Petrus Wijtse Winkel

Petrus Wijtse Winkel
Born Petrus Wijtse Winkel
(1909-06-13)June 13, 1909
Leeuwarden, Friesland
Died April 21, 2012(2012-04-21) (aged 102)
Leeuwarden, Friesland
Nationality Dutch
Other names Tangan Dingin (Malay) "Fortunate Hand"[1]
Education Indology
Alma mater Utrecht University
Occupation Colonial administrator
Years active 1928–1950
Known for Saving many shipwrecked Britons in 1941
Spouse(s) Detty Ronner
Awards

Petrus Wijtse Winkel (13 June 1909 – 21 April 2012)[2] was a Dutch colonial administrator in the Netherlands East Indies and centenarian. He is known for helping British military personnel escape the Dutch East Indies under Japanese occupation.

Life

Winkel was born in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. He was the son of Jan Peter Winkel, a detective with the Leeuwarden police, and Ymkje Welbedagt, a homemaker. Winkel attended the Hogereburgerschool in Leeuwarden.

In the East Indies

Winkel was conscripted into the Royal Netherlands Army in 1928 and served in Java before joining the colonial administration.[3] A few years later he returned to the Netherlands to study indology at Utrecht University. Winkel went back to the Dutch Indies in 1937, this time accompanied by his younger brother Wijtse Petrus, an artist. During his career from 1930 to 1950, Winkel held several government positions including that of assistant-resident of Nias. He is credited with saving the lives of many Britons in 1941. British troopship Chilka, commanded by one Captain Bird sank in battle with a Japanese navy ship which thus shipwrecked the crew. Winkel saved the crew and by giving them his boat, allowed them to escape to British India.[4] In 1942 Winkel was deported to a civilian internment camp in the jungle of Sumatra. He barely surivived the lack of food in the disease-ridden camp. His actions earned him the King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom, a British medal awarded for "contributions to helping British military personnel to escape the enemy and escape from occupied areas, with the danger of life, or for other dangerous work for the British or Allied cause during the war", in 1949. He also received two Dutch decorations, the Cross for Order and Peace in 1949 and the Resistance Memorial Cross in 1985.[1][5]<ref name='King's medal'>"Onderscheiden". Juliana-bode: dagblad voor Palembang (in Dutch). 8 June 1949. </ref>[6][7][8]

Personal and death

After the war he returned to his fatherland, married Detty Ronner (1918–2008) in 1955 by whom he had a daughter (b. 1956).

Winkel spent his last years in an elderly home in his place of birth Leeuwarden. In 2009, he celebrated his 100th birthday. Petrus Wijtse ('Wytze') Winkel died on April 21, 2012 in Leeuwarden. He outlived his sister (1914–2004) and younger brother (1911–2011), who reached the age of 100.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 "Winkel redde drenkelingen op 'vergeten' Batoe-eilanden". Friesch Dagblad (in Dutch). 26 April 1985. p. 25.
  2. ↑ "Burgerlijke stand". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch) (Archief Leeuwarder Courant). 21 June 1909. p. 3. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  3. ↑ "Loting voor den dienstplicht". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch) (Archief Leeuwarder Courant). 1 August 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  4. ↑ van Heekeren, Cornelis (1983). Batavia seint: Berlijn. 's-Gravenhage: Nijgh & Van Ditmar. pp. 181–184. ISBN 978-9023655725.
  5. ↑ van Eldert, Bart (11 April 1985). "Een Odyssee in Oud-Indië". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch) (Archief Leeuwarder Courant). p. 13. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  6. ↑ "Onthulling van Indisch monument in Den Haag door koningin Beatrix gaf extra accent aan dit gebeuren". Terdege (in Dutch). 14 September 1988. pp. 36–37.
  7. ↑ Willink, Marieke (12 February 2001). "Oudste Leeuwarder is nog 'krasse knar'". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch) (Archief Leeuwarder Courant). p. 12. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  8. ↑ "Peters Wietzes Winkel was nog even in Indië". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch) (Archief Leeuwarder Courant). 30 August 2001. p. 18. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  9. ↑ "Burgemeester Crone bezoekt 100-jarige meneer Winkel" (in Dutch). Municipality of Leeuwarden. 19 June 2009. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
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