(Aalten, 1928)

Member of the 1st Company DNB

He is the youngest member and says that he is already 18, promises loyalty to the group and the leaders

Lambertus (nickname Lembert) Wiggers was born on 13 July 1928 in Aalten, as the youngest of the two sons of Berend Hendrik and Gerharda Wiggers-ten Hietbrink. His father died in November 1930, only 33 years old.

They lived at Patrimoniumstraat number 17, opposite resistance leader ‘Ome Jan’ Wikkerink. This person called on Lembert a number of times for courier duties. A boy could move freely on the street, was not quickly stopped. Thus, Lembert came into contact with the leadership of the resistance group De Bark, which was located in an empty farm in the hamlet of IJzerlo.

In October 1944, the resistance leadership asked Lembert if he dared, despite the dangers, to be part of the armed resistance. Lembert was only 17 years old, but answered affirmatively. After a conversation with his mother, he became a member of the resistance group. Lembert was the youngest member and said that he was already 18. He promised loyalty to the group and the leaders, experienced the strict discipline, and received weapon instruction. Within the group Barkianen, there existed a close bond of trust that Lembert also experienced. That was the reason that Lembert Wiggers joined the Dutch National Battalion (DNB), 1st Company, at the beginning of April 1945, together with his resistance comrades.

After the war

After the war, he worked at the company Van Katwijk (Spinkat) in Aalten, a spool case factory that was opened in November 1947. Lembert married Corry Schreuders, and they had three sons. Lembert died on 24 May 2018 in Aalten.

Lembert Wiggers