Documentation

• Article by Joshua Rijsdam
• Published on June 9th, 2019

Date Pettinga, battle against the Japanese on Java

What will follow are parts of a diary written by Date Pettinga, born on the 27th of June 1916 in Oldehove. During the Second World War he was stationed in the Dutch-Indies, where he took part in the fight against the Japanese. He joined the 12th Regiment Infantry as a conscript in 1936 and left the army one year later with the rank of corporal. However, in 1939 he returned to the military. He served as a soldier in Bandoeng, West Java, before he was transferred in 1939 to the first Infantry Battalion in Magelang, Central Java.

• Article by Ewoud van Eig
• Published on March 17th, 2013

Fred Seiker, Lest We Forget

Fred Seiker was born in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1915. His elementary and further education were accomplished in Rotterdam, culminating in obtaining a place at the Rotterdam College of Marine Engineering. He served in the Dutch Merchant Navy before and during the war. In peacetime he mainly served on ships plying the Far East, South Africa, Canada and the eastern seaboard of the USA. In wartime he served on the North Atlantic routes and between the Far East and the United Kingdom.

• Article by Jeroen Koppes
• Published on March 7th, 2021

George Wilson's Battle for Meijel

George Wilson served in the 7th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division. In October 1944, his division was involved in the liberation of Tilburg. After that liberation it was send to the east, into a area in the Netherlands called 'De Peel'. On the 27th of October, German forces launched a counter-attack. The 15th Scottish Division was rushed from Tilburg to help deal with attack. This is where George Wilson picks up the story.

• Article by Ewoud van Eig
• Published on March 20th, 2013

Liz Seiker, Fred's Journey

In 1938 Fred did not know it but he sailed on his last trip from Holland and would not return to his native land for over seven years. In May 1940, as his vessel was en route to his home port of Rotterdam, the captain received a signal to make for Weymouth Bay, UK, as the Nazis had attacked Holland. Because the small Dutch army had dared to resist their invasion the Nazis had obliterated the centre of Rotterdam by air bombardment.

• Article by Leo G. Lensen
• Published on February 13th, 2016

Modeste Van Den Bogaert, experiences in the Piron Brigade

When war was declared, Modeste van den Bogaert was a student at the College of the Jesuits in Antwerp. He was drafted by the C.R.A.B. and was required to report to the Recruitment Center in Roeselare. As chaos reigned everywhere, he was first sent to Poperinge and from there to an area south of the Somme. His brother Étienne accompanied him. The movement of troops was done on bicycle. They were pushed back at the French border three times, before successfully crossing at the beaches of De Panne, Belgium. At Abbeville, France, they found themselves face-to-face with German Panzers. They then went to Calais where they boarded a Polish ship, called Katowiz after which they lifted anchor for the destination of Bordeaux.

• Article by Leo G. Lensen
• Published on May 10th, 2020

Sergeant Roy Tull, with the RAF Bomb Disposal Squad, 1940-1946

• Article by Redactie TracesOfWar.com
• Published on August 13th, 2008

T.C. Gibbs, Chronicles of USAF Staff Sergeant

In the fall of 1941 I transferred from Mississippi State College to the University of Mississippi. The reason simply was that MS State had 2,000 male students and less than 100 females – a very bad ratio. Also, Ole Miss was a small school, less than 1,000 students with a fine ratio of almost 50/50 males and females. Since I was an excellent history and political science student, the field of law was chosen for my major. In fairness, it could be said that sororities were my major and minor.