Jeane van Galen

Enkhuizen 2 Apr 1924 – ?

Jeane VAN GALEN, born at Enkhuizen on 2 April 1924 (her form, p. 2)

About: A young woman from Enkhuizen who lived with the Van Nispen family at De Ruif, Garderen, in 1944 and helped the lady of the house. Her form for the Americans of 31 May 1946 lists Murphy among the Allied men she helped, with his army number right.

Unit or role: A member of the household, "huisgenote", typed over a struck-out "dienstbode" (maid) on her form; "a house-maid" in the Americans' translation (p. 2; p. 4).

Where: De Ruif, Garderen, her address known to the Allied men; Vest 3, Enkhuizen, in 1946 (her form, p. 2).

Evidence: ✓ her helper file at the US National Archives, RG 498, with her questionnaire of 31 May 1946 (p. 2, p. 3) and the office's English translation of it (p. 4, p. 5); ✓ the British index of Dutch helpers, sheet G/1

✓ Her questionnaire gives her birth at Enkhuizen on "2 April 24", her nationality Dutch, and "Neen" (no) to married (her form, p. 2). Nothing else is held on her life before De Ruif.

Kruimel's house at Garderen was lent in December [1943] to the family of the dismissed burgemeester of Laren (Tijding, 17 May 1945): "Dr. Kruimel uit Utrecht stelde in December zijn huis te Garderen beschikbaar" (Dr Kruimel of Utrecht made his house at Garderen available in December) (◐ Tijding does not name the house; that it is De Ruif is the Van Nispens' own forms' reading: Van Nispen tot Sevenaer; Johannes Kruimel). ⚠︎ Walsh's report has Murphy and Sam Walsh brought there on 14 October 1944 and moved on to Elspeet about 21 October, to make room for a party of six RAMC officers (Walsh); Noordman has them arriving around 8 October ("Omstreeks 8 oktober 1944", p. 296), and Liesbeth Verweij has them moved on about 10 October ("omstreeks 10 oktober", p. 301); Hardy met Murphy at Elspeet on the evening of 19 October (Hardy). More on Van Nispen tot Sevenaer and in STORY-3. The Germans burned the house on 23 October (the son's form, p. 4; Garderen).

✓ She lived in the household. Her questionnaire's remarks, with "huisgenote" typed above the struck-out "dienstbode": "Heeft als huisgenote de huisvrouw in haar zeer zware taak in alles bij gestaan" (as a member of the household she stood by the lady of the house in everything in her very heavy task), and in a hand below, "Sheltered pilots, 1944" (p. 2). The office's translation adds what her form does not say (that Mrs van Nispen was living in Garderen at the time, and the whole second sentence) and keeps the struck-out word:

She was a house-maid with Mrs. van Nispen to Sevenaer who was living in Garderen at the time and assisted Mrs. van Nispen in every way with her difficult task. The overleaf mentioned fliers have all been in the home of Mr. van Nispen.

— US National Archives · RG 498, helper file of Jeane van Galen · the office's English translation, 31 May 1946, item 12 · p. 4

◐ Very probably her: the interviewer's handwritten note on the father's first questionnaire, of 26 July 1945, has the whole family working at it, "the wife of Mr van Nispen, his son and his maid", and asks that all of them, "the maid included", get an award if any are given (the father's file, p. 2). The note does not name the maid; that she is Jeane is our reading.

As the people she knew who had helped Allied men she named "Dr. Kruimel Utrecht. Dr Eskes Garderen Nol Burger Gardern." (p. 2; Dirk Eskes; Nol Burger), the same three names as in the handwritten note of what the Van Nispens' son told the office, which has Kruimel, Eskes and Burger bringing the airmen to the house, with a cross drawn above Eskes (the father's file, p. 3). To arrests or deaths among the men helped she answered "geen" (none) (p. 2).

✓ On the back of the form, under "Geholpen geallieerd personeel" (Allied personnel helped), she listed seventeen men, most with a service number, most with their service, and on the last line four names, and gave no dates, days, or names of who brought them or took them on (p. 3, read on the image):

• six Americans: "F.Mc.Linckey 0-676329", "William Mc.Donald. 0-672372", "W. Mallard 0-702307", "R.D.Fisher 0-687321", "Eugene Glisynski 16080349", "W.C.O'Barr 0-737217";
• "R.K.Bailey 49730", RAF (Robert Bailey), and "William Lalley 0-705028", USA (Bill Lalley);
• two of the RCAF, "R.Gelfand" and "L.Mc.Elroy";
• the RAMC men "C.Longland." (Cedric Longland), "A.E.Allen 7522555" (Albert Allen) and "P.s. Allenby" (Peter Allenby), and "Lipmann Kessel 16 Para Fd Amb" (Lipmann Kessel), with no unit in the unit column;
• three Airborne: "K.D.Banwell" (Tex Banwell), "S.Walsh 4389314" (Sam Walsh) and "T.Murphy 2756457";
• and on the last line "Maurits, Jupitair, Ham, Bacon.", ◐ the same four names the Van Nispens' son lists on his form as "de springers Ham (Dubois), Bacon (Geboren in Vlaanderen), Maurits, Jupitair" (the parachutists), "the agents Ham (Dubois), Bacon (born in Flandria), Maurits, Jupitair" in the office's translation (the son's form, p. 4; translation, p. 2; Abraham du Bois; Raymond Holvoet).

Murphy's number is right on it: 2756457 is the number on his Record Office letter of 1945 and on his Kew record (the letter; WO 422/38420). Walsh's is not: his own report has 4389317, and the 4389314 here is on the son's list too (Walsh; Sam Walsh).

◐ Not independent of the family's list. The Van Nispens' son filled in his questionnaire on the same day, 31 May 1946, and the back of it lists the same seventeen men in the same order, Bailey and Lalley in the same places, Walsh with the same wrong 4389314, and Murphy's number typed "27[one character struck out by hand]56457", which reads 2756457 once the struck character is taken out (the son's form, p. 4; p. 5). Her list adds only the last line of four names. The father's list of 26 July 1945 has fifteen of the men, with their home addresses, and not Bailey or Lalley (the father's file, p. 3); his second questionnaire, of 7 January 1946, has the same seventeen in the same order as hers, Bailey and Lalley included, and Murphy typed "27456457" (p. 5). So hers is a copy of the household's record, not a second witness to who was there.

✓ The Americans graded her case 5: the folder is pencilled "Grade 5. Conf 57." and "14/6/46." (p. 1), and the British index of Dutch helpers has "van GALEN, Jeanne", "Vest 3,Enkhuizen", certificate 15773, grade 5 (sheet G/1, read on the image). Grade 5 carried the Eisenhower certificate (the index's notes). The address is the one on her form, so the entry is hers.

Nothing later has been found that is hers. The name sweep of 17 October 2026 found no other record of her under "Jeane" (the sweep). The sweep of 21 October under "Jeanne" missed Open Archieven, the Oorlogsgravenstichting, the Erelijst and the Neuengamme memorial (HTTP 503 or no network), so for those four it settles nothing (the sweep). It found four Delpher articles, read on the KB's OCR (no archived copy yet): - the family notices of 18 November 1975 in De Volkskrant and De Telegraaf name a Jeanne van Galen, a married woman whose maiden name is not van Galen, so not this one; - the family notice of 13 June 1978 in De Telegraaf has a man, a widower since 1971 of a Jeanne van Galen, with no age or place for her; ⚠︎ nothing ties her to Enkhuizen or to De Ruif; - De Volkskrant, 7 March 1987 names "Jeanne van Galen", a Dutch nun working in Nima, Ghana, with no age or birthplace; ⚠︎ nothing ties her to this woman either.

• Her first name. "Jeane" on her own typed form (p. 2); "Jeanne" in the Americans' translation and on the British index (p. 4; sheet G/1). The page keeps the form's spelling.
• Maid or member of the household. Her form had "dienstbode" (maid), struck out, with "huisgenote" (member of the household) typed above it; the translator kept "house-maid" (p. 2; p. 4). ◐ The note on the father's questionnaire of 26 July 1945 has "his maid" (p. 2).

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