My father never considered himself a hero. As a child I heard others mention him as a hero, and I asked him, “Daddy, are you a hero?”
He looked surprised and said, “No. Absolutely not. The real heroes are the Frisians who helped me at the end of the war. I didn’t do anything special.” (The Frisians lived in northern Holland, where Peter executed another secret mission at the end of the war.)
He was always very reticent about his war exploits with us as well as with any journalists, and mostly refused to speak about his experiences.
But because he is so much part of the story Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema wrote about in his book Soldier of Orange, I slowly came to know his own story as well. It was impressive enough for him to be awarded the Militaire Willems-Orde (the highest decoration of the Netherlands) in 1944, as well as the Bronzen Leeuw and the King’s Medal for Courage. Both Peter and Sabine received the Verzetsherdenkingskruis (Resistance Remembrance Cross).
They both felt an obvious duty to help their country and were willing to risk their lives in the process.
Several attempts were made by Peter to meet up with Erik for their return trip to England, after the prearranged signal from Radio Orange, the Dutch broadcasting service in London, came to nothing.
Peter decided to try one last time, and that evening, Sabine arranged a dinner at her home for Peter, Gerard, and Wiardi Beckman as well as Frans Goedhart, a journalist and late addition to the group, who was also desperate to flee Holland. They were all to accompany Peter on this dangerous mission. A fifth man, Wim (Padje) Pasdeloup, would also accompany them to the beach to receive the transmitters that Erik was bringing. It would be their last meal as free men.
Later that night, Peter and Gerard, in their usual dinner suits (still a cover in case of arrest) and including top hats, lay on the frozen pier head, while Wiardi Beckman, Frans Goedhart and Pasdeloup sheltered in a nearby bunker. All were waiting for Erik’s boat.
Unfortunately, the men in the bunker were discovered by a passing German patrol and were instantly arrested. Wiardi Beckman was sent to Dachau, where he died. Goedhart was sentenced to death, but in the end survived the war. Pasdeloup succumbed to the mental and physical torture he was subjected to and broke and named names. To silence him, he was eventually murdered by his own Resistance partners.
Peter and Gerard, although a bit further away, were clearly visible in their dark suits against the frost and were very fortunate that the patrol did not search the surroundings any further. In a great panic, Gerard pulled Peter into the icy sea. They had already lain on the frozen pier head for several hours, and now they stood for some time in deathly silence up to their necks in the –20°C sea. Peter soon became semiconscious through hypothermia. Gerard managed to drag him further down the coast to another part of the beach, where they finally dared to crawl out and make their way to a nearby safe house, where they were revived by a bottle of jenever.
The day after this debacle, Peter received another signal via Radio Orange to tell him an MGB would pick them up that evening. London did not as yet know about the disaster of the night before.
Peter felt responsible for Erik, who after all was also about to risk his life for him, and decided, despite strong reservations, that he and Gerard would go to the beach again. After the previous night, the Germans had realized something was going on and had increased security patrols. Unfortunately, before Peter and Gerard even got to the beach, they ran into a German patrol. In their by now dilapidated-looking evening dress, they looked like third-rate waiters, and even their drunken behavior did not fool the Germans. Luckily, Peter managed to drop his pistol in the snow before being dragged off for questioning. As soon as they entered the German police station, they were confronted with a wanted poster of Gerard on the wall.
Peter had the presence of mind to start behaving so appallingly drunk that the Germans’ interest focused on him, and they did not realize that the wanted man was sitting in front of them. Within a few minutes, Broer Moonen, the police inspector and their friend, walked in by chance and immediately realized what was going on. Exclaiming that he had been looking for these two drunkards, he explained he had been accompanying them home and they had escaped, but now that they had been found again, he would make sure that this time they got home safely. Because he was a respected inspector and their superior, the Germans agreed to release these two idiots into his care. It was a very lucky escape.
Peter and Gerard urgently needed to leave Holland as they were now both on the wanted list since Peter was linked to the failed plan of the night before. By the time of Peter’s return to Holland at the end of 1941, the Germans had become suspicious of the Ordedienst. They suspected this Resistance group was behind the murder of a German officer and, as a result, they had arrested the head of the OD. Peter had also been a member of the OD, as was Gerard Dogger, Peter’s old naval mate, who was suspected of being complicit in this murder. This was why Gerard was already being hunted by the Germans. When he and Peter were caught trying to return to England, the Germans did not realize that by letting the two men go, Gerard had slipped through their fingers, although when they did, Peter was immediately also suspected. The Germans’ information most likely came from someone within the OD. Because of this, further attempts at landings and setting up networks had to be abandoned. Plan Contact Holland had been compromised.
Broer Moonen put Peter and Gerard in contact with a group who organized escape routes to England via Belgium, France, Switzerland and Portugal and who helped them to escape Holland. He was a true friend in need and deed.
Not long afterwards, on February 27, 1942, Broer Moonen himself was betrayed and arrested. He too would be executed.