holland

Brief information about the first Motor Ship or Steam Ship Noordam (1901-1928) can be found at Noordam history:

From August to October 1914, the early months of World War I, she made a few commercial voyages, but after striking a mine in the North Sea on 17 October, Noordam spent the winter in Rotterdam. She returned to service 26 March 1915, one of the few liners to maintain regular service from the continent during the war. She struck another mine, though, off Terschelling Bank in August 1917 and did not return to service; instead, she spent the rest of the war in layup at Rotterdam.

Here, I think Noordam is pictured leaving New York with the women peace delegates bound for Europe.

Bergen op Zoom was a Dutch refugee camp for those who fled to Holland from Belgium after the German invasion. Here is a contemporary account: "I visited carefully the refugee camps at Rosendaal and Bergen Op Zoom, small towns which have entertained from fifty to eighty thousand Belgian refugees. In other still smaller villages along the Dutch frontier the proportion of refugees to inhabitants was even larger. In one place of about 5,000 population there were 30,000 refugees who arrived within twenty four hours. Most of these however went on to Rotterdam Amsterdam or The Hague. At Rosendaal and Bergen Op Zoom there still remain about 25,000 refugees in each place. The condition of these people is most pitiable. For the most part they are without moneyThey arrived in great haste and in a terrified condition pouring into the country in crowded trains and in such carts and wagons as they could find and trudging on foot along the roadsThe majority of course are women and children and there are many tiny babies some born during the flight. There are all sorts of sicknesses among the fugitives, but there is as yet no epidemic ." In a moment of time: things seen on the bread-line of Belgium By Reginald Wright Kauffman (1915) books.google.com/books?id=xvc1AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA260&l...

Thanks so much for filling in the details of this tragic story artolog.

In Zandvoort between Koningstraat and Prinsessweg a group of houses was built to accomodate belgian refugees. I think they were build in 1917. They have been demolished recently to make way for anappartment complex. I think it was 24 houses. Tried to dig up some sources but failed...Apparently refugees frm Belgium did not stay on the border only.

View on Port of Veere from Eastbank