(Aalten, 1916 and 1918)

Members of 1st Company DNB

The Te Lindert resistance family in Barlo

In May 1940, following the battle at the Grebbeberg, Johan was put to work as a prisoner of war in a camp near Berlin. This period made him and his entire family fiercely anti-Nazi. The Te Lindert family grew into a centre of resistance, sheltering various people-in-hiding, including Allied pilots.

The resistance in Barlo and Dale

There was close contact with resistance leaders such as ‘Ome Jan’, ‘Zwarte Kees’, Dr Der Weduwen, and the pilot escape line in Lichtenvoorde. The family was also closely linked to the Van Eerden family of ‘’t Ruwhof’ in Dale, the location where the local LO-LKP resistance organisation was based. That family was also involved in the risky weapon drops in the Aaltense Goor. “Never talk about this with third parties!” was the strict rule.

Raid and the rescue of Sallo

During a raid, the hidden pilots Hanson and Cheeseman were not found, but the hidden Jewish boy Sallo van Gelder was unfortunately discovered. Sallo was eventually saved from deportation in Amsterdam, as if by a miracle, and returned to hiding in Aalten. The father, along with a brother and son-in-law, was imprisoned in Camp Vught. The pilots returned safely to England via the Lichtenvoorde ‘pilot line’.

An enduring friendship

Pilot Hanson visited the Te Lindert family many times after the war. He named his first-born son Johnny, after Johan, with the wish that Johnny would become just as tall and brave as his Dutch godfather. Johan passed away in 2001, and his brother Wim passed away in 2005.

Johan te Lindert