Aldert Meijer

Dutch police officer, killed in action together with three other policemen when trying to arrest IJe Wijkstra and Aaltje Wobbes-van der Tuin. Aldert Meijer was the son of Geert Meijer (5 Sep 1861, Zevenhuizen - 26 April 1932, Roderwolde) and Jakobje Uringa (28 Sept 1850, Zevenhuizen -16 Nov 1935, Dantumadeel). He stated as a house painter, but after military service he became a police officer in Workum, Friesland. On 22 December 1917, he married Antje van der Velde (16 Dec 1895 2 PM, Leek - 30 Sept 1970, Bennekom) in Leek. On 1 May 1922 he got a post as municipal police officer in Opende, Groningen, which was in the neighbourhood of his family. The mayor who accepted him, Wolter Bonnema, was like him Protestant ARP member, so they had a good click. Meijer turned out to be an ambitious man with strong principles, becoming active in the local community supporting Christian schools, churches and politics. But with the world of the atheistic existentialist, Nietzsche reader and poacher IJe Wijkstra, he had little affinity. Aldert Meijer was killed on the cold winter-day 18 January 1929 between 7 and 8 AM by IJe Wijkstra, when he tried to arrest the desperate housewife Aaltje Wobbes-van der Tuin. Aaltje hided with her husbands friend IJe Wijkstra, after her husband Wobbes had been sentenced to 14 months prison in Veenhuizen for theft. As Aaltje thereafter had left her six children, she had been summoned to go to court in Groningen, but IJe and Aaltje refused to do so. As the poacher Ije was known to be good shooter, an arrest unit of four police was sent to Doezum to do the job. It was freezing 19 degrees. Within an hour after their arrival the four policemen lay dead in the snow with their throats slit. He was buried in 23 January 1919 in Opeinde.