A Packet reader living in Holland is calling on other readers to help him build up a picture of his parents who were married in 1957 in Flushing Methodist Chapel and will be returning to the county later this year to celebrate their golden wedding.
Bert Kleinbussink, his brother Franklin and sister Sharon are planning to put together a book about their parents in time for August and know they were once well known in the Falmouth area.
Mother is Olive Daphne Lang, daughter of Frank and Olive Lang, who lived at 41, Coventry Road, Flushing.
"Before the war my grandfather, Frank Lang, used to crew on the big yachts and during the war he was in the Royal Navy," said Bert. Later he joined Falmouth Towage Company where he became captain of the Falmouth harbour tug the Lynch and later of the St Merryn. He sang with the Nankersey Singers.
Grandmother was Olive Lang, born Glasson from Porthleven, who sang in the St Stythians choir.
Bert said: "My mother was born March 28 1932 in Porthleven and during her early years spent quite a lot of time there despite the fact that the family lived in Flushing."
She also spent a lot of time with her cousins, Robert, Vernon and Ian Baxter, who were roughly the same age. She was close to her older cousins, Maud, Betty and Benny Orchard. Olive attended Falmouth High School and became a teacher.
"My Dad is Derk Jan Kleinbussink who came from Breda in the south of the Netherlands. The couple met in Austria during a holiday, fell in love and kept in touch through hundreds of letters. Dad was the only one in his party to speak English, so it was left to him to chat up Mum and her friend," said Bert.
"The next year Dad went to see Olive in Cornwall for two weeks. The following year Daphne went to Holland and the following year they were married.
"We would like to hear from people who knew our parents and would like to share their memories. We have very little information about their life together before we arrived but Mum and Dad have been coming to Cornwall on a regular basis throughout their married life, so there might be people who have got to know them more recently.
Olive and Derk moved to Hardenberg in the north east of the Netherlands after their marriage. They celebrated their 40th and 45th wedding anniversaries by holidaying in Cornwall. "This anniversary won't be an exception. We're all off to Cornwall together next summer. There will be an informal celebration with family and friends while we are there," said Bert.
Anyone who has any information is asked to contact Bert Kleinbussink or Sharon Michaels, Buitennieuwstraat 72, 8261 AX Kampen, The Netherlands, or by e-mail to sharon@avalonadvies.nl
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