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    "The Little Coat" by Alan Buick

    Battalion Colours
    Battalion Colours
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    Posts : 846
    Join date : 2009-11-26

    "The Little Coat" by Alan Buick Empty "The Little Coat" by Alan Buick

    Post by Battalion Colours Sun Sep 19, 2010 2:50 am

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    The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story
    Honourable Mention - Biography
    2010 Hollywood Book Festival

    In the midst of the Second World War, while firing at German soldiers on the other side of the Maas River in the Netherlands, the tank crew of Bob Elliott, a Canadian soldier from Olds and Calgary, found laughter and hope in an energetic 10-year-old Dutch girl named Sussie Cretier. Sussie's family had escaped the Nazis to the safety of the Allies. Sussie sang songs for the soldiers, asked questions and lifted everyone's spirits during a painful time in all of their lives. The soldiers 'adopted' Sussie as a fellow soldier and sewed 'soldier' stripes on the torn sleeve of her old green jacket. They allowed her to sit inside their tank while they were firing at the Germans, they gave her family food and provided chocolate and gum treats for Sussie and her brothers. On Christmas Day 1944, the Canadians presented Sussie with an Army-style coat they had asked a local seamstress to make from a wool Army blanket. The buttons on this little coat came from the soldiers' tunics. Sussie held on to that coat for decades, cherishing it as the most special gift she had ever received.

    Almost 40 years later, Bob Elliott returned to the Netherlands and reconnected with Sussie and her family. Bob and Sussie fell in love and she followed her favourite soldier back to his home in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They were married in 1985 and since 1987, have split their time between Edmonton and the Netherlands, participating in Remembrance Day and Liberation Day ceremonies in both countries.

    In 2003, almost 60 years after it was created, Bob and Sussie (Sue) Elliott donated her little coat to the Royal Canadian Legion in Olds, Alberta, as a symbol of the long journey toward peace. When Saskatchewan author Alan J. Buick saw the coat on display in the Olds Legion in 2004, he began asking questions about the garment. This led to him talking almost daily with Sue and Bob Elliott via the Internet while he was writing The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story. Buick's interest also convinced Bob and Sue to donate this historic piece of clothing to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa as a permanent reminder of the Second World War and its long-term impact on the people of Canada and Europe. The coat has been on display at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

    Author Alan Buick and publisher DriverWorks Ink are excited to share this wonderful story in 2010, for the 65th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The Little Coat honours the stories of Canadian veterans and those who suffered under Nazi rule.

    $1 from each The Little Coat book sold in Canada will be donated to the Royal Canadian Legion's Dominion Command Poppy Trust in support of their many veteran-oriented programs.

    The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story by Alan J. Buick
    Published by DriverWorks Ink - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
    ISBN 978-0-9810394-3-5 176 pages/40 photos
    Battalion Colours
    Battalion Colours
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    Posts : 846
    Join date : 2009-11-26

    "The Little Coat" by Alan Buick Empty Re: "The Little Coat" by Alan Buick

    Post by Battalion Colours Sun Sep 19, 2010 2:53 am

    "The Little Coat" on display:



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