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Die Suid-Afrikaanse Krygshistoriese Vereniging

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UPDATE on the SS. ROOSEBOOM

This update refers to the article by Michael Pether first posted in 2013

Researched by Jos Rozenburg



SS. ROOSEBOOM

Sunk on 1 March 1942 by IJMS submarine I-59

Complement: appr. 500 (xx dead and 6 survivors)

Company: Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij, Batavia

Notes:

Individual information:

- The officer in your document that was called DIRK does exist, but he was not the Chief Officer. Instead he was the Third Officer, called Dirk Honig. His wife was also on board, called Suzanna Honig-Aten. Below is a picture of a remembrance monument that was erected in their hometown by family members on top of a family grave.



In memory of the Konigs

- The Indonesian survivor that is mentioned as JATTIMO is probably named JATIMOEN, which is concurrent with comparable names from that time. The other survivors name DAI is probably correct.

- Apart from the missing Chief Officer, all remaining crewmembers would have been Indonesian local personnel. Their names I have not been able to find yet.

- In light of the greater events unfolding, many more people must have been looking for a way to escape the NEI in their quest to escape to a safe haven. So it is very possible that there were more KPM officers or staff personnel on board, unrecorded and therefore still unknown. This is even more likely as the ship originated from Batavia, where many of the KPM key personnel lived.

Crew member names (12):

Sources:

National Archive The Hague,
2.12.30 / 2.16.31 / 2.16.32 / 2.16.40 / 2.16.54 / 2.06.084

Netherlands Institute for Military History,
LOCK archive (London Collection Netherlands Merchant Navy)

Link to original article:

  • (SS Rooseboom - sunk by Japanese I-159 in 1942 while evacuating people after fall of Singapore)


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