Sneaking sugar from the bags

My parents owned a grain mill at Voorstad 11-13, with a back entrance on the Oliemolenwal, right across from the pub. I was seven years old when the war started. As a young boy, I was, of course, fascinated by the sight of a column of German soldiers whenever they marched past. But beyond that, I didn’t really notice much of the war. It wasn’t until September 1944 that it truly began to affect me.

I was supposed to start my final year of primary school, but classes were cancelled due to the shelling. We spent more and more time in the cellar. After a few weeks, my parents set up camp beds, so we could sleep downstairs as well. Even my baby brother’s cradle was moved downstairs, along with large pottery filled with preserved food. Occasionally, we were able to go upstairs or outside, but mostly we stayed below ground. My father covered the wooden floor above the cellar with sacks of animal feed to catch any falling debris or shrapnel from explosions. We also had stock from other businesses stored in our mill, including syrup blocks from the company Verweij & Sporenberg and soft brown sugar from ‘De Betuwe.’ Whenever we were allowed upstairs, I would poke a small hole in one of the sugar sacks and sneak a bit for myself.

We were among the last to leave Tiel in January 1945. My grandfather from Ingen came to collect us with a horse and cart. It was a harsh winter. I remember we had those old-fashioned sprung metal beds. Grandfather tied them to the back of his cart and dragged them along like sledges. In Ingen, we were hit by flooding. At one point, the water was a meter high in the stables and half a meter deep in the living room. We sheltered with my grandparents, along with five other families from Tiel. It was a tight squeeze.
Just before the end of the war, I was walking towards the village with a friend when, suddenly, shells began exploding on the village square. The British were firing towards the Grebbeberg, and Ingen was caught right in between. We immediately threw ourselves onto the ground, landing face-first in the mud and the rotting apples.