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Latest update july 30, 2008
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Dear Visitor,

This website is dedicated to my father Adriaan Willem Kik (1919 – 2000) and the MS Abbekerk (1939 – 1942) a 7900 brt freighter of the Verenigde Nederlandse Scheepvaartmaatschappij (VNS). My Dad was 4th engineer on the MS Abbekerk during the Second World War. The Abbekerk was stationed in London during the Blitz and in the Dutch East Indies during the fall of Singapore and Java and took part in the evacuation of US and Australian troops and civilians from Tjilatjap to Fremantle. In august 1942 the Abbekerk was torpedoed and sunk 500 miles southwest of England by U-604. Just before my dad passed away in 2000 he wrote his ‘memoires’ of his time on the Abbekerk.

This site is build around these ‘memoires’ and all kind of other information I collected related to that period and the theatres the Abbekerk was active in. For a quick overview of Abbekerks routes I made a (google)map indicating the geographic timeline of the events

geo-timeline-small.jpg

On the ” fragments” page I put a list of links of websites, books and other information in which Abbekerk plays a role and made the most significant ones directly readable. Also there is a (for now) small picture page.

My fathers memoires are in Dutch and now also in English! With many thanks to mister Ben van Essen from Adalaide (Aus) who offered to translate the story. This was quite a task but he managed to finish it very fast!

If you have any information about the Abbekerk or are in need of information of her, please contact me.

Responses

Hi Mr. Kik / Goedenavond meneer Kik,

As a Dutch Japanese Navy freak I would like to direct your attention to the following:

http://www.combinedfleet.com/PB-106_t.htm

and especially the 10 January 1942 entry, of course! :-)

Being one of the very few Dutch frequenting Nihon Kaigun (www.combinedfleet.com) and j.aircraft.com, it was my pleasure and privilege to provide a substantial lot of the information for the ‘Shokaitei!’ (captured patrol boats) section, Dutch chapter, of the magnificient Nihon Kaigun website. Besides, I took a look on the NEI Forum after a too long absence there - and I saw your message about ABBEKERK.

The next minute, so to say, the connection was made.
I have a deep appreciation for your site and your father’s memoirs (one immediately recognizes the
Sailor pure and simple - his story is to-the-point and honest). It seems there are not many like him left today… this self-promoted clubman-seat Admiral does not count himself among them, for instance).

Als Nederlandse Japanse marine-gek zou ik graag Uw aandacht vestigen op de volgende link:

http://www.combinedfleet.com/PB-106_t.htm

en dan vooral het onder het kopje ‘10 januari 1942′ vermelde! :-)

Als één van de weinige Nederlanders, die Nihon Kaigun (www.combinedfleet.com) en j.aircraft.com frequenteren, was het mij een genoegen en een voorrecht een groot deel van de informatie te leveren voor het ‘Shokaitei!’ (veroverde patrouilleboten) hoofdstuk, Nederlands onderdeel, van de magnifieke Nihon Kaigun website. Ook nam ik, na veel te lange afwezigheid, weer eens een kijkje op het Nederlands-Indisch forum - en toen zag ik Uw bericht over de ABBEKERK website.

Het volgende ogenblik was de link gelegd, zou men kunnen zeggen. Ik heb een grote waardering voor Uw website en de memoires van Uw vader (men herkent meteen de Zeeman, puur en eenvoudig - zijn verhaal is relevant en recht-door-zee). Het lijkt alsof er tegenwoordig niet velen meer zijn als hij… deze zelf-benoemde leunstoel-Admiraal rekent zichzelf daar vooral niet toe).

Kind regards, / Met vriendelijke groet,

Adm Gurita (A. Gritter)

By: Adm Gurita on August 2, 2007
at 10:18 pm

The german heavy armed merchant cruiser Atlantis, skippered by Bernhard Rogge, assumed the identity of the MV Abbekerk around May 21, 1940. The Atlantis had been posing as the Japanese Kasii Maru but allied wireless declared a Japanese merchant ship had been identified as a possible raider operating around Ceylon. Rogge made the changes and continued to operate in the the indian ocean before moving to the sunda strait. He kept the MV Abbekerk disguise for some months. The Atlantis was eventually sunk in November 1941 while on it’s way back to Germany. Refer to Rogge’s book ‘Under Ten Flags’

By: adam elliott on August 14, 2007
at 10:36 am

Hartelijk dank voor Uw bericht en website.
Wij zijn momenteel bezig een klein boekje te schrijven over de Nederlandse bijdrage aan de strijd om Australie. We willen dit uitgeven bij de onthulling van een gedenkplaat hier in Adelaide voor al diegenen die een bijdrage in WW2 geleverd hebben.
Ik neem aan dat U geen bezwaar heeft tegen het vermelden van enige feiten in uw website in het boekje.

Groeten,

Jan Vel

By: Jan Vel on August 28, 2007
at 7:33 am

I am currently typing up all of my father’s memoirs of the war and his time in Singapore. He passed away in 2001. Whilst piecing together some stories, I came across his memory of leaving Tjilatjap. My father’s troop had walked most of the way from Batavia to Tjilatjap - and were triumphant to see the sight of masses of troops on the main quayside. After reporting to the Army RTO, they were directed to the Abbekerk which they had to cross to board the ship tied next to it - the “Kota Gede”. They sailed on this ship for about 14 days to reach Columbo but before mainland was reached, they found out that the Abbekerk had been torpedoed on its way to Australia. This was one of my father’s very narrow escapes with his life.

I hope you find this of interest and good luck with all your research.

Regards, Lynn Barkus

By: Lynn Barkus on November 8, 2007
at 11:43 am

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