On 23 October, Operation Colin gets off to a smooth start. Schijndel and the surrounding area are quickly liberated and the three battalions of the 154th Brigade are sent through the breach in the German front. Then things soon slowed down. At the southern edge of Sint-Michielsgestel, things almost go dramatically wrong.

Far ahead of the Scottish infantry, the foot soldiers, are Sherman tanks of the 144th Royal Armoured Corps plus some light reconnaissance vehicles of the 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry .The tanks are keen to reach the Dommel as quickly as possible, but a kilometre outside Sint-Michielsgestel they encounter a German roadblock. Once that is taken, the attackers encounter a second, a third and a fourth. After this, the vanguard finally reaches the outskirts of the village, near the exit to the Beekvliet minor seminary. Bullets are flying around: dangerous for civilians. 

On either side of the road are two large farms. Closest to the village the Spierings family lives. Their farm soon catches fire and the family run for their lives. Across the road the Kapteijns family lives. When the shooting starts, the family runs to the makeshift shelter in front of the house. There they are safe for the time being, at least so it seems. But then German mortar shells fall down and the roof catches fire. What's worse, the burning roof collapses, starts to slide and partly lands on top of the shelter. The family is now trapped. Every second counts. Father Kapteijns wriggles his way out. He attracts the attention of Allied soldiers engaged in battle with the Germans. A few turn and run back. They immediately start removing the burning remains with shovels. They are just in time and are able to save the family. These then have to take shelter next to the soldiers in the ditch alongside the road for the time being, at least until a little later the last German defenders are driven off.