Histories

Born in Sint Annoparochie, Jacob was the eldest of eight children born to Harm Langenberg (printer/type-setter) and Trijntje Bouma. In his late teens, Jacob tried his luck as a greengrocer in Bolsward. With his goods on a flat top cart, he would go from house to house peddling his goods, as was common practice at the time. Between the years of 18 to 20, Jacob served in the Dutch regular army, a compulsory requirement at the time.

Five years later, with the outbreak of the Second World War, Jacob was again recruited into the army. As a result of the German bombing of Rotterdam, the Netherlands capitulated in 1940. Jacob returned to Bolsward a civilian but was soon arrested by the Germans and like many able young Dutchmen was sent to German Work Camps. Jacob was sent to a work camp in France from 1942 -1943 and then to Germany from 1943 -1944 before being returned to Friesland where he was sent to work digging trenches for the German occupiers.

In the early months of 1945 Jacob's wife Nieskje and her friend, whose husband was also in the same work camp, managed to rescue Jacob from his captors making good their escape on bicycles. Returning to Bolsward Jacob spent many restless nights hiding from the Germans. On nights when it was known that the Germans were searching for young Dutchmen for their work camps Jacob would hide in a Bakers Cart in a warehouse used by the local baker S I Faber. Jacob's son Herman remembers well the night the German Soldiers came to there family home turning the place upside down in an unsuccessful search for his father. Prior to and following the war Jacob was a factory worker and deputy in several departments at the Bolsward dairy factory "Hollandia Ltd" (now owned by Nestle) a producer of milk products and foodstuffs (butter, cream, condensed milk etc.).

In 1955 Jacob and Nieskje's two eldest sons, Herman and Matthijs emigrated to Australia. In 1959 Jacob, Nieskje and their remaining children also emigrated to Australia. Jacob found employment with the State Electricity Commission (SEC) in Yallourn, Victoria as a municipal worker. On the 16 May 1965, Jacob was killed in an automobile accident, the other vehicle driven by a drunk driver. Jikke re-married some years later to Jaap van der Lay. Jikke passed away on the 22nd December 1994 as a result of complications from diabetes. Both Jikke's mother Antje and sister Grietje had also died as a result of diabetes.