Canadian soldier Bob Elliott and
his crew asked a Dutch seamstress to make this child's coat from a Canadian
Army blanket. The buttons came from the soldiers' tunics. The soldiers gave the
coat to their "good-luck charm", 10-year-old Sussie Cretier, on Christmas
Day 1944.
These were Sue's words: "I have no problem telling you what it was like growing up under Nazi rule, but good luck when you get to Bob!”
She was right. Bob, like many veterans, preferred not to talk about the horrors of war; the recollections opened old wounds long forgotten.
Bob and Sue and I met face-to-face at the Royal Canadian Legion hall in Olds, Alberta in October 2005 to discuss the procedure for writing this book. It was a truly amazing day. Just talking to these two wonderful people who had endured so much was an awe-inspiring experience for me.
Alan J.
Buick was a full-time carpentry instructor and a part-time country singer when
he noticed the unique child's coat in a case on display in Olds, Alberta. Here
is what the first glimpse of that little coat meant to him:
Seeing the “little coat” for the first time - at the Royal Canadian Legion
in Olds, Alberta in September 2004 - filled me with bewilderment more than
passion. I asked a friend, who had come to hear my wife Carol and I play music
that night, why this coat with Canadian Army buttons was displayed with all the
wartime memorabilia; it was far too small for a soldier to have worn. My friend
proceeded to relate some of the story behind its creation – it was a Christmas
gift in 1944 from Canadian soldiers to a 10-year-old Dutch girl who had become
a good-luck charm for them; she later brought the coat to Canada.
It was then that my passion for this tale began.
The most powerful moment was when I learned that the little Dutch girl who
wore the coat and the soldier who gave it to her were not only still alive in
2004, but married to each other! I knew I had an epic by the tail! I had to
find out more.
I contacted Bob and Sue Elliott - the Canadian soldier and the Dutch girl
- who were at that time living in the Netherlands. The email address I'd been
given for them failed, so snail mail was the only other choice. They replied to
my letter and the journey to turn their story into a book began.
These were Sue's words: "I have no problem telling you what it was like growing up under Nazi rule, but good luck when you get to Bob!”
She was right. Bob, like many veterans, preferred not to talk about the horrors of war; the recollections opened old wounds long forgotten.
Bob and Sue and I met face-to-face at the Royal Canadian Legion hall in Olds, Alberta in October 2005 to discuss the procedure for writing this book. It was a truly amazing day. Just talking to these two wonderful people who had endured so much was an awe-inspiring experience for me.
 |
Bob and Sue (Sussie) Elliott in 2005
with Sue's little coat on display at the Royal Canadian Legion in Olds,
Alberta, Canada.
I knew I had not collected all the
information I needed that day. The journey I had chosen was both humbling and
difficult. I was dealing with 65-year-old memories! A good example of this was
the day before my publisher, Deana Driver, was to send the manuscript off to
print, Sue told me of the German soldier who visited with her family
frequently. This information had to be included in the book as it showed how
not all German people were evil.
At the close of our 2005 meeting, Sue asked me what she should do with her little coat. I said it should be in a museum, where it would inform future generations of the compassion and generosity Canadian soldiers had for the emaciated and spiritually worn-down peoples of the Netherlands. They contacted the Canadian War Museum, which promptly sent two representatives to the Olds Legion to carefully prepare this ancient garment for the long flight to Ottawa.
At the close of our 2005 meeting, Sue asked me what she should do with her little coat. I said it should be in a museum, where it would inform future generations of the compassion and generosity Canadian soldiers had for the emaciated and spiritually worn-down peoples of the Netherlands. They contacted the Canadian War Museum, which promptly sent two representatives to the Olds Legion to carefully prepare this ancient garment for the long flight to Ottawa.
 |
| Alan J. Buick, author of the award-winning, Canadian best-selling book The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story, available from www.driverworks.ca |
Prior to the official
book launch, scheduled to take place at the Olds Legion on November 11, 2009, a
pre-launch gathering was held at the Armoury Officers' Mess in Regina. As
strange as it may sound and with fate in our corner, one of the officials from
the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands happened to be present that
night, Hans Moor. We gave him a copy of my book, The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story, and
he read it on his flight back to Ottawa.
A few weeks later, I was invited by him to attend a function at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa to honour the Canadian soldiers of World War II who repatriated the Netherlands. This was an amazing evening. There was I, a New Zealand farmboy, rubbing shoulders and chatting with Dutch Ambassador Wim Geerts and General Charles Belzile, retired commander of the Canadian Forces! A truly humbling and memorable experience.
A few weeks later, I was invited by him to attend a function at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa to honour the Canadian soldiers of World War II who repatriated the Netherlands. This was an amazing evening. There was I, a New Zealand farmboy, rubbing shoulders and chatting with Dutch Ambassador Wim Geerts and General Charles Belzile, retired commander of the Canadian Forces! A truly humbling and memorable experience.
My most touching moment
on that trip was seeing "the child's coat" in its restored state and
mounted in a beautiful glass case, complete with a bronze plaque briefly
explaining what it was and what it represented. It literally brought me to tears.
The War Museum staff had done an excellent job of presenting this wonderful
artifact.
 |
| Alan J. Buick seeing the child's coat at the Canadian War Museum. (Photo courtesy of Hans Moor, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ottawa, ON) |
It is
difficult to pinpoint any incident I told in The Little Coat book
as being more significant than another but, if I were to pick just one, it
would be when Sussie's (Sue's) family escaped on foot for two kilometres to the
safety of the Canadian lines while her family was under fire from German
soldiers.
The Little Coat is a perennial story, a story of love and compassion, of terror and human relationships – a perfect gift for men, women, and children ages 10 and up, or even just because. Once you read it, you'll understand the gratitude the Dutch still have for Canadians today and forever. This book captures the true compassion of the Canadian soldiers for the Dutch people in their darkest hour.
Editor's note: The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story was awarded Honourable Mention, 2010 Hollywood Book Festival. $4,500 from sales of The Little Coat has been donated to the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund. $1 from every book sold from 2013 on is donated to the Canadian War Museum, the new home of the 'child's coat' in this inspiring war story turned love story.
The Little Coat is a perennial story, a story of love and compassion, of terror and human relationships – a perfect gift for men, women, and children ages 10 and up, or even just because. Once you read it, you'll understand the gratitude the Dutch still have for Canadians today and forever. This book captures the true compassion of the Canadian soldiers for the Dutch people in their darkest hour.
Editor's note: The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story was awarded Honourable Mention, 2010 Hollywood Book Festival. $4,500 from sales of The Little Coat has been donated to the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund. $1 from every book sold from 2013 on is donated to the Canadian War Museum, the new home of the 'child's coat' in this inspiring war story turned love story.
