Defence Attaché Colonel Gerbe Verhaaf (left) presents the Mobilisation War Cross to Joseph and Aaron Gielen.
Dutch and Māori lineage intertwined when a Rotorua family received a belated World War II medal on behalf of their patriarch.
A letter from the Kingdom of the Netherlands arrived in Joseph “Sjef” Gielen’s mailbox asking if he would accept the posthumous Mobilisation War Cross on behalf of his late father, Jacobus “Sjaak” Gielen.
The medal was an acknowledgment of bravery.
It honours individuals who stood ready to defend their country at a time of great uncertainty and growing threat during the early stages of World War II.
Sjef said his father did not speak about his war experience “at all”, so he “jumped” at the chance to learn more about his service.
Sjaak had enlisted in the Dutch armed forces in April 1939.
He served with the 2nd Regiment of Infantry and the 2nd Border Battalion as the Netherlands prepared for the growing threat of war in Europe.
German forces invaded in May 1940 and, as Sjef’s daughter Theresa said, the Dutch were “very unprepared”.
Sjaak was about 20 and living in a “little village”. He had no previous military training, Theresa said.
“Picture your boys in Ngongotahā with an oncoming military, from somewhere fully-equipped, and what it would take for those boys to make a stand for their village,” Theresa said.
Theresa said being a mother to a 22-year-old son made her “only imagine” her opa’s (grandfather’s) courage.
Sjaak was held as a prisoner of war for about six months. He was sent to labour camps and to work in the mines.
Theresa said one of Sjaak’s brothers was “shot in the head” during the war. Another brother, who was in the Dutch resistance, had to leave the country and moved to New Zealand.
Sjaak emigrated to New Zealand with his wife, Greta, and four kids in 1951 to be closer to his brother. They later had four more kids.
Sjef believed his father would have been “proud as punch” to receive the medal, and described the occasion as “unifying” for their family.
The medal was presented to the family last month by New Zealand and Australia Kingdom of the Netherlands Defence Attache Colonel Gerbe Verhaaf, who flew from the Netherlands for the ceremony.
Sjef travelled with his son Aaron to the residence of the Netherlands Ambassador in Wellington.
Aaron represented his sisters, Theresa, Leona and Jacinta, and generations of their Gielen family. Their grandfather was remembered as “opa”.
The Gielen family gained a deeper understanding of their forefather over coffee with the Kingdom of the Netherlands representatives.
Alongside their Dutch heritage, the Gielen siblings proudly carry Māori military lineage through their maternal ancestors from Ngāti Kahungunu.
Their great-grandfather, William “Poppy” Cyril Munro Williamson, served with the New Zealand Māori Pioneer Battalion in WWI. Their grandfather, William “Bill” Frederick Williamson, served with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the Italian campaign in WWII.
Aaron wore their medals during the ceremony and Sjef brought a portrait of his parents.
Theresa said it was “beautiful” for the family to see their opa’s courage recognised formally, and for their family to be brought together for the occasion.
War continued to affect everyone, Theresa said.
Their opa’s story was a reminder of its cost and impact across generations.
Natalie Ryan, New Zealand and Australia Kingdom of the Netherlands defence attache assistant, who attended the ceremony, said men like Sjaak Gielen often went unrecognised.
Attention shifted to rebuilding after World War II and many veterans stayed silent about what they had endured.
Ryan said their service was simply “doing their duty”.
There was “deep meaning” for the Gielen family to carry forward Sjaak’s legacy, she said.
Ryan said the Mobilisation War Cross was awarded to a “large group of servicemen”.
“This does not take away the importance of what the medal represents.
“Sjaak must have had a very strong sense of duty and responsibility, as he signed up months before the general mobilisation in August 1939,” Ryan said.
That showed “commitment and readiness”.
The medal held “significant historical value” in the Dutch system of military honours.
Those moments “create a meaningful connection between families and their heritage”, Ryan said.
“They give an opportunity to rediscover and honour the stories of those who came before them, and strengthen a sense of identity and belonging.”
Ryan and Verhaaf’s visit taught them about whakapapa - “the idea that our past lives on through us”.
“Each story adds more perspective, and each medal represents the story of a brave individual who made sacrifices for the freedom we live in today.”
Ryan said it was a “very meaningful experience”, helping her “gain understanding”.
Verhaaf served in the armed forces for 40 years.
“For him, some of the stories we encounter feel familiar through his own experiences, while others remind him of the stories of his family,” Ryan said.
Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.