HUNCHBACK OF DIRKSHAVEN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 64, 18 December 1946, Page 5 (Supplement)

HUNCHBACK OF DIRKSHAVEN

AN EPIC STORY OF SELFSACRIFICE A man seldom sees in himself the qualities that make a hero. Yet there are times when even the low'liest of us must call from somewhere a .tremendous reserve of courage often to do a deed which cost one his life. Such a man was the hunchback who lived in the tiny house hidden in the shadows of the sea wall of Dirkshaven. When the Nazis invaded Holland, the cripple begged to be allowed to do something, so the officers gave him a rusty old shotgun and told him to guard the dyke. In his simple mind, he was protecting the whole village, though it was obvious he would have been helpless against any real threat. One day he was standing on the wall when he noticed a dark spherical object bobbing in the sea. Fascinated, he watched it move closer. Just then a small boy climbed up beside him. When he saw what the hypnotised glance of the watcher was set upon, he hurried off to get some villagers. When they returned, the mysterious object was only 100 feet away. “That’s a floating mine!” shouted one man, excitedly. “Look! It will soon strike the wall!” The hunchback’s eyes opened wide. “What will happen?” he asked. “Why, you fool, the mine will explode as soon as it hits the wall and all our homes will be ruined!” groaned one old man. The word spread and soon the entire population was massed on the shore. The hunchback, left alone on the wall, watched the menace as it floated nearer.

To him alone the wall had been

entrusted. Somehow he must meet the challenge. The men had gone for a boat, but they would be too late. Silently, the hunchback slipped away. In his house, he tied a rope around his waist. Scrambling up the wall, he quickly removed his coat and shoes and jumped into the water.

The people shouted to him to come back, but he swam steadily toward the thing that threatened his wall. When he reached it, he carefully fastened the rope to a spot* where there were no detonating points. Then with all his strength he started to tow the mine out to sea.

To the men and women on the shore, he seemed to stand still. After an eternity he cleared the wall and headed toward a sandy beach. The women prayed, and the men cheered their hero on.

Suddenly a tremendous explosion rent the air. The horrified spectators rushed to the spot, but there was no trace of either the hunchback or his dreadful burden.

Today a wooden cross bearing the simple dedication “To the Hunchback” stands on a pile of stones on the sea wall a heroic man gave his life to save.