The ‘Charging Bull’ emblem is the emblem of the British 11th Armoured Division. Commemorating the liberation on 22 September 1944. The monument first stood at the junction of Dorpsstraat and Meester Strikstraat, but was later moved to the junction of Wevestraat and Kloosterstraat.
In 2015, the monument was modified because it had the wrong unit on it. Previously, the monument featured these two units:
- 2nd Battalion, Fife and Fourfar Yeomanry
- 8th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade
This has been changed to:
- 23rd Hussars
- 8th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade
Near the memorial is a memorial stone in memory of Maurits Hertzberger. He lived on today's village street and hid a number of Jews during the war.
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Form and material
The liberation memorial in Stiphout (Helmond municipality) is a modernly designed obelisk. A bull is depicted on the memorial obelisk. The memorial is 3 metres high.
Symbolism
The attacking bull is the Divisional emblem of the British 11th Armoured Division.
Change
The monument was first placed opposite restaurant ‘t Oude Raadhuis’, located on Dorpsstraat.
THE HISTORY
The Liberation Monument reminds the inhabitants of Stiphout (Helmond municipality) of the struggle against the occupying forces and of regaining freedom and peace.
The Allied liberation offensive, operation ‘Market Garden’, took place from 17 to 26 September 1944. With this massive operation, in which airborne troops had to secure bridges in a lightning-fast attack, the Allies wanted to force a push through to Germany. However, the battle for Arnhem was lost, causing the attack to stall. Thanks to the cooperation of American and British soldiers, a strip of free territory in Brabant, called ‘the Corridor’, could be preserved. From there and elsewhere, the rest of Brabant was liberated in the following months.
On 25 September 1944, Helmond was liberated by the 11th Armoured and 3rd Infantry Divisions of the 8th British Army Corps. The Royal Norfolk Regiment was part of this army corps, whose task was to advance on the right side of ‘the Corridor’. This would widen it, making it more difficult for German troops to breach ‘the Corridor’. However, the British advance was slow. Especially at the Zuid-Willemsvaart, much resistance was encountered from the German 107th Panzer Brigade. Heavy fighting took place in East Brabant for weeks.
Unveiling
The monument was unveiled on 20 September 1986.
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