The fallen resistance people in Limburg

Piet “Blok, Daelman” Sijmons
(Petrus Johannes)

Petrus Johannes Sijmons married Maria Antonia Adriana Martens on February 5, 1934 in Nijmegen.  [1.1]
She was born in Nijmegen  [1.2] and died on April 11, 1962 in Arnhem  [1.3].
Her husband also died in Arnhem on April 11, 1962.  [2]

Piet Sijmons was demobilized in 1940 as a captain in the reserve. He was district commander of the Ordedienst (Order Service) in Maastricht and head of the Blok pilot escape line during the occupation.  [3] [1.5]
This was a subdivision of the Versleijen group, often referred to as the Tax Group Maastricht by other resistance groups.

Cammaert writes about him in summary: Maastricht, official at the tax office. Belonged to the Tax Group Maastricht. He was district leader of the O.D.-Maastricht and was strongly committed to Allied refugees, especially airmen.  [4.1]

Sijmons thus had two functions during the occupation: one in the resistance and the other, especially towards the end of the German occupation in Maastricht, as leader of the OD. This made him one of the OD people who preferred not to wait for liberation, but to take action against the occupation at an early stage. He led the following groups:

1. the Blok group Blok
This group was named after the resistance name of its founder Piet Sijmons. Cammaert calls the pilot support group Blok, a branch of the Belastinggroep Maastricht (Tax Group Maastricht).
This is what they where usually called by the other resistance groups, but against their will, because they were mainly tax and customs officers.
For more information, see the Versleijen group, of which the Blok group was, after all, a part.

2. OD Maastricht
A unique situation had arisen in Maastricht: two O.D. organizations that did not know each other and then rivaled each other.
On 14 September Sijmons had gone to the commander of the US troops and offered his services. The latter had asked Sijmons to create a company that, armed with captured German rifles, could assist his troops. The O.D. commander managed to put a company together in a short time, but it was of little use to the US Americans: they moved further into South Limburg. In consultation with lagging Allied authorities, Sijmons tasked his company, which by the end of September numbered some four hundred men, with tasks such as guarding Allied gasoline and ammunition depots and vehicle fleets.  [4.2]
This eventually led to the inglorious demise of the O.D. in Maastricht. Read more in the article on the Ordedienst (O.D.)

In the archive of the NIMH (Netherlands Institute for Military History), in the Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten (Domestic Armed Forces) file, there is an interview with Reserve Captain of Infantry P.J. Sijmons (pseudonyms Blok and Daelman) about the operations of the Order Service in Maastricht.  [5]
On October 8, 1951, Reserve Major Sijmons was awarded the Bronze Cross at the Paleis op de Dam in Amsterdam.  [1.4]

Footnotes

1. openarchieven.nl
   1. Huwelijk 5 febr 1934, Nijmegen
   2. * 11 mei 1911, Nijmegen
   3. † Maria Antonia Adriana Martens, 11 april 1962, Arnhem
   4. Bronzen Kruis, 8 oktober 1951
2. cbgverzamelingen.nl Gescande Familieadvertenties tot 1970
3. www.geni.com/projects Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten 40-45
4. Cammaert, A. P. M., Het verborgen front: Geschiedenis van de georganiseerde illegaliteit in de provincie Limburg tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog, Groningen 1994.
   1. Hoofdst. 0, pp.18ff: Introductie van vaak genoemde personen
   2. Hoofdst. 8, De Ordedienst, pp.861-861
5. Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie, Den Haag, Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten, toegang 527, inv.nr. 113