The Engelandvaarder Museum (https://www.museumengelandvaarders.nl/), which is located a few kilometres north of The Hague, commemorates those Dutch people who, between the Dutch capitulation on 9 May 1940 and the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, left the Netherlands with the object of reaching England to help with the war effort. The museum commemorates both those whose attempts succeeded and those whose attempts failed. The earliest of these attempts were made by people who paddled across the North Sea in canoes, hence the name 'Engelandvaarders' (England paddlers). Roelf Vlietstra was one such individual. He was in the Dutch Navy when the war broke out and after the Dutch capitulation, on the advice of his commanding officer, he signed an affirmation that he would not involve himself in the war effort. Nevertheless, in January 1942 he received a call-up to work in the German shipyards, so he and a colleague, Cors Aelbers, decided to try to get to England to join the Free Dutch. They left the Netherlands on 29 January 1942 and hid in a small cavity under one of the coaches of the Amsterdam-Paris express. In Paris, they made contact with the underground and were assisted in getting to the Swiss border. Shortly after crossing the border they were arrested and after an intervention by the Dutch embassy (working under the control of the Dutch Government in exile), they were confined to the canton of Geneva while their future was being decided. Vlietstra got impatient and was persuaded by another Dutch exile (who later turned out to be a fifth columnist) that it would be quicker to get to England via Sweden rather than risking a journey across Vichy France. He and his new 'friend' then traveled to Basel where they managed [illegally] to jump onto a train that was heading for Germany. Once over the border, Vlietstra got off the train, but his 'friend' had disappeared. Nevertheless, he continued his journey northwards and was arrested in Frankfurt. Initially, he was paroled and the day before his case was up for ...