Dutch documentary crew visits Cornwall with WW2 evacuee trio

Three former child evacuees, known as "bleekneusjes" due to their famished complexions, have revisited Cornwall

A Dutch documentary crew has visited Cornwall to meet descendants of foster families who cared for Dutch children during World War Two.

More than 40,000 were evacuated after the Battle of Arnhem in 1944.

Foster families in Cornwall took in the children, which documentary makers said changed their lives.

Three of them - known as bleekneusjes [pale noses] - now all aged 88, also visited Cornwall to relive the "never forgotten" act of humanity.

Severe food and water shortages in parts of the Netherlands during the war left thousands of children in need of help.

Bob Bakkenes revisited Cornwall 76 years after his evacuation

Bob Bakkenes, who stayed with a family in Penzance, said: "Every small city we passed ... there was a group of children going out.

"We were lucky to be the last ones and ended up in Penzance, the most beautiful place I could remember.

"We had freedom, we had a lot of attention ... it's Cornwall, of course; never forgotten."

Caroline Atkinson's father was thanked by the Netherlands government in 1946 for caring for children, one of whom was Mr Bakkenes.

She said: "Bob has said to me that, if it wasn't for my dad, he probably wouldn't have lived, and that is an incredible thought."

Johan Zweers, one of the child evacuees, enjoyed the view at St Michael's Mount with his grandson

As part of their visit, the three men - Mr Bakkenes, Theo van Binsbergen and Johan Zweers, attended a reception on St Michael's Mount similar to one they were at as boys.

Documentary maker Marieke van Kessel said they wanted to let the men relive the special moments once again.

"We thought we should go there ... and give them that moment to reflect," she said.

The Battle of Arnhem in September 1944 - Operation Market Garden - saw Allied forces dropped behind enemy lines in the Netherlands but failing in a bid to secure eight bridges and open up a route into Germany after the D-Day landings.

It is most famously depicted in the movie A Bridge Too Far.