In early autumn 1944 ‘C’ Squadron 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars were spearheading the advance of 7th Armoured Division north from Eindhoven towards Nijmegen.
Near Vachel, a young man hailed me from a ditch and, pointing, said ‘The Germans are in those houses’.
This was officer cadet Janssens, fighting with the Dutch Resistance.
He got aboard my tank and remained there as my lap gunner/interpreter until we reached Hamburg. He spoke fluent German, French, English and Dutch dialects, and was invaluable at getting information, and questioning POWs.
After some while, he was put on the Squadron Pay Roll as an 8th Hussar Trooper, later became a Sergeant and commanded a troop of tanks.
After the war, he returned to the Dutch Army with officer status, fought in Indonesia, was wounded and retired as a Colonel.
He had intense pride in his service with the 8th Hussars, talked lovingly of his ‘old Regiment’, attended Regimental functions and was in great form at the Tercentenary weekend.
In his retirement, he lived at a beautiful house — Joppe Manor — near Deventer. He will be remembered by his friends as a very gallant 8th Hussar.
Should he have been captured he would have been shot out of hand as a member of the Dutch resistance.
He died in May 1986 from a heart attack.
