Koenraad, Pieter, naval officer (born in Dirksland 6-6-1890 – died in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands 22-2-1968). Son of Johannes Adrianus Koenraad, headteacher, and Alida Elizabeth de Graaff. Married on 5-5-1923 to Catharina Cornelia van Trooijen, which marriage was dissolved by divorce on 12-9-1930 by judgment of the Council Read more…
Parliamentary inquiry into government policy 1940-1945 This parliamentary inquiry focused on the government policy of the cabinets De Geer, Gerbrandy and Schermerhorn, since the German invasion of the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 and in relation to Netherlands East indies (NEI) the war with Japan until the opening of the Read more…
Unlike the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) Army and its Air Force, the Koninklijke Marine (KM – Royal Netherlands Navy) that operated in NEI, was part of the Dutch Navy. They resorted under the Minister for the Navy at the Dutch Government-in-Exile in London. By mid February, the Governor the Netherlands Read more…
The Headquarters of the Dutch East Indies Armed Forces was together with the Onderbevelhebber Srijdkrachten in het Oosten – OBSO (Deputy Commander of the Forces in the East) in charge of the construction of the ML (Army Airforce) (for the time being only 18 Squadron). She had to coordinate with Read more…
Jozef Jacob (Joop) van der Laan was a Dutch journalist born in Assen, in 1886. Coming from a family of butchers, Joop ventured into journalism and began his career as a volunteer at the local newspaper, the Asser Courant. Driven by his adventurous spirit, he embarked on a world tour, Read more…
Bernardus Jacobus Fiedeldij was born on February 25, 1907 in Amsterdam, Netherlands to Jacobus Fiedeldij and Maria van der Laan. He had two brothers, Hendrik and Willem, and one sister, Catharina. His parents were both from Amsterdam. His father was a carpenter and his mother was a homemaker. They were Read more…
Burkholder Field (sometimes referred to as Burkeholder), later known as McDonald Airfield (sometimes incorrectly referred to as MacDonald), was located 10 miles north west of Pine Creek in the Northern Territory. The airfield was built by Company “A” and HQ Detachment of the 808th Engineer Aviation Battalion from 11 May to 16 July 1942 Read more…
The Nowra Rifle Club is one of the oldest rifle clubs in Australia, having been founded in 1888. The club also had a strong patriotic spirit and supported the Australian troops during both World Wars. During World War II, the club played an important role in providing training and practice Read more…
A. Drost & B.J. Spitholt, m.m.v. J.M. van Delden, Verslag van de oriëntatie-reis naar en door Australië en Nieuw-Zeeland, typescript, 1957 (Koninklijke Bibliotheek Den Haag, sign. NL 94 H 1000). This is a report of a trip to Australia and New Zealand by three Dutch officials: A. Drost, B.J. Spitholt, Read more…
On September 7, 1944, a Dakota C-47 aircraft carrying 20 people crashed into a mountain near Mossman, Queensland, while returning from a reconnaissance visit to Merauke, Dutch New Guinea. The plane was operated by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force (ML-KNIL) and had four crew members and 16 passengers Read more…