MAARTEN CIEREMANS.
 
CIEREMANS, Maarten

Born: 22-10-07, Haarlem.
Nationality: Dutch.

Escape: Left Velp near Arnhem 1st of July 1943, arrived in England 10-07-1944.
Alias:
BEN, Maarten Coenders, MAX
Mission: CUBBING.
Task: organiser.
Dropped: 21/22-09-1944 near Berkel en Roderijs, DZ Whisky (landowner is Jan Rozendaal).
With: Paul Peters (
DOUWE), Willem Frederik Hoogewerff (WIM) & Gerardus de Stoppelaar (LUDO).
Source: ‘De ene voet voor de andere’ by Maarten Cieremans. ISBN 90-261-0697-1. Page 182: "We were not allowed to speak among each other about our mission, but we did so immediately. Douwe didn’t, he just said something being an advanced operating officer for the Allied High Command".

Cieremans leaves Rotterdam soon after dropping, there is no task for him there and the regional commander FRANK (van Bijnen) tells him to  travel to Apeldoorn to assist Witte Dirk en Karel. He was taken there by Jan Barneveld on 23-09-1944.
WITTE DIRK is Seerp Postma *), organizer. KAREL is Gerrit Heinrich Reisiger, wireless operator.
*) Pieter de Vos (BRAM) meets Seerp in Toulouse 11-12-1943, both are heading for Spain.
   'London calling Amsterdam' by Eddie de Roever, Chapter 2.
Postma appears suddenly in Amsterdam in October 1944, Tobias Biallosterski sends him to Apeldoorn to assist Maarten Cieremans. Seerp was dropped in the Wieringermeer on 07-08-1944 about a month before Tobs and Pieter are dropped near Spanbroek.
Who arrived in Apeldoorn first, Sjeerp or Maarten? Was Gerrit already there?
The commander in Apeldoorn is ‘OUWE KEES’ his assistent is BERT (van de Beek). HQ is located in a house at the Sprengeweg. Due to treason 8 resistance men are executed on 02-10-1944:
J. Aalders
Jan Jozua Barendsen
Reinier van Gerrevink
Willem Karreman
Jan Schut
D.H. Wijma
K.H.C. (Kenneth) Ingram (RAF)
R.W. (Robert) Zercher (USAAF)

Rest of the group goes into hiding in two cabins in the Wieselse Bos near Apeldoorn. A major razzia is carried out by the Germans on 10-10-1944, Maarten, Witte Dirk, Gerrit and Bert escape via Speulde, Garderen en Voorthuizen to Utrecht.
In Utrecht they contact COR (Been), regional commander and META his courier. Cor is a friend of the regional commander in Rotterdam, FRANK. Two wireless sets are borrowed from Frank. Gerrit is able to contact London again. New sets are dropped with the first dropping in Utrecht. Maarten starts helping THEO as weapon instructor. Bert assists Gerrit with his W/T work.
During a meeting Witte Dirk and other members of the resistance are arrested, Maarten manages to escape together with ‘OME JAN’. Maarten brings him to Jutphaas near Utrecht, goes back to Utrecht and visits Theo. Theo doesn’t trust him anymore, but Bert picks him up and they go to a safehouse in Zeist. Some of the arrested men are taken to Apeldoorn and shot in Apeldoorn, including Witte Dirk,  on the 2th of December 1944. Frank and Paul from Rotterdam are also killed with their driver as they were looking for ways to free the captured men.
Johannes Arnoldus van Bijnen (Frank), LO+KP
Samuel Esmeijer (Paul), KP
Huibert Verschoor, driver

Jacob Engelaan, KP
Sjeerp Postma (
Witte Dirk), BBO
Jacob Vos
Gerrit Westdijk (Bob van Oostrom), LO Utrecht
Johannes van Zanten (van Buren), KP Betuwe
Lucas Antonius Ansems, OD
Johannes Balk, RVV
Philliups Corts, ill press
Hendrikus Gijsbertus Drost, RVV
Lambertus Jan Kleiboer, RVV
Taeke Johan Kroeze (Ted), G6
Johannes Diederick Suijling, OD
Bill Frances Moore, USAAF

Gerrit’s nerves are breaking down and a new W/T operator is found Bob Vree, a Dutch radioamateur (PAØ..) and a PTT engineer. Gradually Bob takes over from Gerrit and the latter is bound to escape through the lines to the southern part of the country. However Bob has to go to his parents to take care of certain things and Gerrit jumps in. Gerrit is than arrested while sending his last message, he dies in a camp in Itzehoe April 7th, 1945 in Germany.
Maarten is ordered to evade to liberated area and to contact LEO, he refuses and is allowed to keep on working in Utrecht. After a while he has to report to Capt. KING (SAS) in Veenendaal who will get him across de river. This attempt fails due to the fact that the area is full with SS soldiers. Maarten goes back to Utrecht. Again Maarten is ordered to return and contact Leo who is supposed to be in Culemborg. Bob and Bert are coming along but due to snow and ice they get stuck near Vianen.
Then they are taken to a mill south of Beesd, near the river Linge. Close to the mill they install a wireless set and start sending information to London. Dick de Groot (PAØDG) is working here as WT operator.