Anneke JanssenEllis Brandon on the musical Soldier of Orange, in 2019
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 15:08
The Royal Home says the Netherlands “owes nice gratitude” to resistance fighter Ellis Brandon, who has died on the age of 101. So far as is thought, she was the oldest Englandvaarder who was nonetheless alive.
“We keep in mind her as a lady with a pointy moral sense,” reads a message from King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and Princess Beatrix. “She was not intimidated by threats and hazard and held quick to her conviction that freedom is above all. The Netherlands owes her an awesome debt of gratitude.”
Brandon was one of many few ladies who fled from the Netherlands to England through the Second World Conflict, to proceed the battle from there. Opposite to widespread perception, a lot of the 2000 Englandvaarders didn’t make the crossing by boat from the Dutch coast. Within the overwhelming majority of circumstances, the route took a significant detour, by way of nations akin to Portugal and Sweden.
Resistance work within the Netherlands
Chairman Paul Bartelings of the Museum Engelandvaarders in Noordwijk noticed Brandon final yr, at her house in Belgium. “That confirmed once more what a powerful and courageous lady she is. On the age of 100, she may nonetheless discuss very inspiringly about what she had finished in her battle in opposition to the German occupier. She was happy with that too.”
Earlier than her time in England, Brandon was lively within the resistance within the Netherlands, serving to Jewish households, distributing unlawful newspapers and being concerned within the theft of ration playing cards for gas, meals and clothes.
As soon as in London, issues have been a bit disappointing. Brandon needed to work as a spy within the Netherlands, however that did not work out. She acquired an workplace job on the Dutch Ministry of the Inside in London. Ultimately, she was in a position to be a part of the Girls’s Help Corps, a military unit particularly for girls. She was additionally allowed to regulate enemy planes from the roof of the ministry.
Authorities Info ServiceThe final reunion of the Englandvaarders in 2018. Brandon is standing on the appropriate subsequent to Princess Beatrix
Brandon was a loyal customer to conferences of the Stichting Genootschap Engelandvaarders after the conflict, says Bartelings, chairman of the museum. “Brandon was current fairly often, together with the final reunion in 2018. She continued to actively share her experiences, so as to acquire recognition for the wrestle of the Engelandvaarders in opposition to the occupier. She was additionally commonly current on the Nationwide Remembrance Day on Dam Sq. in Amsterdam.”
There’s a web site on the museum’s web site memorial message positioned. She is remembered by way of a personality sketch beforehand printed within the Volkskrant: “A headstrong, high-spirited girl who wore brilliant pink lipstick and tore by means of her hometown in her Volkswagen Caddy”.
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