The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story

Canadian soldier Bob Elliott was 19 when his tank crew was firing at the enemy in the Netherlands in the winter of 1944. Sussie Cretier was only 10 when she met Bob and his crewmates. Brave little Sussie had once spoken out against the commanding German officer to save her father’s life. Now nothing could stop her from getting close to these men who guarded her town and became her heroes. To the Canadian soldiers, Sussie became a glowing example of the innocence of youth and a beacon of hope for the future. On Christmas Day, the battle-weary Canadians honoured their little adopted soldier with a special Army-style coat made from a Canadian army blanket. The coat’s buttons came from the soldiers’ tunics. Sussie held on to that coat for decades, claiming it as the most special gift she had ever received and one she would never forget. Saskatchewan author Alan J. Buick’s interest in the coat convinced Bob and Sue to donate this historic piece of clothing to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa in 2006 as a permanent reminder of the Second World War and its long-term impact on the people of Canada and Europe.