In a heartfelt act of reconciliation, 72-year-old Brooke Webber from Coquitlam, British Columbia, has returned three bronze figurines to the Netherlands that her father, a Canadian Army officer, brought home after the Second World War.
A Daughter's Moral Awakening
For nearly three decades, Brooke Webber grappled with the presence of the figurines in her home after inheriting them from her father, David Crandell Webber, following his death in July 1996 at age 77. The collection depicted a farm woman holding a rake, a young angler, and a man returning home.
"About a year ago I just thought, 'This is wrong. I've got to take them back,'" Webber recalled, explaining the moral conviction that ultimately guided her decision. The figurines had always held a prominent place in her father's living rooms throughout his various homes, but their origin story remained troublingly vague.
The Mysterious Origin Story
The unusual acquisition occurred in the fall of 1945 in northern Netherlands. David Webber, a lieutenant from Vancouver, woke one morning with a hangover and discovered the three bronze figurines beside his bed. He was among thousands of Canadian soldiers who remained in the Netherlands following the German Army's capitulation in May of that year.
According to family lore passed down from Brooke's mother, the elder Webber had been carousing the previous night, though he never provided a clear explanation of how he came to possess the artifacts. This ambiguity led his daughter to wonder whether the items had been looted or purchased from a Dutch family desperate for money or food during those difficult postwar times.
In December 1945, David Webber packed the figurines into his military trunk alongside a Nazi bayonet and flag, then began his journey home to Canada. Just one month later, he married his high school sweetheart.
From British Columbia to European Battlefields
David Webber's military service began when he joined the army in May 1940 at age 21, while working at his family's sawmill in Haney. Born in Vancouver in January 1919, he was assigned to the Canadian Forestry Corps and shipped to the United Kingdom in May 1941, where he logged timber in Scotland to supply wood for military operations.
His military career advanced significantly when, in April 1943, Webber - then a corporal - was selected for officer training at the prestigious Royal Military College Sandhurst in England. He graduated as a lieutenant in November that year and subsequently trained as a tank commander before being attached to the Canadian Armoured Corps in September 1944.
Returning History to Its Rightful Home
Brooke Webber's decision culminated in her donating the figurines and her father's officer trunk to the Museum aan de A in Groningen, Netherlands. The timing was particularly significant, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Holland by Canadian forces.
The return of these artifacts represents more than just the physical restoration of historical items - it symbolizes the ongoing process of reconciliation and the complex legacy of war souvenirs. For Brooke Webber, the act brings closure to a family story that began with a hungover soldier waking up to an unexpected discovery eight decades ago.
Her father's figurines, which once traveled from a Dutch household to British Columbia in a military trunk, have now completed their journey home, serving as tangible reminders of the Canadian liberation of the Netherlands and the personal stories that continue to unfold generations later.
