Subscribe to the newsletter
The Damen companies in Vlissingen commemorated the victims of the Second World War on 4 May. The commemoration took place at the ‘Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde’ war monument in front of the Damen Naval Headquarters in the Willem Ruysstraat. The names of the ‘De Schelde’ employees who were killed or went missing during the Second World War are inscribed on this monument. Damen Schelde Marine Services Managing Director Arnold Suykerbuyk and Business Development Manager Bert Prevoo placed a wreath at noon, after which two minutes of silence were observed.
The memorial was attended by Damen employees, including MT members Richard Keulen and Roland Briene from Damen Naval, Peter Sterkenburg and Theo Corstens on behalf of Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen, and Rob Luijendijk, Roeland Berrevoets and Tijs Rovers of Damen Yachting.
Damen Schelde Marine Services Managing Director Arnold Suykerbuyk and Business Development Manager Bert Prevoo placed the wreath.
The ‘Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde’ monument was originally unveiled on 16 November 1946 and, at that time, comprised five bronze plaques. The central plaque shows a picture of a tree and a poem by A. den Doolaard. On either side are a total of four plaques bearing the names of the 83 Schelde employees who died during the war in bombardments and shelling at the shipyard or in their homes, or as a result of forced labour in Germany. Three men were executed by the occupying forces and eleven employees were killed in the bombing of Westkapelle and the subsequent breach of the dike in 1944.
The monument was initially a temporary solution, paid for by the ‘De Schelde’ staff at the time. When it was unveiled, it stood at the start of the Aagje Dekenstraat. In 1957, the monument moved to the Glacisstraat; the plaques were hung on a red brick memorial wall. A plaque for seven missing workers was also added. In the end, a new monument was never commissioned, and this monument became the permanent symbol of remembrance. In 2016, the memorial wall was taken down as a part of demolition work. The bronze plaques were reinstalled on a steel frame on the road opposite the entrance to the Damen Naval headquarters.