Sepia Saturday 728 - Busy Times

Some 15 years ago, a former colleague in Copenhagen saved many old KLM pictures from the dustbin. KLM is the Dutch national carrier. The complete story of how and where that happened, you can read here. Obviously, among those pictures, there were many taken at airports. And having been a frequent traveler, I can testify that airports can also be busy. So most of my busy pictures are very much airport-related. They go back to the period before WWII or shortly after that.

The first one is about something many of us fear, customs formalities. Just after the war, oral declarations were obligatory and thus time-consuming. There were currency regulations and all kinds of import restrictions. Green and red lanes were nowhere near in sight.

Anything to declare?
Customs and Immigration at Schiphol Airport in the 1950's

Customs officers are not curious, it's just that they like to know everything. Judging by the carnation, the gentleman in the picture below looks like he is on his way to a/his wedding. Seemingly, he has difficulty explaining what he bought for the/his bride.

Convincing a customs officer is an arduous task

On October 16, 1961, one of the best soccer teams in the world, Real Madrid, made a transfer at Schiphol Airport. They were on their way to Denmark where they played the B 1913 Odense team during the European Cup competition two days later. The team consisted of legendary players such as Ferenc Puskás and Alfredo di Stéfano. They participated in this match so they appear in the picture below but I cannot pinpoint where exactly. If you want the result, Real Madrid beat the Danes bij 3-0.

Real Madrid at Schiphol Airport in front of the
PH-CGC Jacob Maris, a Convair Liner CV-340 

Speaking of legendary people, on May 8, 1946, Sir Winston Churchill and his wife and daughter, paid a visit to The Netherlands. They arrived from Croydon in a Dakota C-47A (DC3) with registration PH-TBO.

Sir Winston Churchill, Lady Clementine Churchill, and Miss Mary Churchill
and next to the great man, the Dutch ambassador to the UK, and his wife and
the KLM UK director.

In 1946 KLM was busy restarting its operations. One of the main handicaps was the lack of suitable aircraft. KLM obtained this Dakota from the USAAF on January 14 of that year. Barely 10 months later the plane flew into treetops on a hill shortly before landing at Croydon airfield and crashed. All (20) aboard survived.

45" video of Churchill's arrival at Schiphol 1)

My contribution to the Sepia Saturday theme of this month is best demonstrated by the crowdy picture below. Although I don't know when it was taken, several clues indicate a certain timespan. First of all the location. This is clearly on the apron of the old Schiphol Airport, currently known as Schiphol East. It was in operation until April 28, 1967, when the (new) Schiphol Centrum terminal was opened. Another indication is the KLM logo on the Volkswagen vehicle half hidden behind the mobile stairs on the right. It looks like the logo that was used in the 1959-1963 period. Seeing the many spectators including children, the event could be the arrival of sportsmen or a celebrity. On the mobile stairs, a couple of microphones are visible. So someone needed to be welcomed after having accomplished something admirable. During the period mentioned Olympic medal winner Sjoukje Dijkstra 2) (figure skating) and European Songfestival winner Teddy Scholten 3) arrived at the old airport attracting thousands of people. But I don't believe this picture was taken then. The reason is that I recognize one of the three gentlemen standing under the conveyor belt next to the mobile stairs. The man in the middle, with the brownish coat, is Dick J.M. Koek, at that time already one of the leading KLM Cargo managers. His office was in nearby building 205. And I can't imagine him leaving his desk to welcome one of the celebrities I mentioned. So the photo is likely to have been taken on another occasion.

Schiphol East 

To discern more detail, I colorized the picture 4). But that did not help me any further. Still, it is a quite different experience.

If there is any truth in the saying 'two's company, three 's a crowd', the family below certainly deserves to be called a crowd. 

After WWII many people from Holland emigrated to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Rotterdam milkman Sybrand van der Dussen, his wife Johanna van Keulen, and 11 kids were among them. (If you count just 9 children, a twin is in the wicker baskets...) The family flew to New York Idlewild Airport (today JFK) and from there by train to Southern California.

The Van der Dussen family departing from Schiphol
on April 24, 1947

The flight to New York took place in one of the most elegant aircraft ever built, the Lockheed Constellation, also known as Connie or L-049. 

The PH-TAU that carried the Van der Dussens to
Idlewild Airport  5)

Should you wonder why the fuselage is so high above ground level, that has to do with the length of the propeller blades. And in turn, that has to do with fuel efficiency, which was an important aspect in the longer trans-Atlantic runs. 

Returning to the Vander Dussen emigrants, father Sybrand continued in the dairy business. His son told me 12 years ago that their family business expanded to milking approximately 100,000 cows! If that doesn't keep you busy... Quite an impressive achievement!

In more ways than one, this is the last picture. I took this picture of the Canadian Cemetery in Holten in The Netherlands during a visit last December. It is one of the largest military cemeteries here. It saddens me to say that it is a busy place, with almost 1,400 memorial stones belonging to Canadian soldiers who lost their lives during the first months of 1945. They liberated the eastern and northern parts of my country including Apeldoorn, where I lived at the time. Can't say I remember that 17th of April as I was only a little over a year old.

Canadian Cemetery, Holten, The Netherlands

The Canadian liberators in the Deventerstraat
in Apeldoorn on April 17, 1945
Source: apeldoornendeoorlog.nl

For more 'busy times' please see the contributions of my fellow Sepians.

Credits and notes

1) Polygoon Hollands Nieuws (producer) / Dutch Institute for Images and Sound (administrator)

2) March 19, 1962

3) March 13, 1959

4) Colorized with the My Heritage tool

5) Source: https://www.klmsafetyherald.com/klm-l-constellation-fleet

Saved from the dustbin (12)

Up until approx 50 years ago air transport was for the privileged few. Fares were high and the necessity to travel was only felt by very few (business) people. Holiday travel hardly existed. And besides, air travel before WWII was not without risk. 
This atmosphere of exclusivity was certainly strengthened by the many celebrities descending from aircraft stairs, waving and smiling towards  their fans and the ever present (photographic) press.
However, celebrity was preceded by royalty. And KLM had its fair share of royal interest.  Below two examples.

King Albert I of Belgium pays a visit to ?

 The above picture was taken at an unknown location on an unknown date. Judging by the aircraft type it is probably some time after WWI. If the location was the airport of Waalhaven/Rotterdam, then it must have been after July 26, 1920 when the airport was opened.

Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands accompanied by KLM Managing Director Albert Plesman

It is likely that this picture is taken at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport shortly after WWII. The lady to the right looks like Princes Juliana, the Queen to be.

I believe that also representatives of the movie industry were willing eye catchers. In those days going to the movies was about the only entertainment for many people. So shooting pictures of eye blinding actresses combined with the adventurous air transport industry always created a certain degree of attention for many. Below two of  these "names".

Movie star Ava Gardner meets her technicians

American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990) on her way to Barcelona via Schiphol Airport. The picture was probably taken in the 50s. 

Gina Lollobrigida (1927) with KLM stewardess Hoogestegers

Gina Lollobrigida, Italian actress and iconic sex symbol of the 1950s. In 1955 she played the leading part in a movie called The World's Most Beautiful Woman. The title of this movie became her nickname.

Winston and Lady Churchill arriving at Schiphol from Croydon on May 8, 1946. The aircraft is either the PH-TBD (DC3) or the PH-TBR (C47A)

Only young readers may not recognize the man with the cane in this picture. It is legendary British PM Winston Churchill, the man who forged the North Atlantic alliance that would be decisive for the outcome of WWII. His visit to The Netherlands lasted a week.  During his stay he was cheered by large crowds because they recognized his role during the war.

Dutch soccer team Feyenoord travelling to NY
with Douglas DC4 PH-TAT "Twenthe"

With an increasing number of international contacts, also soccer teams started travelling by air. Above the well known team from Rotterdam and below the also in those days famous Spanish Real Madrid.

Spanish soccer team Real Madrid on its way to Odense on Oct. 16, 1960. The aircraft is the Convair 340 PH CGC "Jacob Maris".

Frequent readers of this blog know these pictures appear here thanks to Bert Besseling† and Aris Zwart. The site of Herman Dekker is the source of all aircraft data shown in this post.