Mods, please delete if I’m out of line with this, but I thought someone here might be able to find out more. This is going the rounds here in Flanders, Belgium:
My name is Florence,
I am desperate and this is my last hope.
My mother was named Augusta Ryckoort. She lived in Eeklo and worked in Gent during the 2nd World War in Belgium. It was there that she met my biological father.
He was Canadien and stationed in Gent – his name was Herbert. They had a short but beautiful relationship, but it wasn’t meant to be, because he was called to the front.
There ends my father’s story – nothing is known of him since then, but the story didn’t end there for my mother – she was pregnant and was expecting me.
She never heard of Herbert again and – to my regrets – she never wanted to talk mutch about him. It is unknown if he was killed in the war or if he is still alive.
A while later, my mother met another man, Julien, and married him. He raised me as his own child and took care of my other brother and sister. We didn’t have a lot, but we were happy.
Today I am 71 years old and I have been trying to find my biological father for all my life, without results.
It is my greatest wish to find out more about Herbert, my biological father: is he still alive or how and when did he die? Do I have any other (half) brothers or sisters?
The only information I have about him, is his name (Herbert) and a picture.
I send you the picture in attachment.
If you have any information of any leads whatsoever, please contact me.
Sincerely & hopefully yours,
By: Arabella-Cox - 3rd February 2017 at 20:29
Brilliant – that really is heart warming. I’m so pleased for her.
By: Rosevidney1 - 3rd February 2017 at 19:29
Just proves that we should never stop searching for answers.
By: Fouga23 - 3rd February 2017 at 18:16
She found her answers!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/florence-heene-finds-canadian-soldier-father-vancouver-1.3958594
By: Fouga23 - 25th January 2017 at 08:09
Thanks for the tips! I’ll send her the link to this thread.
By: skeeler - 24th January 2017 at 23:50
From what I can see of the cap badges in the first 2 pictures, I would say that he was in either The Royal Artillery or The Royal Canadian Artillery and from the picture far right was either a Sergeant or Sergeant Major when the picture was taken. He also appears to have a medal ribbon or ribbons above the left breast pocket. If both soldiers in the left and middle pictures are in the same unit then a closer look at the left shoulder of the ‘other’ soldier may reveal whether the badge there says ‘Canada’, which would then potentially confirm Royal Canadian Artillery?
By: daveg4otu - 24th January 2017 at 20:11
My late wife was also a “war baby” …father was a Canadian soldier. We tried for years to find out about him (her mother would not talk about him) and eventually traced him via the Royal Canadian Legion in 1990 .Sadly he died only a couple of years before that. However we did get to meet his family and my wife’s half brother and sister..
Good luck – it is worth being persistent.
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January 24, 2017 at 2:34 pm