Jacobus (Jaap) Valkhoff (16 August 1910 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 ...

– 3 July 1992 in

Hook of Holland Hook of Holland (, ) is a coastal village in the southwestern corner of Holland, hence the name; ''hoek'' means "corner" and was in use before the word ''wikt:kaap#Dutch, kaap'' – "cape". The English translation using Hook is a false cognate of t ...

) was a Dutch musician, composer and lyricist. He wrote his most famous lyrics in 1961 at the request of Johnny Hoes, "Hand in hand, kameraden" (Hand in hand, comrades). The melody was already 70 years old (composed by Wilhelm Speidel) and the words were used to cheer on several Dutch football teams such as Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord Rotterdam. Hoes sang the song for all clubs at first, but the Feyenoord version proved to be the most popular, and it became the official club anthem. Aged 81, he died in a car accident in

in 1991. In 1998 a statue to commemorate him, located at the corner of the Schilderstraat and the Schiedamsedijk in Rotterdam, was unveiled by alderman Hans Kombrink.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valkhoff, Jaap 1910 births 1992 deaths Feyenoord Musicians from Rotterdam Dutch accordionists Road incident deaths in the Netherlands 20th-century accordionists