This memorial page is dedicated to Jacobus Verstappen, one of more than 725 war victims connected to the municipality of Deurne documented by Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers. The municipality of Deurne and the surrounding villages of Liessel, Vlierden, Helenaveen, Neerkant and Zeilberg were liberated in the autumn of 1944 during heavy fighting. Victims fell on all sides: Allied soldiers from countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and New Zealand, and German soldiers.
But the archive covers more than just the combat victims on Deurne soil. Residents of Deurne who lost their lives elsewhere are also commemorated: civilians who were murdered in concentration camps, forced labourers who died in Germany, people who were executed or succumbed to the effects of persecution and oppression. In addition, residents of Deurne who entered German military service and were killed elsewhere are also included.
Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers has been documenting the story of all these people since 1995, without distinction of nationality, side or background. The goal is to give every person a name and a face, and to keep their memory alive.
| Name | : Verstappen | |
| First names | : Jacobus |
| Nickname | : Keub |
| Date of birth | : 29 November 1888 |
| Place of birth | : Meijel |
| Residence | : 97 Heitraksedijk, Liessel |
| Rank / Occupation | : Farmer |
| Identity tag | : – |
| Unit | : – |
| Date of death | : 1 March 1945 |
| Place of death | : Deurne |
| Cause of death | : as a result of a landmine explosion |
| Cemetery | : – |
| Memorial site | : War memorial in Liessel |
| . War memorial at St Willibrord’s Church in Liessel |
Additional information
Son of Willem Verstappen and Wilhelmina Hanssen, widow of Petronella Maria van den Boogaart.
Due to the heavy fighting and during the German retreat and the Allied advance, a great deal of ammunition was left behind in Liessel and the surrounding area. Consequently, it was possible that a great deal of unexploded ordnance was still present in the ground; Jacobus Verstappen also fell victim to this abandoned ordnance.
These minefields (see diagram), containing a total of 58 Teller mines, were laid on 1 November 1944 by the German 1st Motorised Engineer Battalion (33rd). On 30 November 1945, German prisoners of war from the 1st Engineer Battalion 346 searched the field under the supervision of the Dutch 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment. Only one landmine was found at that time.
On 24 May 1946 and 17 July 1946, attempts were made to plough the suspected areas, but in one field a tractor sank into the ground, whilst the other had already been ploughed by the farmer. A countermine was subsequently found in each of the suspected fields; who cleared the other mines remains a mystery. In any case, one mine had detonated in a mining accident on 19 November 1944, in which John Finlay lost his life.
Site plan showing the recorded minefields in red and the suspected areas shaded.
It could have been my death.
The true account of the incident by Leonard Timmermans
When Keub Verstappen was killed by a mine on 1 March 1945 along the Deurne Canal near the Hogebrug, a number of things had already taken place there.
I, Leonard Timmermans, was a cart driver at home as the eldest son of Knelis Timmermans, whose residence was at Hutten 4 – now Pijlstaartweg 10. I was doing odd jobs for Guus de Corte, a timber merchant, and had to load a consignment of brushwood and transport it to Helmond. That pile of brushwood lay along the canal, well over a hundred metres to the left of the Hogebrug. However, there were still mines there that had not yet been cleared. It had been agreed that Jantje van Lieshout would go ahead on his bicycle, to which he had attached a rake with which he would move the mines to the side of the road and help with the loading.
On Tuesday, 27 February, I set off at five o’clock in the morning. Once I arrived at the Hogebrug, I left my coat and sandwiches by the canal, as the storage box had already been removed from under the cart for another purpose, leaving no room to stow anything. Instead of waiting for me and going ahead, Van Lieshout was already standing by that pile, waiting for me.
With great alarm, I carried on, walking right past the horse’s head, thinking that this might be safer than standing on the cart. I knew from my neighbour Frits Hoeben what had happened to him when their cart hit a mine, and neither he nor the horse came to any harm, because he too had been forced to walk in front, alongside the horse, which was still ‘unharnessed’. I was well aware of the great risk I was knowingly and willingly taking, and kept a sharp lookout with every step. Nothing happened! But I still had to get back. No one had been there for a long time and the track was loose sand. With 500 mutserds on the cart, the horse had to pull as hard as it could and rest roughly every 20 metres. Each time, I had to turn the wheel with all my might, in a state of panic, to get the horse moving again. This took me to the side of the cart, where there might still be mines. Again, nothing happened!
When I reached the tarmac road, I picked up my coat, but to my dismay I discovered that some animal had made off with my sandwiches. I arrived in Helmond around midday. The baker wouldn’t take those sandwiches. It took a great deal of effort to get rid of them. The following day, 28 February, I should have gone back to the same spot by the canal, but I wasn’t feeling well because I hadn’t eaten anything the day before.
On 1 March 1945, I set off again. I turned off at Piet de Lange’s near the Hogebrug, this time standing on the cart. I was already less frightened, but what on earth was going on there? There was a small group of people standing in the middle of the road. I drew nearer and recognised Piet de Lange and Father van Doornmalen. The horse stopped of its own accord, as horses do when they see people standing there, because they usually come over to have a look. I was standing on top of the cart and towered above the people. And there lay Keub Verstappen, dying.
I gently pulled the horse’s reins to the left and turned back without saying a word. I’d risked my life for a load of mutserds that the baker didn’t even want! I handed in my notice at the Corte. I was 21!
’s death register
View all persons in the category: Residents of Deurne who lost their lives in Deurne
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