Voorouders in het Eemland, Stichting Groenegraf.nl » Sipke "Spike" Fokkema (1915-2004)

Personal data Sipke "Spike" Fokkema 

• Nickname is Spike.
• He was born on February 27, 1915 in Leeuwarden.
• Profession: korporaal bij de politietroepen.
• He died on February 15, 2004 in Armadale (West Australië), he was 88 years old.
• A child of Wessel Fokkema and Cornelia Boomsma
• This information was last updated on November 4, 2021.

Household of Sipke "Spike" Fokkema

He is married to Margje Gastelaars.

They got married on May 6, 1940 at Doesburg, he was 25 years old.

Sipke en Margje zijn geëmigreerd naar Australië.

Child(ren):

1. Philip Gerardus Fokkema  1942-2020
2. Nn Fokkema  1945
3. Nn Fokkema  1947
4. Nn Fokkema  1948

Notes about Sipke "Spike" Fokkema

Sipke Fokkema was born in Leeuwarden 27th Feb 1915. His wife was born Margje Gastelaars in Doesburg 2nd Feb 1916. She was the daughter of Philippus en Gerda Gastelaars. Sipke left home and joined the army as a young man and joined the Military Police. Before the beginning of WW2 he was stationed near Doesburg close to the German border. It was there that he met Margje on Sundays when attending de Gereformeerde Kerk in Doesburg. Margje was at that time already a qualified drogist as were her father, grandfather, and her brothers. With family help they purchased a drogisterij in Baarn in 1939 in de Laanstraat 41a, right opposite the Mollerusstraat. Margje moved there before they were married while Sipke was away in the military, as Holland was in full mobilisation with war looming in Europe. The building where their drogisterij was has since been demolished and it is now a Blokker winkel. They married on 5th May just 5 days before the German invasion of Holland. He was supposed to return to barracks on his wedding night but he "did not receive" the telegram that was delivered to the wedding hall. He returned the morning after the wedding. During the war, like many men he went into hiding for a time after the "moffen" began rounding up able bodied men for work in German factories. Sipke also studied to become a drogist. They received three boys, Wessel 1941, Philippus 1942 en Sipke 1943. After that there were at least two more children, both girls. These were probably still born or died at birth. It is these two that are on the register link of your website. As far as I know they were never named, so I think they were never born alive. Otherwise they would have been named. My parents migrated to Australia in 1954 departing from Rotterdam in the first week in May. The reason they migrated was very much the same why so many people in Europe migrated after the end of the war. Un-employment was high, Hitler was gone but there was the threat of Stalin in communist Russia which was seen as the next power to over run Europe. The Korean war showed what was happening in the east and in the west Stalin had invaded and annexed much of cental Europe including Poland. It was the invasion of Poland that began the awful war in Europe. So there was a growing sense of doom about the future political economic future as well as fears about religious freedoms in Europe. People we flocking to new world countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A new world with new hopes and opportunities for them and their children. Our parents arrived in Perth Western Australia travelling by ship the MV Amerskerk, a freighter with some limited accommodation that during the war was used by the military for possible defence of the ship. Our parents had a very difficult time in the first ten years as did most migrants. Many migrants wanted to go back but did not have the money. By the time they did have the money they no longer wanted to go back. Margje never visited Holland again but Sipke did several times after Margje passed away. They never practised as drogist again in this country as the profession is unknown here, having only apothekers and not drogisterijen. Their qualifications were not adequate for that profession. Our parents are both deceased. Margje died aged 55 while Sipke died a couple of weeks before his 90th Birthday. They were devout Christians as we are also. The number of their children and grandchildren are over 60 I think. The Lord has blessed them richly.

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Timeline Sipke "Spike" Fokkema

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