Atjeh – noble saber (Peudeuëng)

Next to the very distinctive Sikin and Rencong from Aceh there is another weapon that is directly linked to Aceh but only for those of noble status and in the status variation (so with gold and diamonds) only for those closely connected to the Sultan of Aceh.

Longer weapons of all kinds were named pedang in Indonesia. On Sumatra in the Aceh region the local name was Peudeuëng which was used only for an extra long type of sabre in the Indian Tulwar style.

The noble (status) variation has a few very distinctive differences, The steel handle has a woven (teurhat) silver cover (kabat). The style of weaving can help determine the age but they are basically all 19th century or earlier. The top of the handle has a gold cover (crown) which in this case has also rough diamonds (inten) and enamel work as often seen on status rencong and sikins.

One of the most famous versions of this weapon is the version of Teukeu Umar that is currently in the Bronbeek collection. That version also has a golden cover of the entire handle which signifies an even higher status!

Photo of Teukeu Umar and his followers with behind him a status Peudeung and many other notable status weapons (photo from the collection of the Tropenmuseum, taken from Wikipedia).

The blades are often longer than 80cms (total length around 100 cms) and always flexible in a high quality damascus steel. Probably most often if not always the blades are imported.

High quality, flexible blade with multiple grooves making it lighter and stronger!

This example came from the collection of Karsten Sjer Jensen (writer of the famous Krisdisk). If the number 8 which can be seen both on the handle and the sheath was put there by him is unknown.

Number 8 on handle and sheath

The entire quality of blade, handle and goldwork make these weapons very rare and collectable today!

See also my blogs about rencong and sirih, also Aceh historical items!

Sources: Catalogus Museum Bronbeek, Het verhaal van Indie, deel 1

KNIL – Bronze Lion (posthumously) resistance against the Japanese in 1942

The Bronze Lion – Bronzen Leeuw (BL) – is the 2nd highest Gallantry decoration of the Netherlands. It was instituted in 1944 and was the final part of the renewal of the Dutch system of gallantry decorations to extend beyond the Miltary Order of William, which remained the highest gallantry decoration.

Between 1944 and 1962 the Bronze Lion was awarded 1206 times. Most of these were for actions in WW2 (also retroactive for actions starting in 1940) and the colonial war in Indonesia in the period from 1945 to 1950. More recently it has been awarded several times for actions in Afghanistan.

In total 336 awards were to allied WW2 men and 869 to Dutch of which 177 were postumously awarded. A total of 176 were awarded to members of the Dutch East Indies Army.

The documents here are for a posthumously awarded Bronze Lion to a sergeant of the infantry of the Dutch East Indies Army. The Bronze Lion and papers were sent to the father of the sergeant without any ceremony.

I am still researching the circumstances and hope to find more info on this resistance/guerilla group but here the info I have accumulated so far.

First the accompanying letter to the father which makes this a rare paper group!

And below the two pages of the award document including the full citation:

Citation. See for the full text in Dutch farther below. It states that the awardee sergeant A.P.J. van der Veen was awarded the BL for his guerilla actions on the island of Celebes after the Japanese invasion (and following Dutch surrender) together with 7 other NCO’s and 2 officers. They participated in actions as a group but also split into several smaller groups led by the two officers. After some time they had no ammunition and food supplies left and fell into the hands of the Japanese. The Japanese showed no mercy for the continuation of guerilla actions after the main force had already surrendered. All 10 men were executed in August 1942 by the Japanese but on different dates and locations.

The following newspaper article from 1985 sheds some more light on the guerilla group on the island of Celebes:

Here is a translated summary of the text above:

The total group initially consisted of some 120 men. Lt Van Daalen already was in the process of surrendering his weapons after the main force on Java had surrendered in the beginning of March. Lt De Jong took action and stopped him, retook the guns that already had been handed in and freed the Dutch Prisoners of War from the Japanese force of some 50 men. The 120 men were split into several smaller groups all trying to survive and fight the Japanese. Without modern means of communication they kept in contact through couriers only. They did have some radiocommucation with the Dutch forces in Australia where they requested additional supplies and guns. These were delivered some five weeks later by the Australian Air Force, unfortunately the communication was also noticed by the Japanese. Based on that they sent 500 men of additional forces to the region. The Japanese were able to capture the dropped supplies.

In the beginning of August, after 5 months of fighting guerilla actions all supplies and ammunition were gone. The Japanese pressure on local people to hand over the guerilla’s was also intensified in that period. Based on these circumstances maintaining the group as a whole was no longer possible. Lt De Jong decided to give all remaining men the freedom to act as they saw fit. Surrender to the Japanese, try to hide or continue to fight as he and Lt Van Daalen and some 14 men did. After a few more days Lt De Jong and Lt Van Daalen and their men all were captured. All captured men were beheaded for their actions.

One sergeant that had chosen to go into hiding was able to stay out of the hands of the Japanese during the entire war and was the only known survivor of the group. He received no gallantry award! The faith of many of the others remains unknown/unresearched.

The commanding officer Lt De Jong was awarded the Military Order of William 4th class – the highest decoration for Gallantry. The other officer Van Daalen and 7 NCO’s were all awarded a Bronze Lion.

Lt Van Daalen was awarded the Bronze Lion before the awards to the NCO group. His text is different from that of the NCO’s but also different to that of the MWO. His award was made on January 27th 1947.

The NCO’s of the group received the Bronze Lion more than half a year later, on September 13th 1947. What the reason is for the difference remains unclear, but the size of the group probably influenced this and maybe the research into all men of this group.

Lt De Jong was awarded the MWO on October 7th 1947. That award process is the most difficult one to complete so that it was awarded later makes sense.

573        The late Willem Hendrik Johannes Everhardus van Daalen, born Batavia September 6th 1914, first lieutenant of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army, passed away, Sario-Menado August 25th 1942.

So far I have not been able to determine why the 8th NCO that is mentioned in the citation was not awarded a Bronze Lion. My hypothesis is that he was an indigenous soldier of whom the authorities have not been able to determine enough details or even a name. Probably similar to BL 653 to Sergeant Malawan of whom no other details are given. Not even his Army number has been traced.

Here is a list of the group of Bronze Lions, all with the same citation text:

650        The late Johannes Antonius Gerissen, born Nijmegen April th 1909, sergeant-major-instructor of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (army number 87021), passed away Kolonodale, August 15th 1942.
651        The late Nicolaas Christianus Antonius de Jager, born Leeuwarden August 8th 1905, sergeant-major-administrator of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (army number 85463), passed away, Kolonodale 14 aug. 1942.
652        The late Cornelis Wouter Kors, born Djokjakarta July 11th 1908, quartermaster of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (army number 84598), passed away Kolonodale August 15th 1942.
653        The late Malawan, sergeant of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army, passed away Kolonodale August 28th 1942.
654        The late Teunis Gijsbertus Onwezen, born Amersfoort November 5th 1908, sergeant of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (army number 86235), passed away Kolonodale August 15th 1942. 657        The late Arnoldus Petrus Johannes van der Veen, born Batavia March 20th 1919, sergeant of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (army number 92899), passed away Kolonodale August 12th 1942. 659        The late Hendrik Wonnink, born Soerabaja 23 juli 1914, sergeant of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (army number 92361), passed away Kolonodale August 12th 1942.

Through the website of the Dutch War Grave society it is also possible to search on location. The location Kolonodale shows two more victims in the same period. Soldier Cornelis Reijnhout born in Middelburg March 29th 1914 and sergeant Johannes Hendrik de Bruin born in Djokjakarta October 8th 1903. Both passed away on the same date as sergeants Wonnink, Van der Veen but did not receive gallantry awards. If they belonged to the same group (my current hypothesis) still has to be researched.

And the last award for this action is to the commanding officer of the group who was awarded the Military Order of William on Ocotber 7th 1947

5591    The late Johannes Adrianus de Jong, born 17-7-1914 Rotterdam, son of Frederik Willem and Aleida Suijkerbuik, passed away 25-8-1942 Sario.

They shall not be forgotten!

Full text of the citation in Dutch:

Wijlen Arnoldus Petrus Johannes van der Veen, geb. Batavia 20 maart 1919, sergeant der infanterie van het Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger (stamboeknummer 92899), overl. Kolonodale 12 aug. 1942.

Heeft zich – tezamen met 7 andere onderofficieren – in de oorlogsmaanden 1941/1942 tijdens de acties in Celebes, onderscheiden door daden van bijzondere moed en beleid tegenover de vijand.
Behorende tot het Troepencommando van Menado, waren zij ingedeeld bij de afdelingen van de Luitenants de Jong en van Daalen, die – na de capitulatie van het Java Leger – weigerden gehoor te geven aan de oproep om de wapens neer te leggen en besloten de strijd voort te zetten, welke in hoofdzaak plaats vond in het gebied tussen Poso en Kolonodale in Midden-Celebes.
Door guerilla-actie, nu eens gezamenlijk, dan weer gesplitst optredende, werden de vijand belangrijke verliezen berokkend, waarbij echter aan eigen zijde ook offers moesten worden gebracht.
De steeds opgejaagde troep kreeg uiteindelijk gebrek aan munitie, voedsel en medicamenten, terwijl de bevolking, onder druk van de Japanners, geen hulp meer durfde verlenen.
Tenslotte vielen de resterende militairen in handen van de vijand, in wiens ogen hun voortgezette weerstand geen genade kon vinden.
De beide officieren, commandanten, werden naar Menado overgebracht en aldaar onthoofd, terwijl deze 8 onderofficieren te Kolonodale moesten achterblijven, alwar zijn in de maand Augustus 1942 werden terechtgesteld.
Het zou de Luitenants niet mogelijk zijn geweest het verzet zovele maanden vol te houden, indien zij niet de krachtige steun van deze onderofficieren hadden gehad. Naast grote moed en trouw hebben zij bij het herhaald gesplitst optreden ook het benodigde beleid getoond.
Evenals thans reeds in Minehassa geschiedt met de namen van de Luitenants de Jong en van Daalen zullen daar in de toekomst ook de namen van deze onderofficieren als sieraden van het Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger met eerbied en waardering worden genoemd.

Krieger – Tsuba’s, Netsuke and a war tale too!

For a long time I have been very interested in Japanese applied arts, netsuke, inro and tsuba’s mainly. Although I stopped collecting such items actively I still bought these 4 items from a friend.

krieger
Photo from Utrecht University, see sources

The provenance wat too interesting to let them pass by. The friends grandfather was Professor Dr. C.C. Krieger. He collected these items in the first half of the 20th century when he was the Conservator for the Department of Japan, China and mainland Asia in what today is the Ethnographical Museum (Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde) in Leiden. He held this position from 1927 up to his retirement in 1949.

In 1935 he promoted to PhD in the Japanese language and the same year he became professor in the same subject at the Utrecht University. In 1947 he was promoted to special professor (bijzonder hoogleraar) in the art and history of the Far East including the Japanese language, a position which he held upon his final retirement in 1954, aged 70.

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Dunhill-Namiki fountain pen

About 20 years before I had already received his fountain pen as a gift for my collection. Being a specialist in the Japanese language and art he obviously wrote with a luxurious Japanese lacquer pen. It was a Dunhill-Namiki, a cooperation between the famous London retailer of smoking utensils Dunhill and the Japanese pen company of Namiki (the current Pilot). These Namiki pens are famous for the lacquer (maki-e) of high quality and also were made by famous artists. Dunhill retailed them in the Western world. In this case the pen was used intensively. It is a rare pen as a size 20 (the biggest they made apart from the jumbo size 50) in a period that watches and pens were still small in general. A very appreciated gift and still one of my favorites!


His extensive collection of Japanese art was divided between his 3 children, amongst which the mother of my friend. She held on to the inheritance and after her death her two daughters inherited the collection and I was happy to gain these 4 objects from his original collection.

Netsuke

Two netsuke, toggles for the inro. One a relatively crude depiction of a foreigner and the other a depiction of a famous Japanese tale.

Nanban Tsuba

The other two items are tsuba or handguards for the Japanese swords. In this case foreign imported items most probably and adapted for Japanese use. In Japan these are called nanban. If the professor had a special interest in Japanese items with a different origin or depiction of foreigners is not known. Below a short description I received regarding these tsuba.

Martial arts meet the decorative arts. The round guard looks Chinese, Ming in style, but possibly a later revival piece. Note the voal delinaeation of the washer-seat on one side, which on the opposite side is rectangular. More study is required to determine the date of manufacture.

The octagonal one may be Korean. In both cases, these guards have been adapted to Japanese use. Unfortunately, the addition of hitsu-ana has defaced the original design. The condition appears to be outstanding.

Damascened guards do no fare so well under heavy use. Neither of these guards seem to have been worn “in the field”. Both were well cared-for by previous owners. Their preservation today is thanks to the uniquely Japanese culture of appreciating sword-parts as works of art in their own right.

Dr. Krieger and the War against the Japanese

Even though the items are not military in essence there is a small link to a military history due to the person of the original owner!

In the 1930s Japanese influence in Asia was expanding and felt threatening for most Western powers in the region. The Dutch with their presence in the Dutch East Indies were part of this fear. The actual extend of the threat would finally become clear with the start of the war against the Japanese from Pearl Harbour onwards.

In these 1930s the Dutch Military Intelligence already worked on breaking the codes the Japanese used for their international communications. What I was not aware of when I started this blog is that Dr. Krieger actually was part of this effort!

A collecting friend has several items in his collection that relate to this subject and he brought this fact to my attention. It is even mentioned in the book by Robert Haslach about the subject. The dutch Naval officer Nuboer asked for the help of Krieger (also a former Naval officer!) in his effort in breaking the Japanese codes in 1934. Nuboer would eventually be successful in his efforts! You can read some more about him here.

The friend has in his private collection a Naval uniform of Nuboer and a tropical suit that belonged to Krieger. Here some pictures of the Nuboer uniform.

How Nuboer and Krieger came into contact is not yet clear and subject of further research I want to do. What is clear that the help of a former Naval officer with extensive knowledge of the Japanese and their language was valuable to the Dutch Forces.

This was formalized in 1937. Henri Koot, the head of military intelligence requested his official help. Krieger would become, next to his job as Curator of the Asian department of the Leiden Ethnographical Museum, member of the General Staff of the Army in The Hague. His work would only end after the German occupation in 1940. Due to the secrecy of the job and the subsequent war little is known about this period but it will also be subject of further research!

Sources: 

  • http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/bwn1880-2000/lemmata/bwn4/nuboer
  • https://profs.library.uu.nl/index.php/profrec/getprofdata/1188/147/183/0
  • https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Koot
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronicity
  • Private collection including Krieger suit from the collection of the late Sjoerd Douma and Nuboer Naval uniform
  • Robert Haslach; Nishi No Kaze Hare

Atjeh & Gajo – Status Rencong

In this blog I want to show some detailed photo’s of the quality of workmanship in these status weapons! Remember the golden crowns are rare, maybe only 1 in a 100 examples have these….

Aceh rencong with golden crowns

An overview of 4 rencong, probably all 19th century pieces with the original sheaths on three of them. Short description from left to right and top to bottom:

  • Handle is made of “white” buffalo horn as opposed to the more common dark horn. Enamel of the crowns is of very high quality.
  • Handle made of Akar Bahar, root of the sea, which is very brittle and probably the rarest handle material. The back part therefore also of gold with a diamond (inten) on top. A very high status item.
  • Handle of dark horn and smooth as opposed to the first and last handle. Top of the metal also has very nice gold inlays.
  • Dark buffalo handle and the biggest size rencong of these four with some old battle damage and likely the oldest of these.

Note that the bottom two crowns have a very high quality of enamel and the top two ones hardly have any enamel.

Gayo status rencong with silver and (marine) ivory

In the Gayo region the use of silver was more common on status pieces. Also the use of marine ivory (dandan) was quite common. Also the first metal part often has an overlay in copper or suassa.

The first has an unusual size, the longest of all seven rencong in this blog. Also the combination of ivory, silver crowns and suassa overlay is remarkable. Probably of ritual meaning or very high status.

The second is a more standard Gayo status rencong with brass overlay and only ivory on the handle. Both have the typical blood groove that is more or less standard on Gayo made pieces.

The third seems to be a Aceh made piece for the Gayo region. The use of a full silver handle with suassa details and the sheath hint at Gayo use but the quality of workmanship hint at Aceh. An interesting cross cultural rencong.

Input and help in determining age and details of these rencong is more than welcome, please contact me with additional info!

See also my blogs about a peudeung and sirih, also Aceh historical items!

KNIL – Still Life with Medals by P.C. Kramer

It is not so often that you find a still life with Dutch medals on it, let alone colonial medals. As it directly fits my Dutch East Indies medal collection I was quite happy when I was able to acquire this painting by the Dutch Artist P.C. Kramer.

Kramer is a relatively well known painter and his work is shown in several Dutch museums. . He lived between 1879 and 1940 in Delft. The painting discussed in the blog below also hints at a background related to the Dutch East indies, like the medals in my painting.

On the painting there are several medals. The top medalrow starts with a Medal for long and faithful service for NCO’s. The Dutch Expedition Cross is depicted twice, in the top medalrow in the middle and in the bottom medalrow to the right. The top row ends with the 1873-74 Atjeh medal.

The Citadel Medal for the siege of Antwerp in the left corner is a bit unexpected next to the Expedition Cross.

It looks like the painter was not an expert in medals as they are shown in the wrong order in the top row, the Atjeh medal is upside down and the bottom row is a very unlikely combination. Combining this with his year of birth they were possibly family heirlooms.

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Jan Hoynck van Papendrecht – the story behind one of his works

Jan Hoynck van Papendrecht (1858-1933, HvP in short) was a well known Dutch artist who is remembered mostly for his works of art in relation to military themes. So his works have the interest of both art museums and collectors and military museums and collectors of military artifacts. More about his life and work can be found here: http://hoynck-van-papendrecht.nl/

I have two works of art from his hand in my collection. At first I was not able to get the story behind one of these picture here but fortunately Jacques Bartels of the website above and author of the biography of HvP was able to help.

The drawing is actually an illustration from the book “My lady nobody” by Maarten Maartens a Dutch writer who wrote in English so was actually not very well known in the Netherlands as a result of that. More about him and his works can be found here: http://maartenmaartens.nl/

The book is now part of the Gutenberg project so has been digitalized including the illustrations made by HvP and can be found here: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/49903/49903-h/49903-h.htm

The illustration is of the to main characters of the book Ursula and Gerard Baron van Helmont who is an officer in the Dutch East Indies and recently returned home after being wounded in Aceh. For his action he was knighted with the prestigious Military Order of William which can be seen on his chest.

Below the illustration as it appeared in the book.

p412

“‘I AM COME TO MAKE CONFESSION AND THEN TO LEAVE YOU’”

And the actual drawing as it looks today:

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Where HvP is known for his use of colour in his water colours in this case the use is minimal as it was to be printed in black and white. But his signature quality is there in abundance in this really nice work by him!

KNIL – MWO – A forgotten hero, Atjeh 1942

As a collector you sometimes get to be the custodian of a special and rare piece of history. Years ago I was able to acquire a post 1940 Knights Diploma for a Military Order of William 4th class. As the decoration itself is not named the paperwork is the most historically important  part of the award to me as a researcher.

The Military Order of William is the highest Dutch award for bravery and has been awarded only 196 times since 1940 of which 55 awards were posthumous and 9 to units. Currently there are 4 living awardees, one from world war 2 and three recent awardees for actions in Afghanistan with our Special Forces (one of them a Helicopter Pilot for these forces). Most of these awards are for bravery in direct actions against the enemy but this is a very different story and therefore even more special, it is the story of saving 3000 civilians, mainly women and children from harm’s way….

This is the citation of Adriaan Zijlman’s Miltary Order of William 4th class as seen on his Knights Diploma:

Translated:

Has distinguished himself in action by the perpetration of excellent deeds of bravery, good conduct and loyalty with his activities, under very difficult circumstances, as commander of a detachment of the 2nd Marechaussee division in February and March 1942 om the West Coast of Atjeh.

For the realisation of his assignment to evacuate ± 3000 women and children, mainly of local military forces on the west coast of Atjeh, he has taken the necessary actions in a discreet and dauntless way, also successfully facing several attacks by gangs of Acehnese and on March 19th 1942 breaking up a large gang of Acehnese in the surrounding of Tapa Toean. Until the surrender to the Japanese he has protected these women and children in an effective way against harm from Acehnese gangs.

It is a forgotten history that I hope to revive here with some context. Adriaan Zijlmans was born in the Dutch East Indies in 1914 in a place called Sigli which is in the North of the island of Sumatra. This region was called Atjeh then and currently it is known as Aceh. During the Dutch colonization of the East Indies this region never stopped the fight against the Dutch rule which was viewed by them as a religious duty as much as patriotic.

The war in Aceh started in 1873 for the Dutch and it never really ended until they left the region in 1950. The period between 1910 and 1942 was relatively peaceful considering the earlier wars. This changed in the early 1940s. The Japanese expansionism was seen as a sign of the dwindling might of the western colonizers and the rise of Asian strength. This revived the will to fight again in the Aceh region. The waiting in Atjeh was for an action of Japan against the colonies to start the uprising (again).

The fighting in the Atjeh region was so intense that an elite unit was developed: the Marechaussee (on foot). This unit was started in 1890 as an active counter guerilla unit against the local guerilla units. They moved on foot, were self-supporting and could go on patrols lasting several weeks and even up to months. From the beginning they were a mixed unit with both Asian and Western and even African soldiers with officers mainly being Dutch or of mixed Asian / Dutch descend (which were also considered Dutch in the army). Only the best infantry officers and men were selected for the unit. Especially in the 1920s and 1930s a placement there was seen as a good career move for officers and as a sign of being an extraordinary good field officer.

Adriaan Zijlmans was a Marechaussee officer in 1942 during the Japanese invasion. His father had already been an instructor in this unit so it was an honor to be in that unit as well, especially as an officer of mixed descend. In 1935 he had become an officer and was promoted to lieutenant 1st class in 1938. In 1942 he was the commander of the Marechaussee detachment in Koeala Bhee on the west coast of Atjeh. On December 8th war was declared against the Japanese. Many units already had been moved from Sumatra to Java for the defense of this main island of the colony. The amount of soldiers that was left on Sumatra was minimal, not even enough to withstand the now expected local uprising. And on February 23rd of 1942 that uprising started with the killing of a government official. This was shortly after the fall of Malaya. Java the colonies main island and primary target fell on March 8th 1942 opening the way for the Japanese to come to Sumatra which had not been attacked yet.

Publication about Zijlmans action from probably 1963, source unknown

Safety for the 3000 women and children and other civilians part of the local war plan. These civilians were mainly the women and children of the military forces and they were seen as an easy target by the local guerilla with a lot of emotional impact on the forces. Therefore, after the start of the uprising, all the civilians had already been gathered on the west coast of Atjeh to protect them with military force. With the start of the invasion of the Japanese on Sumatra is was necessary to assess the situation again as the forces were now needed against the Japanese as well. The assessment was done during an officers war council on March 15th 1942. The following goals were defined for the remaining armed forces in the Atjeh region:

  1. To engage the Japanese forces directly and actively as long as possible.
  2. To transport all civilians south, outside of the Atjeh region as their safety could no longer be guaranteed by the available forces.
  3. To cover for this retreat by continuous defensive fighting against the Japanese forces.
  4. After the civilians are outside of the Atjeh region to transport them further to relative safety from war actions to a corporation in Groot Singkel in mid Sumatra.
  5. Start a Guerrilla against the Japanese to harm their actions with the limited forces still available after the previous goals have been reached.

The start of a long and dangerous transport to safety for the civilians. Zijlmans received the responsibility for goals 2 and 4. A total of 15 lorries and multiple cars were available to transport the total of 3000 civilians 600 km to the south. One trip took up to 48 hours and the vehicles took app 400 people in one trip. It turned out to be very long, difficult and also dangerous trips. Several times a trip was hindered and stopped by attacks of local guerilla’s as described in the citation. All these were countered without any casualties to the civilians. During the time it took to complete all trips the Acehnese became more and more hostile towards the outsiders and they became more dangerous for the passengers and their military hosts. Several of the attackers were killed in the process. At the end all civilians were delivered safely to their destination and saw the end of the hostilities against the Japanese there.

Zijlmans became a prisoner of war of the Japanese. On March 23rd all Dutch troops formally surrendered. A small group of men continued with a guerilla but most of them were captured or killed in the year following. As part of his assignment to protect the civilians he also had to surrender himself to the Japanese.

After his liberation in 1945 the continued to serve in the army receiving the Military Order of William on May 18th 1948. The Marechaussee were not reinstalled after the war so this was their last official action with Zijlmans becoming the last Marechaussee to receive this decoration and also the last citation with Atjeh as location which had been one of the most common locations in the last half of the 19th century.

After his return to the Netherlands in 1950 he continued to serve and rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1958 and got his honorable discharge in 1963. Until he passed away in 1992 he lived in Wassenaar. After his wife also passed away the Diploma came in my custody.

In 1948 he wrote an article about the impact of sleep deprevation on troops. That was before he received the award but is based on the same action. That period and the road trips were so intense and with so much stress and actual fighting that soldiers hardly slept and even started hallucinating in the process of saving the civilians.

Photos of the award ceremony by General Spoor in 1948

Source: Nationaal Archief
Source: Nationaal Archief
Source: Nationaal Archief

Decorations:

  • Militaire Willemsorde 4e klasse
  • Oorlog Herinneringskruis met 2 gespen
  • Kruis voor Trouwe Dienst officieren met cijfer 25

Sources:

  • De Militaire Willems-Orde sedert 1940, door P.G.H. Maalderink, 1982
  • Tijdschrift de “Militaire Spectator” van Augustus 1948
  • “Atjeh en de oorlog met Japan”, door Dr Piekaar, 1948
  • Nationaal Archief
  • Unknown magazine, 1963 – article about Zijlmans action

KNIL – Bronzen Leeuw – oorlogsvluchten, 1942

Dit is een aangepaste versie van het artikel dat eerder in Decorare verscheen.

C.J.H. Samson

Carel Jan Herman Samson werd in 1916 in Soerabaja geboren als zoon van Carell Johan Remy Samson en Maria Pappolo. Zijn vader had een venduhuis in Lawang dat na het overlijden van zijn vader in 1934 voortgezet wordt door zijn moeder en de oudste broer. Anderhalf jaar later overlijdt ook zijn moeder op maar 47 jarige leeftijd. Op 20 jarige leeftijd is hij dus praktisch wees. Met in totaal 5 kinderen in het gezin waarvan hij dus niet de oudste is zal er weinig geld geweest zijn voor een studie van Carel. In juni 1937 begint hij zijn dienstplicht die hij vrijwillig vervolgde bij de Militaire Luchtvaart van het KNIL in januari 1938 om daar naar de Vlieger en Waarnemers school te Andir te gaan. Daar haalt hij in april 1938 zijn Klein Militair Brevet,  juni 1939 zijn Groot Militair Brevet en in januari 1940 zijn Waarnemers Brevet. In juni van dat jaar is zijn opleiding dan volledig afgerond en starten de 7 jaren van zijn “kort dienstverband”  met als rang vaandrig, aspirant officier, Vlieger-Waarnemer. De regeling is zo dat de eerste 5 jaren in werkelijk dienst worden doorgebracht en de volgende 2 jaren als reservist. Hij wordt geplaatst bij de 2e vliegtuig groep te Malang, op Java waar hij in februari 1941 tot 2e luitenant benoemd wordt.

Samson in Opleiding tot Vlieger bij de ML KNIL. Foto NIMH

ML-KNIL en de Glenn Martins

De Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlandsch Indische Leger (ML-KNIL) ontstond als zelfstandig wapen in 1939 maar was in het begin van de oorlog tegen Japan eind 1941 nog niet op volle sterkte. Het bestond uit 5 operationele vliegtuiggroepen (VLG) waarvan de eerste 3 uit bommenwerpers bestonden en de laatste 2 uit jagers. De bommenwerpers vlogen vooral met de Glenn Martin model 139/166. Een toestel dat bij haar ontwikkeling in 1932 nog hypermodern was maar in 1941 al sterk verouderd en geen partij meer voor moderne jagers zoals de Japanse Mitsubishi Zero.

Samson was eind 1941, begin 1942 Patrouillecommandant bij de 1e afdeling van de tweede vliegtuiggroep (1-VLG-II) die te Malang op Java gestationeerd waren. Een patrouille bestond over het algemeen uit 3 vliegtuigen waarvan 1 vlieger de taak had van Patrouillecommandant.

De eerste vliegtuiggroep had 2 afdelingen, de tweede groep had maar 1 afdeling en de derde vliegtuiggroep had 3 afdelingen. Iedere afdeling vloog met 9 vliegtuigen, bij de drie bommenwerper groepen werd met verschillende versies van hetzelfde basismodel Glenn Martin gevlogen. In totaal waren er dus maar zo’n 45 bommenwerpers beschikbaar voor oorlogsvluchten waarvan natuurlijk ook continu een deeI in onderhoud was. Bij de vliegtuiggroep van Samson werd met het laatste type Glenn Martin gevlogen – Samson beschrijft deze zelf als type III.

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Foto van Glenn Martins 139/166 tijdens een oorlogsvlucht (bron: wikipedia)

Oorlogsvluchten en strijd om Nederlandsch Indië

Het boek “”Het verlies van Java” van Dr. P.C. Boer geeft een uitstekende analyse van de geallieerde strijd tegen Japan eind 1941 en begin 1942. Het genoemde boek beschrijft ook in redelijk detail de vluchten die per dag uitgevoerd werden. De naam van Samson en zijn patrouille worden daar veelvuldig genoemd, hij werd door de schrijver ook uitgebreid geïnterviewd. Het gaat te ver om die detailinformatie hier integraal over te nemen maar voor geïnteresseerden beveel ik dit boek van harte aan. Daar valt bijvoorbeeld ook te lezen dat de patrouille Samson veel acties samen vloog met de patrouille Cooke uit de eerste Vliegtuiggroep. De naam Cooke is vooral bekend omdat hij de enige vlieger is die drie keer het Vliegerkruis verleend kreeg.

Samson zelf vulde na zijn krijgsgevangenschap een formulier in over de periode voorafgaand aan zijn gevangenschap. Dit document is bewaard gebleven en de volgende informatie is daarop gebaseerd:

Vanaf 5 december 1941, dus al voor de oorlogsverklaring, tot 14 januari 1942 het uitvoeren van verkenningsvluchten vanuit Ambon, Kendari, Malang, Buitenzorg en, daarna enkele dagen niet operationeel (onderhoud). Vervolgens tot begin februari vanaf verschillende locaties lange afstandsverkenningen boven en ten zuiden van de Kleine Soenda eilanden.

In de periode die P.C. Boer in zijn boek beschrijft als de strijd om de luchtsuperioriteit, de eerste fase van de strijd om Java, voert hij vanaf vliegveld Kalindjati bombardementsvluchten uit op Palembang I, Pladjoe, schepen in de Moesie en in straat Bangka. Daarbij gaat een Glenn Martin van zijn patrouille verloren maar de bemanning keert heelhuids terug.

Daarna volgt de periode die P.C. Boer beschrijft als de strijd om Kalindjati. De eerste vier dagen van maart voert Samson vanaf vliegveld Andir bombardementsvluchten uit op het vliegveld Kalindjati dat dus inmiddels in handen van de Japanners is. Daarbij gaat wederom een Glenn Martin uit zijn patrouille verloren waarvan alleen de telegrafist het overleefd.

Van 4 tot 8 maart wordt de eindstrijd om de Tjiater pas gevoerd zoals P.C. Boer dit omschrijft en wederom voert Samson meerdere bombardementen uit. Op 8 maart in Tasikmalaja, de dag van de capitulatie worden de laatste – niet operationele – Glenn Martins vernietigd om te voorkomen dat ze in handen vallen van de Japanners. Het wordt ook de eerste dag van de krijgsgevangenschap van Samson en zijn collega’s, slechts één van alle Glenn Martins van de ML KNIL is nog operationeel en weet naar Australië te ontkomen.

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Brevetboekje van Samson uit 1948 met Vlieger Waarnemer wing KNIL

Na 1942

Over de periode van Samsons krijgsgevangenschap is weinig terug te vinden behalve dat hij in Japan zelf gezeten heeft en daar op 28 augustus 1945 bevrijd werd en vervolgens op 26 september te Manilla geregistreerd werd. In oktober van dat jaar komt hij terug in Indië en gaat over naar No 18 Squadron. In juni 1946 wordt hij tot tijdelijk 1e luitenant bevorderd. Daarna volgen er in de periode van de politionele acties verschillende overplaatsingen, onder andere naar No. 16 Squadron en vervolgens wordt hij hoofd van de Elementaire Opleidingsschool afgekort als EOS (onderdeel van de Centrale Vliegschool, afgekort als CVS). Zijn Bronzen Leeuw wordt op 1 september 1948 uitgereikt. In 1949 wordt hij nog benoemd tot Kapitein in de reserve en in 1950 wordt hij gedemobiliseerd.

Overzicht van zijn dienststaat tot 1950

Bronzen Leeuw

De Bronzen Leeuw (BL) werd in 1944 ingesteld als dapperheidsonderscheiding, na de Militaire Willemsorde de hoogste dapperheidsonderscheiding in het toenmalige en huidige Nederlandse decoratiestelsel. Het is in praktische zin de opvolger van de Eervolle Vermelding op het Ereteken voor Belangrijke Krijgsverrichtingen dat dan al niet meer in gebruik is en de vervanger van de wel in gebruik zijn de  Eervolle Vermeldingen op het Bronzen Kruis (1940), Kruis van Verdienste (1941) en Vliegerkruis (1941), dit gebeurde in totaal 135 keer.

Het standaardwerk Bronzen Leeuw / Bronzen Kruis van Henny Meijer is een belangrijke bron van informatie over deze onderscheiding. Tussen 1944 en 1962 werd de onderscheiding 1206 keer uitgereikt, waarvan 1 keer aan een vaandel en 8 mensen ontvingen de BL voor een tweede maal.

Van de 1206 werden er 336 verleend aan geallieerden, 62 aan de Koopvaardij en 119 aan burgers (voornamelijk verzet). De Militaire Luchtvaart van het KNIL ontving 23 Bronzen Leeuwen waarvan 16 voor de strijd tegen Japan in 1941/42.

Medailleset op Dagelijks Tenu jaren 60 met ingewoven Vlieger-Waarnemer wing.

In en direct na de oorlog werd een Engels aanmaak van de onderscheiding uitgereikt zoals in het geval van Samson. De ophanging van dit type is ongebruikelijk. Deze versie werd door Garrard gemaakt. Later komen er ook versies van de Rijks Munt.

Hier de tekst uit de benoeming: 

“Heeft zich in de strijd tegenover de vijand door het bedrijven van bijzonder moedige en beleidvolle daden onderscheiden door als commandant van een patrouille bommenwerpers, onder moeilijke omstandigheden vele malen, in de maanden Februari en Maart 1942, op onverschrokken wijze succesvolle bomaanvallen uit te voeren op belangrijke doelen, t.w. op Muntok, op schepen in de straat Bangka, op vliegveld en olievelden Palembang en op vliegveld Kalidjati, waarvan bekend was, dat zij door een overmacht van vijandelijke jachtvliegtuigen en door zwaar afweervuur werden verdedigd.”

Medailles

Naast de Bronzen Leeuw volgen het OHK, Oorlogs Herinneringskruis met 2 gespen. Voordat de officiele oorkonde overhandigd werk kreeg hij al 2 tijdelijke documenten, 1 voor het kruis en 1 voor de gespen:

En dan de officiële oorkonde:

En het ereteken voor Orde en Vrede voor zijn dienst in de periode 1946-1949

De metalen vlieger-waarnemer wing en zijn batonset op een DT.

Na 1950

Na zijn aankomst in Nederland wordt hij aangenomen bij de Koninklijke luchtmacht waar hij in 1952 instructeur op de Harvard wordt.

In 1954 wordt hij benoemd tot Majoor en twee jaar later volgt hij de opleiding tot Helikopter vlieger.

In 1957 volgt hij de cursus tot leger vluchtwaarnemer en in 1968 een advanced weapons cursus bij SHAPE.

Tot zijn pensioen in 1969 volgt nog de benoeming tot Luitenant-Kolonel. Vanaf 1950 zijn er veel plaatsingen bij de verschillende vliegbasissen in Nederland maar ook bij de Luchtmachtstaf. Toch lijkt het zwaartepunt van zijn militaire carrière bij de eerste jaren te liggen, in de naoorlogse jaren is hij vooral betrokken bij de opleiding van nieuwe piloten.

Twee foto’s van de laatste wings die Samson in zijn carrière uitgereikt heeft aan nieuwe vliegers van de luchtmacht.

Na zijn pensionering haalt hij nog de benodigde burger brevetten zowel voor particulier als commercieel piloot. Over de periode tot zijn overlijden in 1993 heb ik geen informatie gevonden.

Bronnen:

  1. Meijer, H.G. (1990), Bronzen Leeuw, Bronzen Kruis. Amsterdam, Nederland: De Bataafsche Leeuw
  2. Boer, P.C. (2006), Het verlies van Java. Amsterdam, Nederland: De Bataafsche Leeuw

KNIL – Honorable Mention (Eervolle Vermelding), J.P. ter Beek, Bali 1849

The Dutch Gallantry medals had, for a very long time in history, only one order for all different levels of Gallantry, the Military Order of William which was instituted in 1815.  For lesser deeds of Gallantry there was the “Eervolle Vermelding” which translates to “Honorable Mention” or for the Anglo-Saxon world a Mention in Despatches also instituted in 1815. For this there was no visible display of the honor. By many in the forces this was felt as an omission in the military decoration system. An unofficial wreath was worn with several different medals to make the Honorable Mention visible. Only in 1878 this was changed by the use of a crown device to be worn on the “Expedition Cross” that had been instituted in 1869. For multiple awards the number (2 or 3) would be displayed below the crown.

During WW2 the crown was finally replaced by several new medals for Gallantry and only one more clasp was added to the Expedition Cross (Timor 1942).

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Multiple example of the crown device and to the left an example of the unofficial wreath. (not my collection!)

Bali 1849 – Honorable Mention for J.P ter Beek, MD for the Royal Dutch Navy

As mentioned before the Expedition Cross dates from 1869 and at that same moment 6 clasp were instituted going back to as early as 1846, the first Bali Expedition. All living participants of these 6 expeditions would get the medal with clasp and an award certificate. These first 6 clasps belong to the rarer ones but the award document even more so (as there were more clasps produced than actually handed out to living participants). The navy only had a small part in the total number of crosses awarded so is even rarer.

Medical Doctor Ter Beek of the Royal Dutch Navy participated in the 3rd Bali campaign in 1849 on board of the “Z. M. fregat Prins van Oranje”  (the flagship of the campaign).

Ter Beek retired from the Navy in 1859 and became a General Practitioner in the city of Kampen in the Netherlands. Ten years later, 20 years after the campaign, he received the Expedition cross with the Clasp Bali 1849 and the award certificate shown below.

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In 1878 the aforementioned Crown device for wear on the Expedition Cross was instituted and also handed out retrospectively to those who had earned the Crown in the period before its existence. As Ter Beek was also Honorably Mentioned in the same Bali campaign he would get the Crown device and the diploma in that year, 30 years after the campaign for which it was bestowed!

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Above the diploma for the Honorable Mention and below the accompanying letter and the Expedition Cross with clasp and crown device.

This combination of a rare clasp with Honorable Mention for the same campaign and all documents confirming this may very well be unique in its kind! Especially so a Navy version!

His son A.W.K. ter Beek also chose a life of service and joined the Dutch East Indies Army where he would be awarded a Military Order of William 4th class, Honor Sword and Honorable Mention. The related documents to that are in the hands of another collector!

VOC – captains chest, Van Hogendorp estate

Colonial chests

Those who travelled to the Dutch East Indies and had enough money and private space on board often had a private chest made in that region to transport their most precious belongings.

The form, decoration and size would depend on both period (fashion/style) and the owners taste. Most often this would be the captain or a high ranking officer of the vessel. Most vessels traveling to the East Indies in the 18th century would be owned by either the VOC, the United (Dutch) East Indies (trading) Company, or the Dutch navy. Hence the common name for such chests are either VOC/Compagnies chest or Captains’ chest. In later periods the ships became larger and more people could bring on freight items leading to more and simpler variations of chests in the later 19th and 20th century.

This is an example of such a chest from the end of the 18th or early 19th century with some special variations that make it a rare example of an already rare item. Also the provenance is of interest.

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The chest itself is made of tropical hardwood with brass fittings as is usual. This type of wood was called Djati in the East Indies and nowadays is more commonly described as teak. The brass fittings are interesting as all parts end in a stylized Fleur de Lys – the French national symbol. This is not a common treat on such chests. This seems to have been in fashion in the ruling classes in the Netherlands only by the end of the 18th and very early 19th century. The period from 1795 up to 1815 (Waterloo) in which the Netherlands were occupied and ruled by the French. We will come back to that a bit later as we come to the provenance. So far I have only found one similar example in the collection of the Kennemerland museum. This also comes from a noble Dutch family and is dated there as 1790 – 1800.

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The example above from the museum Kennemerland has also the Fleur de Lys decoration as my example but it is larger and the brass fittings are less extensively applied.

The second interesting part of the chest is the lid side of the lock plate. The top is in the form of a crown. Although crowns are often only seen as the headdress of kings and their likes in heraldry they are a sign of the rank of nobility. In this case not a Kings crown but that of a Dutch Earl (graaf) with a stylized Fleur de Lys in the middle and two halves on the outsides with pearls in between.

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I have not been able to find any other chests with such a feature yet. These crowns in their various forms are often applied to other personal items from plates to swords, rings and  clothing.

Many of such Captains’ chests are in Museum collections and there is also an antiques dealer in Utrecht that has sold quite a few of these over the years, also several Auction houses sold such chests. They together function as my reference base for this limited research (I have not found any other good reference sources yet).

Now to a third interesting part, the base. This is different than most which either do not have one or if the have it is an integral part of the chest. In this case it is a loose table with standup sidings on which the chest can be placed. This base is made of (tropical?) wood that has been colored black to make it look like ebony. The base again has brass wheels that were only added in the early 20th century when it stood in the hall of the families country house in Vorden.

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The brass fittings of the chest run over the entire underside like they do on the top and all sides are also covered by the fittings which is not standard on most chests either. It protects the chest very well when handled more roughly. A last interesting feature can be seen on both sides of the chest. It has an additional brass fitting that stops the lid around the 90 degree angle, it can not go further than that which prevents it from damage or even breaking the lid. The handles to lift the chest are well made and also have a Fleur de Lys decoration. They are also designed to stop at a 90 degree angle as a safety device for the hands.

Provenance Van Hogendorp noble family.

The Van Hogendorp family has a history that traces back to the 16 century where the first traceable member was counselor in the High Council of Holland. Many family member held important positions both in civilian as in military and naval careers. The family entered nobility during the French reign as Comte de L’Empire (equivalent of Earl or in Dutch Graaf) and a little bit later into the Dutch nobility as well with both Earl and Baron as titles. Some family members had important civilian ranks (Regent of Buitenzorg e.g.) in the East Indies both under French and Dutch royal ruling. Later in the 19th century family members had important careers in the Dutch navy achieving even the rank of admiral and receiving the Military Order of William. It now comes from the estate of a Baron van Hogendorp, a high ranking officer in the Dutch army and from a longer line of Dutch officers.

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So far within, the Van Hogendorp family, there seems to be only one likely candidate as the original owner of the chest, Dirk van Hogendorp: