(Varsseveld, 1918)

Member of the 2nd Company DNB

In April 1945, he becomes a member of the 2nd Company of the DNB

Gerrit Jan Colenbrander was born on 31 January 1918 in Varsseveld, the son of Johan Colenbrander and Dina Johanna Hiddink. His parents were married in 1916.

He performed his military service from 1936 to 1938 in the 4th Hussar Regiment. Holding the rank of corporal, he cared for the horses at the Milligen army camp near Apeldoorn. After the capitulation, he worked as a farmer in Varsseveld. Later in the war, he was a member of the Home Forces, shock troops. During the war, he lived at Wisch D32.

In April 1945, he became a member of the 2nd Company of the DNB.

Gerrit Jan Colenbrander passed away at the age of 94 on September 11, 2012, in Bunschoten, where he was buried.

He was a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau and the widower of Dirkje van Santen (1927–2006).

Gerrit Jan Colenbrander