A special commemorative event marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen took place this week at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, ahead of the official anniversary on 15 April.
Organised by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) and The Light Dragoons, the event brought together soldiers and two Holocaust survivors, Mala Tribich MBE and Alfred Garwood MBE, who shared their firsthand experiences of surviving Bergen-Belsen.
The Light Dragoons predecessor regiments played a pivotal role in liberating the camp on 15 April 1945, exposing its atrocities to the world.
The commemoration featured a moving ceremony where an oak tree was planted—a living symbol of remembrance and resilience.
As part of the event, Tribich and Garwood participated in the ‘Letters to the Future’ initiative, penning personal reflections on the lessons of history and their hopes for a better future. These messages were sealed in a time capsule, set to be opened in 2045 on the 100th anniversary of Bergen-Belsen’s liberation.
By 15 April 1945, the camp held around 60,000 starving and diseased prisoners, alongside 13,000 unburied corpses.
The British Army negotiated a truce to prevent the spread of typhus and immediately began relief efforts, including medical care, food distribution, and mass burials.
The anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen is observed on 15 April each year.
Photos: MOD Crown Copyright News / Editorial Licence.
My uncle Cpt L .Morrey was one of the libratorsonly spoke to my father about it. Who served as a Staff sergeantin Norway during that countrys liberation.likewise a Family friend Dick Daley .a japanese prisoner never talked about his internment and his horrors encountered