(Nortons and the Dutch armed forces in wartime, 1940-1945)  

After the capitulation of General Winkelmann in May 1940 the Dutch armed forces were in a rather desolate state. The armies BSA’s and BMW’s were either destroyed or captured by the Germans. Only a very few vehicles came to England during the "retreat" of a number of armed forces personnel.

(One of the twin cylinder BSA's purchased by the Dutch pre-war army has surfaced in Belgium!).

As can be expected, a number of people did not want to be subjected to the German tyranny.  Able bodied men with Dutch ancestry from Australia, South Africa, Canada, etc. etc. merged towards England, and together with the men (and women) who fled during the German advance and after the occupation, named the "Engeland vaarders”, formed the "Free Dutch Forces". In 1940 the Dutch government in exile started the formation of a armed contingency to fight the Germans for the allied cause.

This armed force was instituted on January 11th 1941 at Congleton (Cheshire, England). It was named  “Koninklijke Nederlandse Brigade" (Royal Netherlands Brigade). On August 27th 1941, the forces were renamed Koninklijke Nederlandsche Brigade ”Prinses Irene”. Prinses Irene was the latest daughter born in the Dutch Royal family shortly before the outbreak of the war. 

Due to transfer of men to naval and air forces the unit consisted of 1000 to 1200 men, and contained many nationalities from all over the world. Men who wanted to liberate a 'fatherland" which a number of them had never even seen. After years of training and guard duties, the action came for the first time in August 1944 when the Brigade disembarked on the Normandy beaches. Under the command of British and Canadian divisions, the forces deployed northwards towards Holland. Battles mentioned on the regimental pennant are: St Come, Pont Audemer, Beeringen, Tilburg (1944) en Hedel (1945).
The Brigade was "demobbed" as a unit in the second half of 1945. 

After the war, the "old boys network, old fashioned, inadequately trained, prewar officers" who stayed in Holland during the German occupation (of which the majority had been at home for 5 years), quickly regained control of their old posts, relegating properly trained, combat veterans with most up to date experience with the then modern equipment, to the sidelines. They could rejoin the army as new recruits, or accept a lower rank then what they were trained for during the war. This understandably led to frustration by the volunteer soldiers which did their duty for Queen and Country (with the ultimate sacrifice for a number of them). A properly "poor show".