{"id":6179,"date":"2024-12-18T00:31:41","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T00:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bunkermuseumantwerpen.be\/?p=6179"},"modified":"2024-12-18T10:11:18","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T10:11:18","slug":"herdenking-cinema-rex-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bunkermuseumantwerpen.be\/en\/herdenking-cinema-rex-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembrance Cinema Rex 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On 16\/12\/2024 at 3:23 PM, a small part of the busy Keyserlei was silent for one minute.<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Exceptional given the location, but one would be moved to think of what happened 80 years earlier.<\/p>

Despite the deliberate modesty of the event, it was a very nice gathering, with representatives of various governments and organizations as well as passers-by, interested people and family members of people who were in \u201cthe Rex\u201d. While waiting, they were occasionally treated to a bit of music by a piper from the Clan Hay Pipe band.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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At 3:15 pm, initiator Koen Palinckx opened the ceremony by welcoming everyone on behalf of the \u201cnpo Remembrance 1st V-bomb Antwerp\u201d and the \u201cInternational V2 Research Group\u201d. You may have come across the latter before on our V2 webpage<\/a><\/span> since our board member Olivier Vilain is also a member and has been able to count on their extensive expertise, archives and especially their passion for years. Much of this can be found online at \u201cV2rocket.com\u201d, the source on the internet for V2 information. Be sure to visit the beautiful and extensive page about Antwerp under the V-bombs: \"The City of Sudden Death\"<\/a><\/span>, of course the story of the V2 at Cinema Rex is also shown there with some testimonials and some rarer photos.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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During his introduction, Koen did not fail to mention the local and especially the Allied units that were active at the disaster site from 16 December to 22 December 1944 and got hundreds of victims from the rubble.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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163th field ambulance company<\/strong><\/p>

719th and 696th art works company Royal Engineers<\/strong><\/p>

358th engineers USA<\/strong><\/p>

487th and 517th port batalion USA<\/strong><\/p>

15th en 17th Advanced ordonance depot RAOC<\/strong><\/p>

45th British hygiene section<\/strong><\/p>

74, 86, 91, 104, 310, 332rd pioneer company<\/strong><\/p>

41 and 77th mechanical equipment platoon Royal Engineers<\/strong><\/p>

1043rd port operations company RE<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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164th railway operation company RE<\/strong>
85 and 39th general transportation company RASC<\/strong>
552nd army troops company RE<\/strong><\/p>

102nd and 153rd commander royal engineers works<\/strong>
116th railway construction company RE<\/strong>
173rd provost company corps military police<\/strong>
930th port construction and repair company RE<\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Passive Air Defence,\u00a0Red Cross, law enforcement, ...<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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British citizens would also come to the aid of the city and its services from January 1945 in the form of volunteers of the \u201cCivil Defence Reserve No.1 Overseas Column\u201d. Recently, thanks to our researcher friend Niko Van Kerckhoven, we were able to add a photo and more information to our PLB page<\/a><\/span> about their colleague who gave his life during an operation in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Pictures courtesy of Werner Palinckx.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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After the introduction, Bart Vercammen, bugler of the \u201cKoninklijke Harmonie Labore et Constantia\u201d, played \u201cTen velde\u201d. This was followed at 15:23 by the minute of silence, exactly 80 years after the deadliest conventional bomb from W.W.2 hit this vibrant part of the city. Then followed a few speeches by Philip Heylen, chairman of the npo \u201cRemembrance 1st V-bomb Antwerp\u201d and Paul Cordy as district mayor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Then a total of 11 wreaths were laid at the memorial stone, accompanied by appropriate musical accompaniment from the Clan Hay piper.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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