(Voorburg, 1921)

Member of the 2nd Company DNB

“Green uniform, beret on the head, knapsack on the back and Sten gun on the shoulder”

Jan Hermanus (known as Jan) van der Meide was born in Voorburg on 23 June 1921. After secondary school, he studied law in Leiden and later in Amsterdam, after Leiden University was closed. He did not sign the declaration of loyalty presented to students by the occupier. He also ignored the summons for the German labour service (Arbeitseinsatz). From May 1943, Jan went into hiding with the Seesink-te Paske family on the Aaltenseweg in Varsseveld.

Going into hiding and resistance in Varsseveld

He immediately wrote a letter to his parents, sister, and brothers, reporting that they were nice people and the food was good. Seesink was a carpenter by trade. Life in hiding as a “farmhand” was sometimes difficult for Jan. He remained there until the liberation and joined the resistance. He was part of the resistance group in Varsseveld led by “Maarten” (the alias of Mattheüs van Prooijen, who also came from Voorburg and was head of finance for the municipality of Wisch). Other members of the group included Gerrit Johan Wikkerink van de Mossele, Hein Helmink, Bert Peet, Jan Blaak, Migchelbrink, Derk Tannemaat, and Bernard Janssen van ’t Klooster.

False papers and weapons training

Jan van der Meide received a forged identity card from the municipality of Wisch in the name of Jan van Bavel from Gilze-Rijen, born 1919. The connection to the officials of Wisch was direct via Van Prooijen. The resistance group trained at the Heelweg near “de Katte” with weapons originating from the first Allied weapon drop in the Aaltense Goor.

The Dutch National Battalion

At the end of the war, Jan came forward as a member of the Netherlands Forces of the Interior (NBS) and subsequently, in mid-April 1945, as a member of the 2nd Company of the Dutch National Battalion (DNB). Jan was a proficient linguist and likely worked within the staff of the 2nd Company as an interpreter for contact between the population in the Veluwe region and the Canadians.

At the beginning of May, he was granted a day’s leave and travelled to see his family, whom he had not seen for two years. Shortly thereafter, his father wrote a letter to other relatives about this visit: “Green uniform, beret on the head, knapsack on the back and Sten gun on the shoulder. You would almost fall over from the shock, but Annie (Jan’s mother), who opened the door, held up well.” At the end of June 1945, Jan was honourably discharged from the battalion and resumed his law studies.

Professional Career

On 15 June 1953, he married Maria Chardon in Delft, and they had three children. After the war, Jan worked for the Association of Netherlands Municipalities, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Public Health. From 1970, he served as a judge at the Central Appeals Tribunal (Centrale Raad van Beroep) in Utrecht. In 1967, he was appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. Jan van der Meide passed away in Voorburg in 1983.

Jan van der Meide (on the right in a Canadian uniform), early May 1945