A spontaneous popular celebration cruelly disrupted

On Monday, October 30, 1944, the 5th Battalion of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders under Lieutenant-Colonel Derek Lang advances to the center of Waalwijk. On the Raadhuisplein a large and very enthusiastic crowd has gathered to welcome the liberators. "The orange balls fly through the air," writes 19-year-old Bertha Herman in her diary.