AN APPEAL has been launched for help in finding out information about a war hero who helped liberate the Netherlands in the Second World War.
Maikel Slotboom who lives in Arnhem is hoping to find out information about Harold Victor Burns. He was a 2nd Lieutenant with the Lincolnshire Regiment and died during the liberation of Arnhem.
What we know about Harold Victor Burns
He was born in Wordsley on November 2, 1918, and died on April 13, 1945.
But his parents can be traced back to living in Bromsgrove before he headed out to serve his country.
His parents were Harold Ward Burns and Florence Cecilia nee Bridge.
According to the 1921 census, Harold Victor Burns lived with his mother at his maternal grandparents who resided in Stourbridge.
But then, on the 1939 register, he is listed as living with his parents and two siblings at what seems to be Ivydene, Bromsgrove.
Gladys Miriam, who was born in 1921 and died in 1996 in Hagley, married Charles Henry Davis (he died in 1986 in Bromsgrove).
Brian, another sibling, was born in 1933 and died 2015.
Maikel managed to get the dates of death from an Ancestry tree.
How Standard readers can help
He is hoping Standard readers will be able to help him acquire a photograph (if there is one) or find out stories about him so they can be shared during the commemoration of the liberation of Arnhem. The event is set to take place at the St Eusebius Church on April 13.
Maikel said: “I would love to hear from you – all the best from the Netherlands.”
Anyone who can help can find Maikel on Facebook at: facebook.com/maikel.slotboom/ or email him at [email protected] to let him know what information they have.
