The Dutch hold their national remembrance day on 4th May, the day before most of the country was liberated from the Nazi occupation in 1945. This year, a group of UK veterans, many of whom fought in the Netherlands, visited thanks to the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans. Emma was delighted to join them on a river boat cruise and to sing during a small remembrance ceremony as the boat paused alongside the mound of the Grebbeberg War Cemetery. Veteran Tom Schaffer, a paratrooper who was part of Operation Market Garden, laid a wreath in the river.

Some words must be said about the wonderful Taxi Charity. It is run by volunteer London black cab drivers and has been supporting thousands of veterans of all ages since 1948. The charity arranges free trips to the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, for acts of commemoration and days out to museums, concerts, or fundraising events in the UK, to catch up with friends and comrades. The veterans travel by taxi, meaning they have wheelchair access and their own driver. It is a wonderful, caring organization and please do consider supporting them if you have the means.