Sgt. Robert Herbert deHartog
Royal Air Force 320 Squadron
from:Holland, Rotterdam
My father, Robert de Hartog, was a Dutch soldier when the Germans invaded Holland on 10th May 1940. After the Dutch surrender on 14th May, my father escaped with several other Dutch troops and left France from Cherbourg and landed in Wales on 30th May 1940.
After being part of the Prinses Irene Brigade, my father went for flight training with the RAF and, after returning from the Commonwealth Air Training Programme in Canada, he was assigned to the RNNAS 320 Squadron under the RAF. He flew 10 missions during Operation Market Garden, then was assigned to 860 Squadron flying Swordfish aircraft from flat topped freighters operating in the North Sea. From there he operated with the Dutch Auster Squadron.
After the war, he flew for KLM operating between Curaeao and Miami. My father passed away in July 1994 in Ottawa, Canada.
