Ellis Maud Brandon (8 April 1923 – 12 July 2024) was a Dutch veteran of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was one of the few female

Engelandvaarder An ''Engelandvaarder'' (; ) was a Dutch person who escaped from the German occupation of the Netherlands, German-occupied Netherlands to the United Kingdom during World War II with the intention of joining the Free Dutch forces. The name deri ...

Early life

Brandon was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, to father, Frederick Charles Brandon and mother, Adèle Cornelia Manikus. After

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

she studied advertising drawing at the School of Arts and Crafts in Amsterdam.

World War II

When

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out, Brandon lived with her father and stepmother in

Heemstede Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. In 2021, it had a population of 27,545. Located just south of the city of Haarlem on the border with South Holland, it is one of the richest ...

. At the request of her friend (1920–2000), she became a courier for

Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

and

Vrij Nederland ''Vrij Nederland'' (Free Netherlands) is a Dutch magazine, established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper. It has since grown into a magazine. The originally weekly turned monthly magazin ...

. Friedhoff was a member of the resistance group "Apostles". On 7 August 1942, the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

raided her parents' house in search of Friedhoff, who had close contacts with and

Herman van Roijen Jan Herman van Roijen (10 April 1905 – 16 March 1991) was a Dutch diplomat and politician. He was Dutch foreign minister in 1946. Early life Van Roijen was born in Constantinople on 10 April 1905. He was the son of Jan Herman van Roijen S ...

. They fled through the back door and went into hiding. A restless existence followed, moving from one hiding place to another. Brandon was a maid in a nursing home on Mathenesserlaan in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, and Friedhoff was given an attic room there where she could stay for some time. Friedhoff was wanted by the

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, "Security Service"), full title ' ("Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''"), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the Schutzstaffel, SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence ...

(SD), which offered a reward of 1000

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...

s for a tip that would lead to her arrest. When her mother was taken hostage and Friedhoff was sentenced to death, the attic room was no longer safe. They decided to leave the Netherlands and so they fled on 28 April 1943, the journey went via Belgium, France, Spain to Portugal. It then took some time before she was granted a visa. On 8 January 1944, she flew to England. There she worked at the Dutch Ministry of the Interior as a population registry employee. Later she was allowed to keep an eye on fighter planes on the roof of the ministry to raise the alarm for impending bombardments. Her request to return to the Netherlands as a spy for England was denied. Brandon also signed up for the Dutch army unit Women's Aid Corps (VHK). In December 1944 she married .

After the war

She and Krediet parted as good friends after a few years. In 1952, she remarried Albert Vis (1920-1971), with whom she had two sons. Her granddaughter Carlijn Vis (1983) wrote ''Vrij Spel'' (), inspired by the stories of her grandmother. After Vis' death, Brandon remarried at the age of 53 in 1976 to widower Colonel Jan Anne Baron (1924–2017). After the death of pilot

André Hissink André Louis Armand Hissink (26 June 1919 – 1 January 2024) was a Dutch soldier who served with the 320 Dutch Squadron of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. Biography André Louis Armand Hissink was born on 26 June 191 ...

, Brandon was the last known living Dutch England sailor at the time.

Personal life

After arriving in England, Ellis was offered the Cross of Merit, but she declined. On 29 December 1980, she was awarded the

Resistance Memorial Cross The Resistance Memorial Cross or Resistance Commemorative Cross () is a medal awarded in the Netherlands to members of the Dutch resistance during the Second World War. The medal was instituted by Royal Decree (No. 104) on 29 December 1980, after ...

. Brandon died on 12 July 2024 at the age of 101. Her funeral took place on 20 July 2024.

External links

Carlijn Vis, 'Verzetsoma', in: ''NRC-Handelsblad'', 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandon, Ellis 1923 births 2024 deaths People from Amsterdam Dutch women centenarians 20th-century Dutch women 21st-century Dutch women 20th-century Belgian women 21st-century Belgian women Engelandvaarders Women in World War II Dutch female military personnel