W. J. Kruys
W. J. Kruys | |
|---|---|
 Vice admiral Willem Jan Kruys | |
| Birth name | Willem Jan Kruys |
| Born | 13 January 1906 Pangkalan Brandan (Sumatra) |
| Died | 20 April 1985 (aged 79) Bilthoven (The Netherlands) |
| Service/ | Royal Netherlands Navy |
| Years of service | 1924–1960 |
| Rank |  Vice-admiral |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau |
Willem Jan Kruys (1906–1985) was a vice admiral in the Royal Netherlands Navy and later director-general of the Dutch National Aviation Service (Dutch: Rijksluchtvaartdienst).
Early life[edit]
Willem Jan Kruys was a member of a well-known Dutch Navy family. He was born on January 13, 1906, in Pangkalan Brandan (Sumatra). His father Gerhardus Kruys (1876–1955) worked for the ‘Batavian Oil Company' in the Dutch East Indies. His mother, Judith Elizabeth de Bruyne (1883–1937), was a daughter of Navy Officer captain Willem Jan de Bruyne. His brother Gerhardus Kruys (1907–1982) was also a captain in the Royal Dutch Navy.[1] Willem Jan Kruys was a grandson of Dutch minister of Navy and vice admiral Gerhardus Kruys (1838–1902), and cousin of vice admiral Theodoor Louis Kruys (1884–1940).[2] He spent his early childhood in the Dutch East Indies. In 1920 the family returned to the Netherlands. Willem Jan finished his high school education in Deventer, the Netherlands.[3][4]
[edit]
In 1924 Willem Jan began his Navy career as naval cadet at the Royal Naval Institute in Den Helder, where he was a member of the senate in 1925. One of his passions was ocean sailing. On August 16, 1927, he was appointed midshipman and on August 16, 1929, he became sub lieutenant.[5]
On August 20, 1935, he married Anna Troll (1911–1998) by proxy. She was a daughter of Navy Officer Anton Frederik Lodewijk Troll (1875–1936) and Gesina Sara Hoek (1883–1956). From 1935 to 1938, Willem Jan was artillery officer aboard HNLMS Johan Maurits van Nassau, first stationed at the island of Curaçao in the Dutch Caribbean, and later escorting convoys in the Strait of Gibraltar. Willem Jan was promoted to lieutenant commander on August 15, 1938, and subsequently posted to the Department of the Navy in The Hague.[1]
World War II[edit]
In May 1940, at the beginning of World War II, as German forces invaded the Netherlands, Willem Jan was transferred to London with Dutch admiral Johan Fürstner, among others, in charge of the Dutch Admiralty's relocation to the United Kingdom.[6] He was initially stationed in Bath as liaison officer. On May 6, 1942, he became captain of HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes, a British N-class destroyer launched on 25 June 1941 and transferred to the Royal Dutch Navy in May 1942. The ship was named after the 17th century Dutch admiral, Tjerk Hiddes de Vries.[7]
With HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes, Willem Jan actively participated in the fight against the enemy, initially escorting military convoy ships in the Indian Ocean. In October, the ship joined the US 7th Fleet in the Port of Fremantle, Australia.[8]
Early December, Tjerk Hiddes was sent on a mission to evacuate troops from the island of Timor in enemy territory. On the way to Darwin, the ship was spotted and attacked by a squadron of Japanese bombers from Timor. Willem Jan manoeuvred his ship successfully to avoid the bombs, but was forced to dump the depth charges to prevent that a hit or near miss on the stern would detonate the charges and damage or sink the ship.[9] On 9, 12 and 18 December, the Tjerk Hiddes made three nightly voyages to Timor and evacuated over a thousand Australian Forces, Dutch troops and civilians to Darwin.[10]
On January 8, 1943, during maintenance work, one of the ship's torpedos exploded, blowing a hole in the deck. Four Australian technicians and two crew members required treatment in hospital.
Willem Jan was awarded the Legion of Merit by President Roosevelt for the Timor mission. The crew received the Dutch Cross for Important Military Operations (also known as the Expedition Cross). The British King George VI decorated Willem Jan with the Order of the British Empire (Officer Military Decision).[8]
Post-war period[edit]
In 1945 Willem Jan was appointed head of Navy training in London and in 1948 he was promoted to commander. He was closely involved in the Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference in 1949 about the transfer of sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies. He stayed in Australia for a number of months for the Royal Dutch Navy. On 1 August 1952 he was promoted to captain and sent back to The Hague. He was involved with the construction of the two new Zeven Provinciën class light cruisers De Ruyter and De Zeven Provinciën.[5][11] The previous cruiser carrying the name De Ruyter was sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942.[12]
On November 18, 1953, Willem Jan became the first captain of the new cruiser HNLMS De Ruyter, built at the Wilton-Fijenoord shipyard in Rotterdam. The ship was commissioned in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Juliana of the Netherlands.[13]
In his speech at the ceremony Willem Jan said[14]: “We now have the privilege of serving again on board a new cruiser, which has been named De Ruyter by Your Majesty. For us, this name is not only linked to that of the greatest admiral of the Netherlands, but also to the previous cruiser of that name, which rests in the Java Sea. On one hand, this means that the great tradition and the honour of serving on board a ship with that name will continue. On the other hand, there is the inspiring example of true heroism, shown by our contemporaries in the service of their country. (...) we will give our best efforts to this beautiful new ship, guided by one inspiring thought to make it, with God's blessing, the pride of your fleet."
In August 1955 Willem Jan was appointed interim rear admiral, and on September 4, 1956, he became rear admiral. His promotion to vice admiral followed on September 4, 1958, making him the third admiral in the Kruys family.
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Civilian career[edit]
Willem Jan retired from the Royal Dutch Navy on September 16, 1960. He became deputy director-general of the National Aviation Service (Rijksluchtvaartdienst) and, from 1962 until his retirement in 1971, director-general.[1]
Willem Jan and his wife Anna Troll had a daughter, two sons and five grandchildren. Willem Jan died in Bilthoven on April 20, 1985.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "The Blue Book (Kruys)" (Blauwe Boekje), Nederland's Patriciaat (in Dutch).
- ^ G. Kruys. Parlement.com (in Dutch).
- ^ Kabinet-Mackay (1888-1891), Parlement.com (in Dutch).
- ^ Kabinet-Kuyper (1901-1905), Parlement.com (in Dutch).
- ^ a b " Familiearchief Kruys. Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie (NIMH) (in Dutch).
- ^ Inventaris van de archieven van het Ministerie van Defensie te Londen [1940-1941]. Nationaalarchief.nl (in Dutch).
- ^ Allied Warship Commanders. Willem Jan Kruys RNN. Uboat.net.
- ^ a b "HNMS Tjerk Hiddes—Timor Ferry. Rear Admiral C. V. Gordon, United States Naval Institute Proceedings, February 1960.
- ^ Timor Triumph. HNIMS Tjerk Hiddes at Timor-1942. Graham Wilson. Journal of the Australian Naval Institute, January/March 1997.
- ^ Destroyers Van Galen and Tjerk Hiddes played a key role in WWII Timor operations from Australia. Dutch Australian Cultural Centre, 16 July 2023.
- ^ Kruisers De Ruyter en De Zeven Provinciën (1953). Marineschepen.nl (in Dutch).
- ^ Nederlandse Lichte-kruiser Hr. Ms. De Ruyter (1936). Peter Kimenai, Traces of War (2011).
- ^ Expositie Koninklijke Marine. Museum Militaire Traditie (in Dutch).
- ^ De indienststelling van de bij Wilton-Fijenoord gebouwde kruiser ‘de Ruyter’. Schip en Werf. 20e Jaargang (No. 25), 4 December 1953.