Remembering heroes

I received this message regarding an uncle.  He was my paternal grandmother's nephew:

Hi, I was searching for Ronald V Wood born about 1924 and died 16 Jan 1945 on Ancestry and I found on your page. He was one of the British soldiers(DLI) that liberated our village, he got killed that day and was first buried in our village and about 2 years later reburied in "Jonkerbos" Nijmegen.

 I am trying to get some life details and perhaps a picture of him for an article of those who fight for our freedom.  Are you a relative? Could you tell me something about him?

Regards,
Henk Penders
The Netherlands 

His article has been published and translated into English.

Thanks to Jean Burton for sharing the photo and Glenn McDonnell for scanning the photo and passing it on to Henk!  When Ronald passed away he was only 20 years old.

IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO FOUGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM

Private Ronald V Wood  
Army part:                                      9th Battalion Durham Light Infantry
Number:                                         14338702
Born:                                              June 1924 in Hackney Greater London
Died:                                              January 16, 1945 Dieting  Jonkerbos Nijmegen (Gld) 5.B.5

Ronald Wood is a son of Alfred and Lily Williamson. The family also consisted of 3 brothers and 1 sister.  As a British soldier, he was a Private member of the 9th battalion Durham Light Infantry under number 14338702. In the above photo he is wearing a Royal Artillery uniform and is probably assigned to the 9th Bn. Durham Light Infantry.  On January 16, 1945 he was part of the A Coy who was the first to liberate Dieteren. Unfortunately he died that day in Dieteren, after which he was buried behind the Lei Lijnen farm in the Zilstraat. Later also known as the farm of Karel Dohmen and his wife To Lijnen, now their daughter Marleen still lives there with her husband Wil Deuss.  Around 24 November 1947 he was reburied at the Jonkerbos Military Cemetery near Nijmegen.

Maybe there are people who have information about that time such as stories or photos. Please contact the webmaster info@deetere.nl. Maybe it can contribute to the historiography of our region and possibly also important for relatives of our liberators!