The main photo in this article often appears online in the spring each year near the anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian troops. It is usually labelled as the 4th Canadian Armoured Division in Hilversum. The caption is wrong – the troops are from the Ontario Regiment. The Ontarios were part of 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, which was an independent brigade and never part of 4th Armoured Division.
The answer is revealed by viewing a high-resolution version of the photo at full size. The cap badges of the two crewmen are clearly the Ontario Regiment, as shown in the photo below. Additionally, the 4th Armoured Division was nowhere near Hilversum on 7 May 1945. The division was north of Oldenburg, Germany on that day.
The Canadian War Museum has this photo in their collection and it includes the 4th Armoured Division metadata. I have sent a correction to them.
Now you know the true story and can correct the next person who posts it! 🙂
Rod Henderson
Rod Henderson is the Regimental Historian of the Ontario Regiment. He served as a Sergeant in the Regiment and is the author of “Fidelis Et Paratus: A History of The Ontario Regiment (RCAC), 1866-2016”.