Activities in England Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema

a british motor torpedo boat similar used mews

most agents brought netherlands parachute drop. required agent trained in parachuting, , exposed them risks of doing @ night. hazelhoff, peter tazelaar , chris krediet came alternative method of insertion. proposed gaining access netherlands sea. use motor torpedo boat cross channel, covering last stretch of water taking small boat , rowing shore.

van t sant transferred control of cid colonel mattheus de bruyne of dutch marine corps. de bruyne did not have grasp on subtleties of intelligence work. failed recognize fact agents arrested , yet continuing broadcast messages, except under control of germans. usual procedure transmitting messages include small errors. if agent forced work germans, leave out errors. result should contact aborted immediately. de bruyne, however, concluded agents forgot use security-checks , sent messages remind them. tip german intelligence , replaced german , sent off concentration camp. other intelligence mistakes de bruyne included attaching detailed maps of landing sites @ noordwijk, scheveningen , walcherento walls of london office, , leaving them up. observing this, louis d aulnis, agent of cid, elected not announce landing place before hand, measure ended saving life.

in first mission, peter tazelaar tasked delivering radio equipment , bringing 2 men occupied netherlands join government-in-exile in britain. hazelhoff had met tazelaar when 2 men escaped occupied netherlands , had worked stokers on st. cregue. hazelhoff had spent time @ seaside resort of scheveningen, , knew every friday night large party held @ grand hotel had been taken on germans headquarters. plan approach scheveningen late @ night , take tazelaar shore dinghy.

the grand hotel @ scheveningen

in predawn hours of 23 november 1941, tazelaar, hazelhoff, krediet , lieutenant francis bob goodfellow rowed in on small dinghy. when neared surf hazelhoff , tazelaar slipped off boat , waded onto beach. tazelaar helped out of wetsuit reveal black tuxedo wearing beneath it. hazelhoff poured generous amount of brandy on tazelaar , left him, returning dinghy. reeking of brandy, tazelaar managed pass himself off drunken party goer , staggered past sentries stationed around hotel. 2 months later returned same beach 3 others return england. waiting on beach hazelhoff, sicherheitspolizei arrived on scene first. tazelaar , 1 other able escape. no contact england, had return overland, taking chances traveling through belgium, france, switzerland, spain , portugal, before arriving in england 3 months later.

hazelhoff led 15 such highly dangerous small-boat missions shores of netherlands. in charge of insertion mission, while royal navy lieutenant in charge of motor torpedo boat carrying them. small group wait dark of moonless night attempt missions, hazelhoff going ashore whoever being dropped. 108 such engelandvaarders returned netherlands parachute or boat support resistance. half survived war.

on february 22, 1942 hazelhoff s transport service performed infiltration friend ernst de jonge. rowed ashore @ katwijk. hazelhoff had become suspicious amiss insertion operations. feared being betrayed nazi sympathizers present amongst officers of exiled government. 3 months after de jonge s drop, courier on way england picked secret police. carrying detailed reports written de jonge had been transferred onto 3 roles of microfilm. de jonge heard arrest, refused go hiding. 3 days later, on 22 may, de jonge , 2 of fellow agents arrested @ apartment in rotterdam. brought kamp haaren. there transferred assen. hazelhoff did not hear him again. de jonge , group of 52 others sent rawicz concentration camp in poland. of group, 47 sent on mauthausen, executed. ernst de jonge remained 6 others @ rawicz. died there in september 1944. there no grave known.

with capture of friend de jonge, hazelhoff focused blame upon colonel de bruyne, leader of dutch intelligence section. when de bruyne instructed hazelhoff provide information branch of exiled dutch government, hazelhoff refused fear had been infiltrated nazi sympathizers. col. de bruyne angry insubordination, , moved have hazelhoff court-martialed. queen wilhelmina intervened, however, , recommended him netherlands highest honor, militaire willemsorde (military order of william). court-martial proceedings set aside. militaire willemsorde bestowed upon hazelhoff in summer of 1942 queen herself. following met dutch navy minister johan furstner, , court-martial cancelled. however, hazelhoff had had enough of working secret service. resigned mews , volunteered serve in royal air force.

british military historian m. r. d. foot has confirmed degree of german penetration of soe s dutch networks, soe denied during war. in history of special operations executive, confirmed allied intelligence effort in netherlands had been penetrated start of war. 2 sis agents, captain sigismund payne best , major richard stevens, had been captured in november 1939 during venlo incident. culminated in capture of 50 british , dutch agents abwehr , sicherheitsdienst during operation north pole.