Major William L. Roberts For the people of Holland, this picture has become a symbol of freedom and is featured in the country's school books. Just days before his 84th birthday in November 1999, Major Wm. L. Roberts was honoured to receive word that this image now appears on the face of a new Dutch postage stamp. On May 6, 1945, the Dutch people gathered in the streets and enthusiastically celebrated the liberation of their country from six years of German occupation. The photograph, taken in Amsterdam by Mr. Aart Klein, shows a young and handsome Canadian Seaforth Highlander, Captain William L. Roberts (and three very happy hitchikers) in the process of rounding up the troops for a military rendezvous in a nearby park.  The captain never knew this photo was taken until he received a copy in the mail one year after the war; it is now a family treasure.

Bill Roberts died at home in West Vancouver on December 9, 2003. He is survived by Nan, his wife of 64 years, three children and their spouses, nine grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews; all of them mourn his loss. His was a life lived generously.  His gift to those who follow were the six years of his youth spent with the other amateur soldiers of his generation who served this country so bravely.  All of them deserve our profound gratitude. We will remember them.

This website was initially created to share Bill and Nan's wonderful news with family, friends and kin across the globe.  mp3 files were made of taped radio interviews (as well as the audio portion from local TV interviews) and were posted on a plain web page so that relatives in Wales, Eastern Canada, Hong Kong, Hawaii and the United States could participate in events as they occured.  At the same time, two of Bill's eight grandchildren, Tom and Nick, just happened to be in Holland where they constantly ran into their grandfather's face smiling at them from posters on Amsterdam's mailboxes - they were able to keep in touch as well.

Together, we decided to acknowledge the heartfelt pride we feel for our father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle and friend, by making this site available to all.  Perhaps there are school childen in Holland that want to know a little more about the man on their envelope. For us, maybe we'll get an email from one of those pretty hitchikers - we still don't know who they are!  In any case, it's a story well worth sharing - to honour the many men and women who, like our Bill, proudly and courageously served their countries and gave their lives so that we could be here today - enjoying the fruit of their service - Freedom!

Here are a few links:  LETTER will take you to the original hand-written letter that accompanied the picture when it was received by Bill and Nan Roberts in 1946;  AUDIO will take you to the download page where you can hear the radio interviews as well as the audio from television interviews;  ARTICLE will take you to the Vancouver Sun newspaper article printed on Friday, November 5th, 1999 in Vancouver, BC.  The STAMP page will show you a picture of the first run image of the stamp itself; and finally, any EMAIL you may wish to send will be directed to Bill's daughter, Meg.  If any of you feel that there are some related LINKS we should be aware of, please click HERE  and send the address to Bill's nephew, Peter.  As you travel through the site, clicking on HOME will return you to this page.

Peace