Willem de Boer

Since when have you been actively involved with orders of chivalry and honours?

I started collecting in 1981. I was 8 years old at the time.

I have also been conducting research since 2010.

What is the reason or motivation behind your interest in orders of knighthood and honours?

Three things came together more or less at the same time: until I was six, I collected stamps. My grandmother had a beautiful and complete collection. I had hoped to inherit it, but when she passed away, the collection was auctioned off. It only fetched 600 guilders. The disappointment at the collection being auctioned off, combined with the meagre proceeds, meant I stopped collecting straight away. A little later, we were living in England, where the commander of a naval vessel came to visit my father. He wore four batons, which fascinated me greatly. Later that week, I was given those batons. This was followed by my father’s Officer’s Service Cross and my grandfather’s Mobilisation War Cross.
My mother gave me the book *Collecting is also an art*, which contained a story about Henny Meijer and his collection.
When I was 10 years old, we moved back to The Hague. Many ministers, ambassadors, ‘Engelandvaarders’, resistance fighters, former military personnel and other dignitaries lived there. I went to visit them to see if they could add anything to my collection. In Brussels, I visited the former Secretary-General of NATO, Joseph Luns, who showed me his orders of knighthood. When I asked if he had anything for my collection, Luns replied: ‘No, I collect myself’. However, I did subsequently receive a miniature knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion from Luns’s father, the painter and draughtsman Huib Luns.

What is your area of interest?

Official Dutch honours recognised by the King from 1815 onwards.
There are approximately 350 official Dutch honours; 25 of these are still missing from my collection. I mainly conduct research into the missing items and into a few niche topics. I publish exclusively in the magazine Decorare.

Do you have any orders of knighthood or honours yourself?

I have the Four Days’ March Cross. In the future, I would like to walk the Four Days’ March again.

What is your favourite decoration and why?

The Teutonic Order, Brandenburg Bailiwick, and the old model of the Order of the House by August Witte. Both for aesthetic reasons.

Which order of knighthood or honour would you yourself like to receive one day?

For the collection, every Military Order of William remains a fine addition. I am also still looking for a Commander of the Order of the Golden Ark!

Who do you think deserves a royal honour?

Paddy Maine: he was awarded the DSO four times; there has long been a movement in the United Kingdom to award him the Victoria Cross. That really ought to happen.
Aletta Jacobs: never received a knighthood.
Truus van Lier: a resistance fighter about whom a book by Jessica van Geel was published in 2022.
Sigrid Kaag: she was a minister, party leader and has held, and continues to hold, important international posts.
Rob Bauer: the Netherlands’ highest-ranking military officer at NATO. He did receive the Golden Lion of Nassau from the King, but was not awarded any of the Dutch orders of merit upon his retirement.

Which Dutch researcher, collector or stakeholder would you like to pass the baton to?

Erik Müller: fellow collector; he created a wonderful website and is a go-to expert and source of knowledge for many.

Name Willem de Boer

Place of birth: Leiden

Year of birth 1973

Occupation entrepreneur

Contact address oudsitio@gmail.com