The story of a Dutch freighter during the Second World War
6 February 1942 Abbekerk has been anchored for four days at the Oosthaven, Lampoon Bay in the south of Sumatra. The tranquility after the chaos of Singapore is surreal. We anchored between a couple of islands in the bay. Here it...
15 February 1942. Singapore has fallen. This news is met with perplexity. Followed by information of Airborne troops landing at the refineries of Palembang not even 300 km north Oosthaven on Sumatra. Dark smoke emerges from behind the mountains as the...
After arriving at Tjilatjap we found the harbour brimful of ships. Large freighters, a couple of small passenger ships and a number of Navy vessels of differing nationalities. This time no anchorage a long way from the action but right...
25 February 1942. The following week Abbekerk and her crew find themselves in the middle of what later will be known as the ‘Dunkirk of the Dutch East Indies’ and the ‘Tjilatjap Exodus’. In these desperate and chaotic days thousands...
26 February 1942. More and more troops from all over the island arrive at Tjilatjap, uncertain of what is to come and anxious to leave the island. They are not impressed with the ship that will be taking them. When...
They were still at it (loading men) when dawn broke. At intervals all during the night, new groups of men appeared upon the dock to take their places in the boarding line (..) The Abbekerk had become a crowded ship....
28 February 1942. With over 1700 people on board Abbekerk sails due south, alone on an empty sea. With calm weather and not even half loaded her two large diesel engines power her to a speed of over 19 knots. She...
Men still speak of the miserable, sick fear that assailed them on that moonlight night. A blind hysteria pursued the ship. There was a feeling of utter disorganisation. Two men tried to kill themselves. To add to their troubles, the...
More than ever I realized that working in the engine room during wartime one never got used to the fact that you could hear or see nothing of what was happening outside. Particularly if you were aware that not too...
Just before dawn on March 4, as I sat up on that cold, windswept deck, I sighted a flickering light. It was the beacon outside Fremantle Harbor! And what a sight it was! The pilot boarded our ship a few...
Adriaan W Kik, who's memoirs are the inspiration and base of this website
Peter
