# Only known picture of WILLEM VAN DER GROEF as a grown-up man .
Willem was the eldest son of DANIEL VAN DER GROEF and of ANNETJE VAN DER VLIET - Willem was just about born in the 19th century , on February 6th 1899 in the big Dutch porttown of Rotterdam , in a house in the Warmoezierstraat .
Both of Willem's parents originally came from a little place , Nieuwe-Tonge , on the Dutch island of Goeree-Overflakkee , but shortly after their marriage in 1898 , the just married couple had already left the island behind , in order to find better employment and thus better prospects in life for themselves and for all of their children to come ....... since not only Willem would see the day of life in the city of Rotterdam , but also all of his brothers and sisters : within a period of not even 13 years , no less than ten children were born of this marriage , though four of these children , two boys and two girls , would already very sadly pass away in their young chilhood years .
So the marriage of Daniel and Annetje was frequently blessed with the coming of yet another young baby , but almost as frequently plunged into mourning when yet another infant had passed away ...... and then the most far-reaching event even still had to take place .....
When Willem's mother , on December 15th 1911 , gave birth to her tenth child , the delivery ended in a drama : though the baby-girl was born very much alive , mother Annetje van der Vliet lost her life that memorable day in childbed , not older than 36 years .....
Both of Willem's parents originally came from a little place , Nieuwe-Tonge , on the Dutch island of Goeree-Overflakkee , but shortly after their marriage in 1898 , the just married couple had already left the island behind , in order to find better employment and thus better prospects in life for themselves and for all of their children to come ....... since not only Willem would see the day of life in the city of Rotterdam , but also all of his brothers and sisters : within a period of not even 13 years , no less than ten children were born of this marriage , though four of these children , two boys and two girls , would already very sadly pass away in their young chilhood years .
So the marriage of Daniel and Annetje was frequently blessed with the coming of yet another young baby , but almost as frequently plunged into mourning when yet another infant had passed away ...... and then the most far-reaching event even still had to take place .....
When Willem's mother , on December 15th 1911 , gave birth to her tenth child , the delivery ended in a drama : though the baby-girl was born very much alive , mother Annetje van der Vliet lost her life that memorable day in childbed , not older than 36 years .....
In the course of the year 1915 father Daniel van der Groef would remarry , and around that time son Willem van der Groef would leave his parental home and travel to the town of Den Helder in the north of the country to make a start with his long labourious life , being a member of the Royal Dutch Navy , as a stoker (which we presume must have been rather tough work) - later Willem was promoted corporal and worked in the years to come in the machineroom of different ships .
On May 25 , 1927 Willem , protestant of religion , was joined in matrimony in his former hometown Rotterdam to a roman katholic woman who was born and raised in Germany : ANNA ROSE , born on May 3 , 1892 in the Bavarian city of Passau .
Anna had been married before and of that marriage a child was born , a daughter named LUISE KETTERLE (born on January 3th 1917 in the German city of Augsburg) .
In the early twenties of the 20th century , both mother and daughter had come from Germany to Holland .
Moving from Rotterdam to Den Helder must have been an important step to make for Willem in his young life , but even more profound must have been a following step , when Willem , in the thirties , left his homeland behind and travelled all the way to the former Dutch Indies (Indonesia) , where he must have been employed for the Navy in the city of Soerabaja on the island of Java (Djawa) , a city where Willem míght have met his cousin Leendert van der Groef who was also employed there in those days - we do not know if they have ever met over there and moreover : we do not even know if they had ever been aware of each other's existence .....
Willem came back to the Netherlands in the year 1940 , shortly before the outbreak of the second world war between Germany and Holland (on May 10th) , since we read in his papers that in the month of May he was once again living in the Dutch place of Den Helder .
Moving from Rotterdam to Den Helder must have been an important step to make for Willem in his young life , but even more profound must have been a following step , when Willem , in the thirties , left his homeland behind and travelled all the way to the former Dutch Indies (Indonesia) , where he must have been employed for the Navy in the city of Soerabaja on the island of Java (Djawa) , a city where Willem míght have met his cousin Leendert van der Groef who was also employed there in those days - we do not know if they have ever met over there and moreover : we do not even know if they had ever been aware of each other's existence .....
Willem came back to the Netherlands in the year 1940 , shortly before the outbreak of the second world war between Germany and Holland (on May 10th) , since we read in his papers that in the month of May he was once again living in the Dutch place of Den Helder .
And íf Willem had stayed behind in Indonesia , he could have still enjoyed freedom for more than one and a half year úntil 'Pearl Harbour' , which would also lead to the occupation of Indonesia , the capture of all the Dutch men and women ánd to severe and cruel forced labour for all of those men ......so , certainly in hindsight , we dare to state that Willem had been lucky to have returned to his homeland just before the outburst of war , well , relatively speaking of course ....
Since the day of their marriage Willem and his wife Anne had been bringing up Luise , Willem's foster-child , but together they didn't get any children during all those years their common marriage would last : it ended with the decease of Anna Rose in 1968 in the town of Bussum .
Since the day of their marriage Willem and his wife Anne had been bringing up Luise , Willem's foster-child , but together they didn't get any children during all those years their common marriage would last : it ended with the decease of Anna Rose in 1968 in the town of Bussum .
After her death Willem moved to the south of the country , to Tilburg and later to Sittard , where Willem , on July 18th 1976 , at the age of 77 , would breathe his last , after a occasionally stirring life , after having been a life long employed by the Royal Dutch Navy ......
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