Dutch war cemetery seeks more information about Torquay soldier

Candles are lit at the cemetery to honour those buried during a ceremony on Christmas Eve

Villagers who tend a war cemetery in the Netherlands have contacted Devon for information about an English World War Two soldier buried there.

The cemetery near the village of Venray has 692 graves and, where possible, photographs of the fallen.

A library in Torquay has been asked if it could help find a photo of L/Cpl Harry Holland, born locally in 1915.

No picture has been found yet, so library staff have appealed for help to see if anyone knows more about him.

Death marches

The cemetery is in the south of the Netherlands and is looked after by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, but it is a private group of local people that collects the stories of the men buried there.

On Christmas Eve, they hold a ceremony to honour those buried.

Tom Van Mierlo, of the group, said collecting and curating photographs was an ongoing mission.

Of L/Cpl Holland, he said the soldier was believed to have been captured in 1940 and "we believe he was killed in the so-called death marches".

In 1945, with Nazi forces in retreat, Hitler ordered all prisoners of war to be taken to the heart of Germany, resulting in thousands dying on the forced march, many perishing just weeks before the end of the war in Europe.

Christine Howle said she thought people should "go the extra mile" to find a photo of L/Cpl Harry Holland

Torquay Library volunteer Christine Howle said she was surprised to find the request for help.

She said: "I was really struck by it, not just because he's from Torquay; but I thought he was a British soldier and the Dutch people have taken so much care of them, so the least I could do was to try and make sure that we found a photograph of him."

It is understood L/Cpl Holland was the son of Harry and Emily, also from Torquay, and that he married local girl Florence Steer.

Ms Howle said she wanted to honour the photo request because "my dad was an old soldier and I would like to think that someone would do it for my family".

She said: "I feel that it's something that everyone would like to help with... It just tugs at something in you that we should go the extra mile for this."