Banstead Village

My grandmother, Elsa Immink, lived at the Grange, Banstead, during the war. My father fought with the Irene Brigade and sent letters to his mother to the Grange.

Note from LNW:

A group of Dutch soldiers were forced to withdraw in May 1940 after the unexpected invasion of the Netherlands. Faced with the choice to surrender or to continue the fight alongside the Western Allies, they opted for the latter. They finally arrived in Great Britain, where they formed a new unit: the Royal Dutch Brigade.

On 5 May 1941 the first detachment of 100 men moved in to Wrottesley Park and in July, the Brigade moved in.
In August 1941 this unit received its own regimental colours from the hands of Queen Wilhelmina, who was in exile in England. In addition, the Brigade was given the honorary name of “Princess Irene”, named after the Queen’s granddaughter.

As a small detachment in the British Liberation Army, the Brigade took part in the
campaign in Western Europe, landing on Juno Beach, Arromanches on 7 August 1944. As the Allied
invasion progressed, the Princess Irene Brigade was given the honour of being the first of the Allied
Armies into the Hague. To remember their special bond, the members of the Brigade proudly wear
an orange-blue lanyard called the “invasion-lanyard”.

SOURCE: https://wolverhampton.moderngov.co.uk

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