Netherlands - long shot

[Chairlady]

I have come across a photograph taken by my father when he was in the Netherlands in 1945.  On the back he has written (to my mother) "this is Jan, he sends his best wishes".  In his old address book is a J Van Lierop Lissen in Weert.  Hoping as a long shot someone might have a connection. thanks

[TreeSpirit]

I don't think that "Van Lierop Lissen" is a person's name and I can't see something called Lissen in Weert. It sounds like it refers to a "Jan van Lierop" living in Weert (Province: Limburg) or in Lisse (Province: Zuid Holland). 

[ShaunJ]

There's a Jan Van Lierop (1909-1996) with Weert connections here (with photo): https://www.myheritage.com/names/jan_van%20lierop

[Mike Morrell (NL)]

Shaun's reference is a really interesting one. I still don't see an obvious connection between 'Weert' and "Lisse" (as Treetotal suggested).

One possibiility is that "Lissen" might have been a misspelled (phonetic) reference to the the village of "Liessel", about 30 KM North of Weert and 6KM South of Deurne.

On the 22nd of september 1944, the Suffolk Regiment of the allied forces freed the town of Weert. On the 24th, the regiment freed the town of Deurne . The village of Liessel would most likely have been 'enroute' between Weert and Deurne.

At this stage of the war, the allied forces were still pushing a small 'corridor' northwards up from Belgium, through the Dutch provinces of Limburg and North Brabant towards Nijmegen.

A third possibility is that your father met Jan van Lierop in Weert and they were together when the allies freed "Lisse" (april/may 1945).

Personally, I think the Weert/Liessel connection is much more likely both geographically and in time.
In 1944, a major priority would have been to keep 'the corridor' open (safe) and the supply lines operational. Men would have been deployed to keep the logistics running smoothly and -where possible - to gather and utilise support from the liberated Dutch population (labour, food, materials, transport, etc.).

Personally, I think it's likely that you father met Jan van Lierop either in Weert or in Liessel. I've no idea how long both stayed there but it seems long enough for a real friendship to have developed.

I would be interested to know whether the photo than Shaun referenced bears any resemblence to the "Jan van Lierop" in your photo.

I've lived in the Netherlands for 40 years (in North Brabant) and I'm fluent in Dutch. I've accessed Dutch genealogy resources now and again and I know where to find them. But all my ancestors are in the UK/Ireland so I don't use the Dutch ones much. But I would be happy to post a query on 'jan van Lierop (Weert) on your behalf. Let me know.

Mike

[Chairlady]

Mike -this makes sense to me.  My father had originally written "Yon" and so the phonetics idea seems right.  He would have jotted down the address too, I guess.  I do remember that he kept in touch with his friend when I was small and the street name has been changed at some point in the address book.  There is another photo "Dutch children from Sittard " where 2 of them are named (but only first names) and there is an address of 19 Amerhaven Strt. Sittard.   

the photo referred to by Shaun is of an older man, although it does have a resemblance and may have been Jan's father.  The photo I have is of a man about the same age as my father who was born 1919, the man in the photo online was born 1900.  It may be the right family as it does say that he had 5 children - one of them  (Jan) Johannes van Lierop.  I may try to follow this up but am not a my heritage member.

Thank you for your offer of a post on my behalf, I would be very grateful
many thanks
Linda

[ankerdine]

A fascinating thread. I hope you find what you are looking for.

We have friends in The Netherlands where they are still so grateful for the Allies intervention in WW2. My OH had an uncle in the Tank Regiment who made friends with a Dutch family and corresponded for sometime after the end of the war. Sadly nobody in the remaining family knows their name.

Good luck.

Judy

[Mike Morrell (NL)]

Hi Linda,

There are a few candidates for "Johannes van Lierop" (Jan is an informal, shortened form of "Johannes" and "Lierop" is a local village). With so little information, it's impossible to know exactly which one the person in the photo is.

I browsed a couple of web sites for the birth of a "Johannes van Lierop" in North Brabant and Limburg (Weert) between 1910 and 1925.  I found none in Limburg. These websites have an english language option so you can check yourself. The two most promising candidates (location, age) are:

1. Peter Johannes van Lierop, born 05-12-1911 in the municipality of Deurne and Liessen.
2. Johannes van Lierop, born 31-07-1919 in the municipality of Maarheeze (now part of Eindhoven), 11 KM from Weert.

The first candidate has a "Liessen" connection but, given the "liberation corridor", this may not be important. He would have been some 8 years older than your father. The second candidate would have been the same age and would have been born only a few miles from Weert. So of the two, he is probably the stronger candidate.

There are also 3 other "Johannes van Lierop", born 1912-14 in Helmond, the next big town 30 KM north of Weert and a couple of less promising (age, location) candidates.

The list of candidates (except nr. 2*): https://www.bhic.nl/memorix/genealogy/search?serviceUrl=/genealogie/q/persoon_achternaam_t_0/Lierop/q/persoon_voornaam_t_0/Johannes/q/persoon_rol_s_0/kind/q/zoekwijze/s/q/periode/1910%2520%2528~%2529%25201925%3Fapikey%3D0ea60280-55ad-11e2-bcfd-0800200c9a66%26template%3Dxhtml%26form%3Dpersonen%26zoeken%3DStart%2Bzoeken

Candidate nr. 2:
https://www.wiewaswie.nl/en/detail/72440421

Regards,
Mike

Mike -this makes sense to me.  My father had originally written "Yon" and so the phonetics idea seems right.  He would have jotted down the address too, I guess.  I do remember that he kept in touch with his friend when I was small and the street name has been changed at some point in the address book.  There is another photo "Dutch children from Sittard " where 2 of them are named (but only first names) and there is an address of 19 Amerhaven Strt. Sittard.   

the photo referred to by Shaun is of an older man, although it does have a resemblance and may have been Jan's father.  The photo I have is of a man about the same age as my father who was born 1919, the man in the photo online was born 1900.  It may be the right family as it does say that he had 5 children - one of them  (Jan) Johannes van Lierop.  I may try to follow this up but am not a my heritage member.

Thank you for your offer of a post on my behalf, I would be very grateful
many thanks
Linda

[Chairlady]

thanks Mike.  I would like to try to see if he has any family that I can connect with, so will pursue this one
kind regards
Linda