Rotterdam names street after coordinator Operation Manna

ROTTERDAM – A solitary Lancaster bomber recently appeared for a fly past over Dutch territory. The fly past was in memory of the Allied food drops of Operation Manna food droppings, which took place between April 28 and May 8, 1945. Billed as the final such flypast, the mission was part of the unveiling of the Air Commodore Andrew Geddespad, the street on which Rotterdam’s Manna monument is located. The Allied airforce officer coordinated Operation Manna in 1945. Geddes’ son was on hand to participate in the street-naming ceremony. Operation Manna, which also saw basic necessities and food supplies arrive by truck and ship, helped stop starvation in a country that before WWII was self sufficient. Under the German occupation most items were rationed and in short supply but the Western part of the Netherlands suffered most in the final eight months of WWII when a German embargo on food shipments was in effect.