Sunday, September 13, 2026, memorial service at the monument for war victims at Joe's Bridge on the Barrier in Lommel. The service paid tribute not only to the British victims but also to five Dutch men who died on October 12, 1944 (after the liberation) in an accident involving abandoned ordnance. Relatives and the Mayor of Valkenswaard were present.

Joe’s Bridge, the historic site where, in September 1944, the Irish Guards under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Ormsby Evelyn Vandeleur – ‘Joe’ – established a bridgehead and the liberation of Lommel was initiated.

In addition to the British victims, five Dutch men were also commemorated this year: Toon Damen, Hein Kamp, Gerard Meurkens, Bertus Visser, and Goswin Wolffs. They lost their lives on October 12, 1944, weeks after the liberation, in an accident involving unexploded German ordnance during work on the bridge.

Their families were present in Lommel on Sunday. Corine van Overdijk, Mayor of Valkenswaard, also attended the ceremony. “Our history knows no boundaries. The grief of those families knew no boundaries. And our memory knows no boundaries either,” was emphasized during the ceremony.