severed wartime link with Dutch family

Nineteen-year-old Ralph Peters served with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders during the war and was stationed in Nijmegen in the Netherlands near the German border.

In 1944, residents of Nijmegen took Canadian soldiers into their homes and Peters lived with Anthony and Anna Huting along with their six children for about two months.

Peters was wounded during Operation Veritable in 1945 and shortly after returned home to Digby keeping in touch with the Huting family. He kept in touch until 1947 when he drowned on a freighter.

The last letter sent to Peters was from Mrs. Huting asking why they had not heard from him and it was written in Dutch.

When Peter’s nephew, Barry Peters, began his researching his family’s genealogy in 1998, he came across the letters his uncle received from the Huting family all those years ago.

He said he always wondered if the Huting family were still around or survived the war.

“When I was in France (last spring), I met a fellow from Holland and he was a 75-year-old man who grew up during the war and he had a Canadian flag stuck to the back of his camper. So we started chitchatting about it,” said Peters. “The reason he had the flag there was he appreciated everything the Canadians had done for him and his countrymen and I told him the story about my uncle.”

The man, Theo Muller, told Peters he would try to find the Huting family when he returned to Holland and several later, Muller sent one of the family member’s email address.

Peters emailed Ap Huting who was just 10 years old when Peter’s uncle stayed with the family.

This past June Peters traveled to Europe and arranged to meet with Ap and a few of his siblings.

“Probably the biggest thing that I learned was the Dutch people how they were so thankful to what the Canadians, the British and Americans had done for them, they had monuments on just about every corner,” he said.

While in Nijmegen, the family took him to the location where his uncle was wounded in battle.

Peters had a cousin who was there the day his uncle was wounded and watched him carried away on a stretcher.

Peters toured the old Huting family home and the cemetery where Anthony and Anna Huting are buried. The couple died in 1993. He also visited the National Liberation Museum.

Peters remains in touch with the Hutings and plans to return to Europe next spring.

The oldest Huting child died in 1995, but siblings live in Nijmegen, as well as Belgium and France.

Peters resides in Bridgewater, but grew up in Gulliver’s Cove. His parents, along with his sister, still live in the area.

ldelong@digbycourier.ca