Sixma, Baron van Heemstra, Hector Livius

Date of birth:: May 30th, 1921 (Huize ter Leede-Sassenheim/Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands)
Date of death:: December 7th, 2001 (Zutphen/Gelderland, the Netherlands)
Nationality:: Dutch

Biography

Hector Livius Sixma, Baron van Heemstra, was mayor of Gaasterland from 1964 to 1983, but gained his fame primarily as a naval officer in World War II. In 1939, he joined the Royal Netherlands Navy Institute in Den Helder. After the Dutch capitulation, he managed to escape to England on May 14, 1940, aboard the minesweeper HNLMS Medusa, where he completed his training.
In 1943, he became the youngest commander of a motor torpedo boat (MTB). From Dover, he led nighttime attacks on German convoys and sabotage operations, including at Scheveningen. During one mission, his boat struck a mine, killing a crew member—an experience that made a deep impression on him. During the invasion of Normandy (1944), he helped prepare and protect the Allied fleet. After the war, he served in the Dutch East Indies from 1947 to 1950 during the police actions. In 1956, he married Christine Carina, Baroness van Dedem, a survivor of the Japanese internment. They had two sons.

Van Heemstra’s naval career during 1940-1945
June 1941: Hr. Ms. Jacob van Heemskerk and on board the submarine O-1;
December 2nd, 1941: Hr. Ms. Colombia (torpedoed in 1943 at the Eastcoast of South Africa);
April 8th, 1942: Hr. Ms. Sumatra;
October 42 – Transferred to Ned. Motortorpedodienst, spare officer & senior officer;
November 5th, 1942: Hr. Ms. MTB 203;
July 9th, 1943: senior officer, Hr. Ms. MTB 203;
May 18th, 1944 – July 13th, 1944: shore detachement Dutch MTB ’s Dover.

Promotions:
1st April 1942: Luitenant-ter-Zee der Derde Klasse;
1st April 1944: Luitenant-ter-Zee der Tweede Klasse;
1st July 1952: Luitenant-ter-Zee der Tweede Klasse der Koninklijke Marine Reserve.

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