Pieter Hoekstra

Caracas 21 Aug 1922 – ?

Pieter E. HOEKSTRA, "Piet" or "Peter" to the Allied men (his questionnaire of 15 June 1946, US National Archives, RG 498, p. 8)

About: A young member of the Raad van Verzet at Garderen who moved Allied airmen and escaped paratroopers in the autumn of 1944. His list for the Americans has two privates, "Spud" and "Tom", ◐ very probably Murphy and Sam Walsh, taken from "Johan v Oldenbarnevelt", ◐ Dove Jan (his page), to Dr Kruimel at De Ruif about 16 October.

Unit or role: Raad van Verzet (RVV); moved evaders, helped an SAS wireless operator, interpreter for the RVV's brigade commander on the Veluwe, guide for an SAS drop in April 1945 (his form, p. 8).

Where: Garderen: "De Pastorale" in July 1945 (p. 2), and "Post 1 Garderen" as the address the Allied men knew; in June 1946 "Pomona", Koog, on Texel (p. 8); Bilderstr 29, Den Haag, on the British list of helpers (the list).

Evidence: ✓ His helper file, US National Archives 286660916, pp. 1–2 and 4–9, read on the images; ✓ the British awards office's letters of 16 May and 24 June 1946 (p. 22, p. 3), read on the images; the forms of Lambertus Huber and Nol Burger; Boeree, Kroniek van Ede (1947), pp. 161–162.

• ✓ Who he was, by his own form. "21-8-'22 te Caracas Venezuela", Dutch ("Nederlander"), no military rank, with dashes where the form asks whether he was married and for his children, so presumably unmarried and childless (◐); his next of kin his mother, aged 52; known to the Allied men as "Piet, Peter"; a member of the "Raad van Verzet" (his questionnaire of 15 June 1946, p. 8, checked on the image). He was 22 in October 1944.
• Nothing found tells how he came from Caracas to Garderen, or what he did there before the autumn of 1944.

• ✓ "Spud" and "Tom". Lines 4 and 5 of his list, bracketed together, are "Spud (Pte)" and "Tom (Pte)", "First Airborne", hidden "± 16 Oct '44", received from "Johan v Oldenbarnevelt" and passed to "Dr Kruimel, de Ruif Garderen." (p. 9, checked on the image).
• ◐ Who they were. "Spud" was Murphy's nickname in the army (ParaData's record of him) and Tom his own first name, so both names may be Murphy's; two privates of 1st Airborne Division who reached Kruimel's De Ruif from Dove Jan's farm in October are very probably Murphy and Walsh (Walsh's report, which has them at a farm near Kootwijk for a week and taken to Garderen on 14 October). Hoekstra wrote in 1946 that he had written down no names and was working from memory (p. 8, quoted below).
• ⚠︎ "Johan van Oldenbarnevelt". Among the helpers he knew he lists "'Johan van Oldenbarnevelt' (Schuilnaam) p/a A.J. Burger" (cover name, care of A.J. Burger), and at the foot of his list says he could find out that man's name and address by asking (p. 8; p. 9).
  • It was not a cover name: the questionnaire made out for Dove Jan in July 1945 (signed by R. van Ginkel) is in the name "van Oldenbarneveld named Tullingh", Johan (his file, p. 5), and Noordman has Johan van Oldenbarneveld using "Dove Jan" as his cover name (Dove Jan's page; Noordman, p. 139).
  • ◐ So the man is very probably Dove Jan all the same.
• ✓ Fetching men from Dove Jan. Nol Burger of Garderen wrote in March 1946 that Dove Jan "sheltered pilots and parachutists contineously" [sic], and "With Hoekstra and Huber I fetched sometimes parachutists from there, whom we took generally after a fewdays [sic] to Zandbergen" (Burger's file, p. 4).
• ⚠︎ Dove Jan's own list sends them elsewhere. His list has "Murphy Kelly Schotland and a friend of his", six days in October, passed to "Dr. Eskens N.Milligen (Alex)", ◐ Dirk Eskes (his file, p. 4). So Hoekstra may have moved them, or Eskes may have: the two forms disagree.
• Nothing found puts Hoekstra and Murphy face to face beyond this list. From De Ruif, Liesbeth Verweij and Kruimel took Murphy and Walsh on to Sterrehoveke at Elspeet (Noordman, pp. 301–302; more on Johannes Kruimel's page).

My help consisted of moving Allied pilots and paratroopers who had escaped from Arnhem, mainly from addresses east of Garderen to west of Voorthuizen and Barneveld. As I wrote down no names, this report rests on my memory and [I] can make no claim to completeness. Besides that, for about 14 days I assisted the Allied wireless operator (named under point 10) in his work. I was interpreter for the brigade commander, Veluwe, R.v.V. I acted as guide for 1st Lt J. de Stoppelaar Blydestein, S.A.S., in connection with the air-dropping of S.A.S. personnel on about 10 April 1945.

Dutch originalMijn hulp heeft bestaan uit 't overbrengen van Geall. piloten en ontvluchte paratroopers van Arnhem, voornamelijk van adressen Oostelijk van Garderen tot Westelijk Voorthuizen en Barneveld. Aangezien ik geen namen opgeschreven heb, berust dit rapport op mijn geheugen en [?] kan geen aanspraak maken op volledigheid. Bovendien ± 14 dagen Geall. Marconist (Genoemd onder punt 10) geassissisteerd [sic] bij zijn werk. Tolk geweest voor Brigade-comm. Veluwe R.v.V. Gidsdiensten verricht voor 1e Lt. J. de Stoppelaar Blydestein, S.A.S. in verband met air-dropping van S.A.S. personeel op ± 10 April 1945.

— Pieter E. Hoekstra · questionnaire for the American helper office, 15 June 1946, point 12 · his file, p. 8

• ✓ The July 1945 form. The first questionnaire in his file, dated 25 July 1945, typed, with his address as "Garderen, 'De Pastorale'", says of him in the third person: "After the airborn [sic] landings near Arnhem, he collected many English pilots and helped them to go further. Sheltered an English secret agent (radio-operator)." The name "Kruimel" is pencilled at its top right (p. 2, checked on the image). Who filled it in is not on it.
• ✓ Raymond Holvoet. Line 1 of his list is "Sgt. R. Holvoet", SAS, "Boven Garderen afgesprongen" (jumped above Garderen) about 3 October 1944; "Geassisteerd ± 14 dagen waarna Holvoet gearresteerd" (assisted about 14 days, after which Holvoet was arrested) (p. 9). Point 10 has Raymond Holvoet, "1st Belgian Parachute Squadron, tydelijk bij de S.A.S. ingedeeld" (temporarily attached to the SAS), "gefusilleerd op 9 April '45 te Zwolle" (shot at Zwolle on 9 April 1945) (p. 8). ⚠︎ The other sources date the drop to mid-October and the shooting to 10 April (Holvoet's page).
• ✓ "Steve" and "Robert". Lines 2 and 3: "Steve (Marconist)" and "Robert (Bombardier)", RCAF, about 7 October 1944, received from Kruimel at De Ruif and passed to "Boer tussen Voorthuizen en Terschuur" (a farmer between Voorthuizen and Terschuur) (p. 9). Not identified.
• ✓ Two glider pilots and a major. Lines 6 to 8: an unnamed glider pilot, "Godfey [sic] Freeman (Glider Pilot)" and an unnamed major, "First Airborne", about 28 October 1944, "Uit Uddel, persoon onbekend Op de hei, 's avonds overgegeven" (from Uddel, person unknown, handed over on the heath in the evening), passed to the same farmer (p. 9).
  • ◐ They may be Maj. John Coke and the two sergeant glider pilots who broke out of Het Loo with him. Two helpers at Uddel list the three: Willem Zegers has "Sgt. E.J. Freeman (5392493)" with Mahoney and Coke, four days from 11 October, passed to B. Dijkstra at Glinden by Achterveld (Zegers, p. 4); C. A. van Dorssen has "Sgt. E.G. FREEMAN (5392493)", four days from 16 October, passed to W. v.d. Mast at Nieuw-Milligen (Van Dorssen, p. 4).
  • For it: a major and two glider pilots of 1st Airborne, one of them Freeman, from Uddel. Against it: neither Uddel form passes them to Hoekstra, and his date, about 28 October, is later than both.
• A Dutch lieutenant. Line 9: "1e Lt. ? (Nederlander)", "Irene brigade", "Tydelyk in Eng. Dienst met speciale opdracht Tegelijk met Sgt. Holvoet boven Garderen afgesprongen" (temporarily in English service on a special mission, jumped above Garderen at the same time as Sgt Holvoet), about 2 November 1944, received from "L.J. Huber, Uitkyk, Garderen" (p. 9). ◐ The officer dropped with Holvoet was Abraham du Bois (Huber's form, p. 10).
  • ⚠︎ Hoekstra's date does not fit: Boeree has du Bois and Holvoet landing on 17 October, and du Bois going on "na een paar dagen" (after a few days) with some paratroopers (Boeree, p. 161); Huber has the drop "Omstreeks 12 October1944" [sic]; Hoekstra himself gives Holvoet's drop as about 3 October on line 1.
• Du Bois to Capt. King. ✓ Boeree's chronicle of Ede has du Bois, a few days after the drop, going "samen met een paar parachutisten onder geleide van Piet Hoekstra via W. Zandbergen te Voorthuizen naar Capt. King" (together with a few paratroopers, led by Piet Hoekstra, by way of W. Zandbergen at Voorthuizen, to Capt. King) (Boeree, pp. 161–162, checked on the image; p. 161). ◐ That Boeree's "Piet Hoekstra" is Pieter E. is our inference from the name, Garderen and Burger's "Hoekstra and Huber".
• ✓ De Stoppelaar Bleidestijn, April 1945. Line 10: "1e Lt. J. de Stoppelaar Bleidestijn", "Tydelyk S.A.S.", "Gesprongen op Appelsche Hei Tussen Voorthuizen en Terschuur" (jumped on the Appelsche Hei between Voorthuizen and Terschuur), about 10 April 1945, from "Malkenhorst, Molenzicht. Garderen" to "Jachtopziener Kroondomeinen te Uddel" (the gamekeeper of the Crown estates at Uddel) (p. 9).
• ✓ He still held "een speciale code voor Marconisten (S.A.S.)" (a special code for SAS wireless operators) in 1946, and offered to send it back (p. 9).
• ✓ The helpers he knew, and who knew him. He names A.J. Burger of the Putterweg, Garderen; L.J. Huber, Stalpertstraat 162, Den Haag; B. Looijengoed, care of Burger; "Johan van Oldenbarnevelt"; and Dr Kruimel of De Ruif (p. 8). Lambertus Huber's form of 14 June 1946 names "Piet Hoekstra, Texel" among the people he knew who helped Allied men (Huber's form, p. 10; the office's translation, p. 8), and Nol Burger's of 8 March 1946 has "P. HOEKSTRA, c/o L.J. Huber, Stalperstraat 162, Den Haag" (Burger's file, p. 2).

• ✓ His file with the Allies. The British awards office, I.S.9 (A.B) at Wassenaar, wrote to Lt Burke of MIS-X on 16 May 1946 that "The following cases are considered to Grade 6, request confirmation from your office", no. 38 being "HOEKSTRA, Pieter E.", "'De Pastorale', Garderen" (sheet 2 of the letter, p. 22; its first page, p. 21; both checked on the images).
  • The British awards office graded helpers from 1, the head of a major escape line, downwards; grades 1 to 4 carried the American Medal of Freedom and grade 5 the Eisenhower Certificate, on the hosting site's notes on the file, so at second hand (the notes on the British index to Dutch helpers; more on it); nothing we hold says what grade 6 carried.
• ✓ He filled in a fresh questionnaire on 15 June 1946, from "'Pomona', Koog", Texel, with his list of the men he helped (pp. 8–9); the office typed it out and translated it (pp. 4–7).
• ✓ On 24 June 1946 the I.S.9 Awards Bureau passed questionnaires to MIS-X "for investigation, as I regret we have no further time to do so ourselves"; the list sent with them has no. 34, "HOEKSTRA, Pieter E.", "Pomona Koog, Texel" (the letter, p. 2; the list, p. 3; checked on the images).
• ✓ The cover of his American file reads "Grade 6" (p. 1), and the British list of Dutch helpers, as printed by the escape-lines site, has "Hoekstra, Pieter E., Bilderstr 29" in Den Haag with the grade "(6)" (the list). ◐ The same man: name, initial and grade agree, and he could be reached through Huber in Den Haag; neither list gives a date of birth.
• NARA files a second folder under his name, titled "Hoekstra, Pieter E." (286660927); its form is signed Harm Hoekstra of Fort Vuren, near Gorinchem, born at Den Helder, a different man (the form, p. 15, checked on the image).
• Nothing found tells what became of him after 1946.

• Who took Murphy and Walsh on from Dove Jan. Hoekstra's list has the two privates passed from "Johan v Oldenbarnevelt" to Kruimel about 16 October (p. 9); Dove Jan's own list sends "Murphy Kelly Schotland and a friend of his" to Dr Eskens of Nieuw-Milligen (his file, p. 4). Both can be true if Eskes arranged the move and Hoekstra made it; nothing found says.
• When they reached Garderen. Hoekstra has about 16 October; Walsh's report the evening of 14 October (Walsh); Walsh's and Banwell's entries in the guestbook at De Ruif are both dated "8/10/44" (the Walsh and Murphy pages, Noordman fig. 193; Banwell's, fig. 189; ◐ the lower edge of Walsh's date is clipped in the print), and Noordman opens his chapter on Walsh and Murphy "Omstreeks 8 oktober 1944" (around 8 October 1944) (Noordman, p. 296).
  • Liesbeth Verweij's booklet, quoted by Noordman, has the move to Elspeet planned for "omstreeks 10 oktober" (around 10 October), a raid putting it off, and Murphy and Walsh fetched from De Ruif at seven the next evening, so about 11 October (p. 301). Only Hoekstra's list and Walsh's report support the later date (His own account checked).
• The typed copies move his dates. The office's typed translations of his list (p. 5; p. 7) set the dates one row too low, so that "Robert" gets ± 16 October and "Spud" ± 28 October; his handwritten original brackets the rows and gives ± 16 October to Spud and Tom (p. 9, checked on the image).
• Holvoet's drop and death. Hoekstra has the drop about 3 October 1944 and the shooting at Zwolle on 9 April 1945 (pp. 8–9); Huber has the drop "Omstreeks 12 October1944" [sic] and the death on 10 April 1945 (Huber's form, p. 10); the other dates are set out on Holvoet's page.

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