(Aalten, 1921)

Member of the 1st Company DNB

and his brother Henk Jansen (Aalten, 1919)

Bernard Jansen was born in the village of Aalten on 23 May 1921, the youngest son of Jan W. Jansen and Hendrika W. Prinsen. He had three older brothers and two older sisters. His mother passed away when he was twelve years old.

During the war, his resistance alias was ‘Leo’. He was a member of the Interior Forces (Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten) and part of the ‘De Bark’ resistance group in IJzerlo. His brother *Henk (1919) likely also belonged to this group. They trained with weapons under strict discipline in preparation for the liberation. Seven Allied pilots in hiding were also members of the resistance group. Immediately after the liberation, the struggle was not yet over for Bernard and Henk; both brothers joined the 1st Company of the DNB.

In 1953, Bernard emigrated to Canada and built a new life there with his wife. His brother Henk, two years his senior, also emigrated to Canada.

The newspaper De Gelderlander, dated 26 September 1990, featured a photograph of Bernard Jansen together with former RAF Captain Frank Dell during a meeting with 30 former resistance members of the Bark group. Bernard was briefly back in the Netherlands at the time and was deeply moved. He remarked: “What you have been through together is almost impossible to describe. What remains above all is the camaraderie.” Frank Dell told the newspaper: “They dedicated themselves at the risk of their own lives. The friendship and warmth of all the people who were directly or indirectly involved in the resistance are unforgettable.” In 1992, he attended another reunion of the ‘Barkianen’. His address at that time was 22 Maple Street in Ontario.

Bernard Jansen