KEES SMIT A LIFETIME AT SEA
By Remi Huygen
Kees Smit
Childhood
years and youth in Alblasserdam
Kees Smit was officially born Cornelis Smit in
Alblasserdam on April 5th, 1915. He was the oldest child and only son of
Leendert Smit and Kristina Beenhakker. His eldest sister Grietje known as Gre
was born on December 6th, 1917. His youngest sister Jenneke known as Jenny was
born on December 16th, 1935. Kees attended elementary school in Kinderdijk and
it was here at age eleven, that he first met Nel de Kluyver. She was also
eleven year old. After elementary school he attended a school of the Dutch Mulo
A type, also in Kinderdijk. But since Mulo A had little mathematics and Kees
wanted to go to the Nautical College where mathematics was an essential
requirement after completing the required two years he followed it up with a
year of Mulo B to further develop his mathematical skills.
Nautical
College and Navy
In 1931 when
he was just 16 years old, he applied for and was granted entrance to the
Nautical College of Rotterdam. The course took two years and completed in 1933.
At the time of his graduation there an economic crisis so no jobs could be
found at any of the shipping companies. So he returned and stayed there for
another year. Then in 1934 he was finally accepted by Rotterdam Lloyd as an
apprentice. During 1934 and 1935 he sailed for the first time as apprentice
mate on two ships from Rotterdam Lloyd service to the Dutch East Indies. The
vessels were the ss Kota Tjandi and the ss Soekaboemi.
ss Kota Tjandi was built in 1930 at Wilton Fijenoord
in Rotterdam. The ship was torpedoed on April 30th, 1942 near Freetown (Sierra
Leone) when sailing in a convoy from Ghana to England. Six people were killed.
Also during 1935 Kees decided to return to the
Nautical College in Rotterdam to obtain his third mate certificate. He
completed it successfully but once again there were still no jobs to be had in
shipping. So Kees decided to start his military service with the Dutch Navy.
This took a further eight months and during this time he was promoted to the
rank of assistant quartermaster. However, despite all these additional
qualifications there were still no jobs available with Rotterdam.
Merchant Marine
In 1937 a position as fourth mate became
available with the Java China Paketvaart Lijn, the JCPL or Interocean Lines. A
company which maintained services between the Dutch East Indies, China, Japan,
Formosa (now Taiwan) and the Philippines. Officially the head office of the
JCPL was in the Scheepvaarthuis (Shipping house) in Amsterdam but in actuality
it was run from Batavia (now Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies. The contract
period was for four years without European leave, which in effect would mean
that Kees would not receive leave and see Nel until 1941. Since Nel and Kees
were by now a couple the proposition of such a long separation was not
appealing at all. However with so few jobs available there really was no other
choice. So they decided to get married in 1941 so Nel could join Kees in the
Dutch East Indies. Kees left for Batavia on April 22nd, 1937 as a passenger on
board of the ss Sibajak of Rotterdam Lloyd to Batavia.
ss Sibajak (1928 De Schelde Vlissingen) Passenger ship 17.5 knots
The very day he arrived in Batavia, he was
assigned to the ss Tjikembang of the JCPL as the 2nd and youngest
fourth mate, where along with the second mate he was on watch duty that night.
It was on the ss Tjikembang that first had the opportunity to visit Australia.
The ship was required to load coal in Newcastle, which is about 100 kilometres
North of Sydney and since the loading of coal was a rather lengthy affair,
there was time for a visit to Sydney. So together with a colleague they set off
by train for Sydney.
First
flight ever - Kingsford Smith Sydney January16, 1938
They looked at everything especially the new
Sydney Harbour Bridge. But also for the first time in his life, he made an air
flight. This flight was in an old Fokker 7A which had two engines. They
departed from Kingsford Smith airport, which then was in use. Kees remained on
the Tjikembang till February 7th 1938. Thereafter he made a voyage
on the on the ss Tjimanoek and not long after was promoted to third mate on the
ss Tjikandi.
Third
mate on Tjikandi Amsterdam June 1939
Officially he still was fourth mate and the
rank of third mate was temporary, but he was paid as a third mate.
ss
Tjikandi (1921) built in Port Glasgow. On March 2nd, 1942 the ship was burned
by its own crew off Surabaya, Dutch Indies in order to avoid capture by the
Japanese. Tjikandi was a steamship but burned oil..
In 1939 the ss Tjikandi whilst sailing under
charter for the shipping company Maatschappij Nederland made an unexpected trip
to The Netherlands. The crew was allowed two weeks leave in Holland and Kees
and Nel took the opportunity to make a trip to England together. And when Kees
left again neither he nor Nel had any idea that they would not see each other
again for six years.
Kees en Nel in England 1939
Upon his return in the Dutch Indies, Kees
became a fourth mate on the passenger ship ss Tjisadane that maintained a fixed
service between the Dutch East Indies and Hongkong.
ss
Tjisadane (1931 NSM Amsterdam) passenger ship which, during the war became a
troop transport for 1485 soldiers and participated in many landings in the
Pacific. The ship was hit by a kamikaze off Okinawa but the fires were
successfully extinguished and the ship repaired. The ship was demolished in
Japan in 1961.
The war years
In 1940 Kees was transferred to the ss Tjibesar
that was officially controlled from New York where the offices of the JCPL had
moved. Again he became third mate, but this time officially and it was on this
ship, under the command of Captain Van Vulpen, that he spend most of the war
years. Kees remembers this ship as the most pleasant of all ships he sailed on.
By 1940 The Netherlands had been conquered by
Germany and no shipping services to The Netherlands were possible anymore. But
in the Indian and Pacific Oceans the war was hardly evident, so ships usually
sailed unaccompanied, even though as from December 1942 German raiders start to
operate in the area. These freight ships were heavily armed and sailed under a
false flags and attacked Allied ships. The Allies started to accompany the
Allied ships for protection particularly if they were near Australia or New
Zealand. From history documents in New Zealand it is known that in October 1941
the New Zealand warship Monowai sailed alongside the Tjibesar while on its way
from New Zealand to Panama because raiders had been reported in the area.
Occasionally Kees could still take a holiday. In 1941 he spent fourteen days in
the mountains of Java. In March 1942, the Dutch East Indies became involved in
the war. The Dutch Government requisitioned all Dutch ships and this included
the Tjibesar. However, day-to-day management remained with the JCPL. In March
1942 the Tjibesar was underway to the Dutch East Indies with a.o. 18 planes for
the Dutch East Indian Army when the Japanese overran the Dutch East Indies.
Fortunately the ship was deviated in time to Australia where the planes were
discharged in Albany.
ssTjibesar (1922 Port Glasgow) Originally built for the KNSM but bought
by the JCPL. Demolished 1959 in Japan
All voyages made by the ship after this point
were accurately recorded and preserved by Dutch Government Shipping. From
Australia the ship sailed to Durban, South Africa, then to Trinidad and arrived
in New York in August 1942 then she continued via the Panama Canal back to
Australia, Aden and on to Port Sudan in the Middle East. In Port Sudan Captain
Van Vulpen insisted on having a Christmas tree on board and while there were
few trees available he proceeded to capture one from a local park and this lead
to a disagreement with the Sudanese authorities. The problem was solved over a
few drinks and cigarettes leaving the ss Tjibesar free to sail with a Christmas
tree. The voyages continued: to Durban, Santos in Brazil and Cuba and back to
New York (March 23rd May 11th, 1943).
The ss Tjibesar was by no means a fast ship
sailing with a mere maximum speed of some 13 knots. However, she was armed with
a 4-inch gun on the poop deck and the ship was a lucky ship, as she had never
been attacked. Nevertheless the convoy services were nerve wrecking. Repeatedly
ships in front, behind or next to the ss Tjibesar were torpedoed. Cabin doors
on board were never closed for fear it would take too long to get out or the
doors might stick should a torpedo hit the ship. The crew only ever undressed
to shower. They even slept in their clothes and at least on one occasion one of
the officers ran out of the shower, stark naked, straight through the shower
door because he thought he heard an explosion. This gives a clear indication of
just how nervous everyone was. This tension applied to all ships during Second
World War and on all ships Kees sailed. As an aside around this time there is a
strange report from the German submarine U-66. On July 27th, 1942
she reported to headquarters that that day they reportedly had sunk a ship Type
Tjibesar 10836 GRT . Whoever it was, not the Tjibesar.
Since the head office of JCPL was in New York,
this meant that New York was now the base for the JCPL crews. This had
advantages. Crews were paid in US dollars and could stay where they wanted. So
Kees stayed in the then famous Astor Hotel on Times Square. Also crewmembers of
the Merchant Marine occasionally got things like free or cheap tickets for
Broadway shows. Moreover, in the Astor Hotel on the corner of Times Square and
43rd Street, there was a special room reserved for crewmembers with a view on
Times Square.
Times Square 1943 with Hotel Astor. The hotel was demolished in 1967.
On Times Square there were shows by famous
artists for the benefit of the War Bonds drive and Kees was able to see some
very famous people like Jo Stafford, Bob Hope and the Andrews Sisters. One time
from his window he witnessed an excessive display of female adoration for Frank
Sinatra. They were so exited that by the time the poor man entered his theatre
his clothes were no longer intact. Kees saw that Frank Sinatra arrived secretly
by tramway and then ran to the backstage door of the theatre where a staff
member was waiting to let him in before the girls could rip any clothing from
his body.
Kees also saw a brand new and popular musical
by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Oklahoma on Broadway, though he did not like it.
His preference was for Jo Stafford and the Andrews Sisters.
Jo Stafford Andrews
Sisters
In April 1943
Kees left the ss Tjibesar in New York. As a passenger he travelled to England
to get his first mate certificate on the ss Edam of the Holland America Line as
part of a convoy. Then on November 7, 1943 he became 2nd mate on the
ms Van der Helst of the Dutch Government Shipping. The ship was new and was
sold to the Dutch Government Shipping by the British government under the
proviso that the ship would continue to sail for the British War office.
Management of the ship was given to JCPL. It turned out that Captain Van Vulpen
has also been transferred to this new ship and this pleased Kees greatly as he
had always had an excellent relationship with Van Vulpen.
Reunion in 1965 at the opening of the new office of
Van Ommeren in Rotterdam. Second from left is First Mate De Jager JCPL. Kees is
in the middle and Captain Van Vulpen is to the right of Kees.
The first voyage of the new ship in November
1943 is to St. John in convoy with only ballast. German U-boats attacked the
convoy frequently. The convoy was as fast as the slowest ship and that meant
that the average speed was no greater than about 5 to 6 knots per hour. The ms
Van der Helst herself could easily have done twice that speed and more over the
chosen course of the convoy is far to the north where the Atlantic is so cold
that entering the water means certain death. Fortunately the ship arrived in
Canada on November 19th without a hitch. Loaded with goods from
ports on the East Coast she sailed again on January 5th, 1944 from
Hampton Roads to Egypt.
Van
der Helst (1942 Harland & Wolff). From November 1943 property of the Dutch government under management of
JCPL. After the war sold to JCPL and renamed Tjimenteng. Demolished 1970 in
Spain.
The ms Van der
Helst was more heavily armed than previous ships. It carried four Oerlikons,
anti aircraft guns, one big gun and also rifles for the crew. As second mate,
Kees was placed in charge of the armaments and as such, he was responsible for
the military staff of thirteen soldiers who were responsible for the ships
defence. All this heavy armament proved to be very useful on this particular
voyage to Egypt. While the Germans had been kicked out of North Africa and the
convoys were now free to sail through the Mediterranean Sea there were still
German attacks, only this time from the air. German planes swooped low
attacking the convoy at extremely low levels. All the ships in the convoy
blazed away with their anti aircraft guns, but unfortunately afterwards it was
discovered that no German planes had been hit, only a crew member of another
ship, who was accidentally hit by stray fire in all the exited gun fire being
aimed at the low flying German planes. The ship arrived in Alexandria on
January 30th, 1944. Then the ship continued her voyage to Bombay,
Calcutta, Colombo and Madras and on to Fremantle in Australia and finally back
to Colombo in July 1944
.
In Colombo
Kees was again transferred to the ms Tjitjalengka where he became second mate.
The ms Tjitjalengka was a new (1939) passenger ship from JCPL, which has been
converted into a hospital ship for the British Navy based at Trincomalee in
North East Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Trincomalee was a major British Naval base.`
ms Tjitjalengka (1939 NSM). Hospital ship for
504 patients and the only Dutch ship in Tokyo bay at the official surrender of
the Japanese in September 1945. In 1947 again active as passenger ship for the
JCPL which by then has been named Koninklijke Java China Paketvaart Lijn (Royal
Interocean Lines). Demolished in Hong Kong in 1968.
It is in
Trincomalee that Kees boards an American carrier for the first time. Kees is
also the commander of the sloop that transports his Captain to the carrier for
a Captains meeting. On his arrival he is very surprised at the enormous
organization on board of the ship. But he is especially surprised by some other
things, such as the luxury of a machine from which crewmembers can take an ice
cream any time they want!
In 1945 Kees
was transferred again, this time to the ss Tjibadak which was based in Los
Angeles and from where he made two trips to Calcutta. May 1945 arrived and with
the war in Europe ended and The Netherlands was free again. Not long after a
letter arrived stating that all crewmembers who wanted to and who could get
permission, could travel to The Netherlands. Kees applied for and got approval
and so left by train from Los Angeles to New York. There he embarked on the ss
Queen Mary, which was still a troop transport ship, for the homeward voyage to
Southampton.
ss Queen Mary. As a troop transport ship she
once carried almost 17000 men a record that has never been broken. The ship now
is a museum ship in Long Beach.
On his arrival
in Southampton, Kees had to wait patiently for the opportunity to travel to The
Netherlands. That finally happened on a coastal vessel the ms Batavier that
arrived in Rotterdam on June 2nd, 1945. Nobody had known he was underway and
the telephone call from the quay in Rotterdam was, after seven years, the first
proof Kees that had survived the war. One hundred fifty nine of his colleagues
in the JCPL had not.
After the war
It did not
matter that Nel and Kees had not seen each other for six years. The first thing
Kees wanted to do was to marry his Nel and this happened immediately in 1945
with the borrowed wedding ring from his father in law (because in 1945 there
was no gold for rings in The Netherlands) they tied the knot. Kees was entitled
to lots of furlough and relaxed for the rest of 1945. But in 1946 he made what
would become his last voyage with the ms Van der Helst to the West Coast of the
USA. The ship was now owned by KJCPL and had been renamed the ms Tjimenteng
which was a name more in line with the usual JCPL names.
ms
Tjimenteng ex ms Van der Helst. Sold in 1963 to Greece and demolished 1970 in Spain.
Life on board
no longer appealed to Kees and on his return he immediately started looking for
a job on shore. In 1947 he found a job with the Dienst Zuiderzeewerken, a
Government service dealing with the waterworks in the IJselmeer, the inland sea
in the centre of the Netherlands where he was placed in charge of the
hydrograph department. Kees worked there for three years with well-known names
such as Prof. Thijssen and Ir. Volker, to make new maps of the IJselmeer. These
were especially important for the new polders, which would be constructed in
the IJselmeer.
In 1950 the
shipping concern of Wh. M. Műller & Co. in Rotterdam requested applicants
for the post of Head of Stevedoring for their Rotterdam terminal. This appealed
to Kees as it had more to do with ships. Kees applied and got the job and so
for the next 28 years he worked for Muller Stevedoring on the well-known Muller
Pier as Chief Stevedoring inspector. The company occasionally changes its name,
due to mergers and acquisitions and was first called Muller Progress and later
Muller Thompson.
In 1978 when
Kees was 63 years old, he decided to accept a proposal for early retirement.
Now finally he and finally Nel could get time to do what they really liked
doing most; sailing their Doerak motor yacht. And sail they did and they
continued to sail together all the way to their 89th birthday!
Kees and Nel
have known each other for 82 years and this year they will have been married
for 63 years. They have been living in their Rotterdam apartment at the
Tjalklaan in Rotterdam for more than 50 years. There is absolutely nothing
wrong with either their minds or their memories, as witnessed by this review,
which was made after interviewing Kees (and Nel) in March 2008. In addition Mr.
H.A. Slettenaar. , Secretary of the Society of former Personnel of the KJCPL,
provided photos and other information about the ships and their voyages.
He also
arranged for a remarkable conversation. The only other surviving ships officer
of the JCPL in the war years is, as far as can be established, First Mate Frits
de Jong, who by now was 101 years old but of excellent spirit. Kees had sailed
with him on the ss Tjikembang in 1938. Mr. Slettenaar provided the telephone
number of Frits de Jong in Texel and so, in March 2008, for the first time in
70 years, the two former colleagues again speak to each other about old times
and friends.
Back where it all started. Nel en Kees in front of the
basic school in Kinderdijk - September 2007
Acknowledgments
This story is
based on interviews with Kees en Nel Smit in March and April 2008 by Remi
Huygen, his nephew
Kees en Nel
also provided the photos on pages 1, 3, 4, 7 and the photo of the Tjitjalengka
on page 8
Mr. H.A.
Slettenaar, Secretary of the Society of former Personnel of the KJCPL provided
the ships schedules and the crew lists during World War 2 as well as the photos
of the KJCPL ships.
Photos of the
ships of Rotterdam Lloyd and Holland America Line came from the Arendnet
Website
The photos of
American artists and Times Square came from various websites.
The English
translation was revised and corrected by Ene Beresford from Boulder, Colorado.
The photo of
Nel en Kees in Kinderdijk in 2007 was made by Remi Huygen
July 2008