The world of Willem Augustin
Willem Augustin was born in 1923 in the “Jordaan”, a lower class neighborhood of Amsterdam. His father was at that time crane operator but during the crisis of the 40th he had only temporary work and received unemployment money from the state. So the family was very poor. No one in his family was interested in skating. How Willem Augustin got interested in skating for the rest of his life he explains himself in very colorful words. So I will give a short translation of his lengthy report published in “ “De mannen van ´63” by Koolhaas en Van de Vooren.
“When I became 8 years old I got for my birthday one guilder. With this money I could just buy one pair of wooden skates. My old man (father) said: “ I will teach you how to skate boy”. I looked up at my father and thought: He can do it well. We went to Sloterdijk. After half an hour skating my father said: “I have seen it, you are doing it well”. I had seen as well that he couldn´t skate at all. He left me there alone in the polder. From that moment I was infected by the skating virus. Whenever there was ice I looked for a place where I could skate. I have three brothers but they could not skate neither my father nor my mother. Only my uncle Henk skated well. When I was eleven I accompanied my uncle on his tours because I was already skating well. I was the water carrier. I had a rucksack with all kinds of things. We made often long tours. Tours of 80 or 120 km on a Sunday were no problem. I was always the best I dare to say. When my wooden Friesche children skates were too small I became more advanced skates by which I became even faster.
“When I became 8 years old I got for my birthday one guilder. With this money I could just buy one pair of wooden skates. My old man (father) said: “ I will teach you how to skate boy”. I looked up at my father and thought: He can do it well. We went to Sloterdijk. After half an hour skating my father said: “I have seen it, you are doing it well”. I had seen as well that he couldn´t skate at all. He left me there alone in the polder. From that moment I was infected by the skating virus. Whenever there was ice I looked for a place where I could skate. I have three brothers but they could not skate neither my father nor my mother. Only my uncle Henk skated well. When I was eleven I accompanied my uncle on his tours because I was already skating well. I was the water carrier. I had a rucksack with all kinds of things. We made often long tours. Tours of 80 or 120 km on a Sunday were no problem. I was always the best I dare to say. When my wooden Friesche children skates were too small I became more advanced skates by which I became even faster.
“ In Amsterdam you did not hear much about skating in other parts of the country. I had never been in Friesland. We spoke only about the “Elfstedentocht”. With respect to the tour of 1940 we had heard about the pact of Dokkum but nothing more. Just after that tour the occupation of the Netherland by Germany followed but in 1941 again an “Elfstedentocht” was organized. They said to me : Willem, this you can do too” and I said “That can be but how do I get there? I have no money”
Having no money for this trip he asked for money from an uncle. He got it (10 guilders while a normal week salary for him was 7 guilders) but that led to all kinds of complication with his mother but in the end his farther decided that he should go and use the money from his uncle and 5 guilders more from his father. But because of all these problems it was already late on the day before the tour. There was no train anymore to Leeuwarden. So his father suggested to go to a transport center and ask for a lift to Leeuwarden. So he went there but the only car that went to the North did not wanted to help him. He jumped on his bike to go to the ferry to the north of Amsterdam to see if he could get a lift there but there was only the same car he had contact with before. At the other site of the harbor of Amsterdam he decided to go on by bike. He had never done that and did not know how far it was from Amsterdam to leeuwarden (150km). Let us go back again to his report.
“ It had been freezing already for some time and there was a lot of snow. The car (mentioned before) could not drive very fast. After the ferry I put my self quickly behind the car and had to do my utmost best to remain behind it. Via the old road along the “Noord Hollands Kanaal”, Ilpendam and Purmerend I arrived quite tired in Hoorn. Imagine, I dared to do this on a normal bike not a racing bike. Fortunately I did not fell behind the car. From below that car came a very cold wind by which my feet got frozen. In Hoorn they stopped and went in a bar where you could get a kind of surrogate coffee. I also went in there for a coffee because I needed something hot.
It was already after 7 o´clock in the evening when I went on alone on my bike. I had to look for the signs indicating how to go to Leeuwarden. It was totally dark because of the war and I did not know the way. I had never been so far away from home. The Wieringermeer polder was just newly created. There was nothing yet, no tree, no house and also no signs. I always choose the widest road. That had to be the main road. Often I had to get of my bike to warm up my feet again. Finally I came in Den Oever. I did not know that this town existed, never heard of. There I saw for the first time a house again. I went to it and knocked on the door. It was then around 11.30h. A man opened the door. I said: “ Sir , I have to go to Leeuwarden, I am looking for the “Afsluitdijk”, I have to go to Leeuwarden.” "What are you going to do there? “ “What I am going to do? I am going to skate the “Elfstedentocht”. “Skating the “Elfstedentocht” O boy, boy, boy, you will not get there”. “ O no? “ “Certainly not, come in for a moment”. I have been sitting at the stove for a while and I got some bread, then he said: “You are not allowed to be after 12 o´clock on the street and you want to go over the dike? There are the Germans and they get you and then it is all over, boy.” But I was still young and unexperienced and thought: We will see. I did not believe it. I said: “I will go anyway.” "You have to know it for yourself, I have warned you. The “Afsluitdijk” is in this direction. If you take this road you will get there" .I did not know that the “Afsluitdijk” was 30 km long. Finally at a distance I saw two silhouettes. I went to them. “Halt , Ausweis”. That was what the Germans always said at that time. I showed my pass. I spoke a bit of German that I had learned at school but I could not understand them. I said “ Ich moet Schlittschuhlaufen, Schlittshuh”. They also did not understand anything, so I showed them my skates. One of them looked at them. They had no idea what to do with this guy in the middle of the night on the “Afsluitdijk” , So they made a sign like “for god´s sake get away.” That I understood immediately and I moved on. At the end of the “Afsluitdijk” I reached a village Zurich. There was a hotel restaurant. It was now around 1.30h and I heard voices. I did not want to go on because it was extremely cold and I was very hungry. I met a woman. I said “Can I stay here till 4 oclock because I have to go to the “Elfstedentocht”?” She said: “That is not possible but stay here for a moment at the stove. I remained there to recover and then I went on to Harlingen. There I was picked up by two Dutch police men and I had to go with them to their office to make up a police report. But they allowed me to stay there close to the stove and I did not have to sit in a cell. I immediately slept, but only till 4 o´clock because I had asked them to wake me up at that time. I got a piece of bread from one and a cup of thee from the other and then I went on. I came in Leeuwarden when the participants of the race had already gone including the first group of the tour skaters but from 6.30 till 7.00 there was a registration for late comers. I put my bike down and registered and stayed a while in order to recover and then I started the “Elfstedentocht”.
Having no money for this trip he asked for money from an uncle. He got it (10 guilders while a normal week salary for him was 7 guilders) but that led to all kinds of complication with his mother but in the end his farther decided that he should go and use the money from his uncle and 5 guilders more from his father. But because of all these problems it was already late on the day before the tour. There was no train anymore to Leeuwarden. So his father suggested to go to a transport center and ask for a lift to Leeuwarden. So he went there but the only car that went to the North did not wanted to help him. He jumped on his bike to go to the ferry to the north of Amsterdam to see if he could get a lift there but there was only the same car he had contact with before. At the other site of the harbor of Amsterdam he decided to go on by bike. He had never done that and did not know how far it was from Amsterdam to leeuwarden (150km). Let us go back again to his report.
“ It had been freezing already for some time and there was a lot of snow. The car (mentioned before) could not drive very fast. After the ferry I put my self quickly behind the car and had to do my utmost best to remain behind it. Via the old road along the “Noord Hollands Kanaal”, Ilpendam and Purmerend I arrived quite tired in Hoorn. Imagine, I dared to do this on a normal bike not a racing bike. Fortunately I did not fell behind the car. From below that car came a very cold wind by which my feet got frozen. In Hoorn they stopped and went in a bar where you could get a kind of surrogate coffee. I also went in there for a coffee because I needed something hot.
It was already after 7 o´clock in the evening when I went on alone on my bike. I had to look for the signs indicating how to go to Leeuwarden. It was totally dark because of the war and I did not know the way. I had never been so far away from home. The Wieringermeer polder was just newly created. There was nothing yet, no tree, no house and also no signs. I always choose the widest road. That had to be the main road. Often I had to get of my bike to warm up my feet again. Finally I came in Den Oever. I did not know that this town existed, never heard of. There I saw for the first time a house again. I went to it and knocked on the door. It was then around 11.30h. A man opened the door. I said: “ Sir , I have to go to Leeuwarden, I am looking for the “Afsluitdijk”, I have to go to Leeuwarden.” "What are you going to do there? “ “What I am going to do? I am going to skate the “Elfstedentocht”. “Skating the “Elfstedentocht” O boy, boy, boy, you will not get there”. “ O no? “ “Certainly not, come in for a moment”. I have been sitting at the stove for a while and I got some bread, then he said: “You are not allowed to be after 12 o´clock on the street and you want to go over the dike? There are the Germans and they get you and then it is all over, boy.” But I was still young and unexperienced and thought: We will see. I did not believe it. I said: “I will go anyway.” "You have to know it for yourself, I have warned you. The “Afsluitdijk” is in this direction. If you take this road you will get there" .I did not know that the “Afsluitdijk” was 30 km long. Finally at a distance I saw two silhouettes. I went to them. “Halt , Ausweis”. That was what the Germans always said at that time. I showed my pass. I spoke a bit of German that I had learned at school but I could not understand them. I said “ Ich moet Schlittschuhlaufen, Schlittshuh”. They also did not understand anything, so I showed them my skates. One of them looked at them. They had no idea what to do with this guy in the middle of the night on the “Afsluitdijk” , So they made a sign like “for god´s sake get away.” That I understood immediately and I moved on. At the end of the “Afsluitdijk” I reached a village Zurich. There was a hotel restaurant. It was now around 1.30h and I heard voices. I did not want to go on because it was extremely cold and I was very hungry. I met a woman. I said “Can I stay here till 4 oclock because I have to go to the “Elfstedentocht”?” She said: “That is not possible but stay here for a moment at the stove. I remained there to recover and then I went on to Harlingen. There I was picked up by two Dutch police men and I had to go with them to their office to make up a police report. But they allowed me to stay there close to the stove and I did not have to sit in a cell. I immediately slept, but only till 4 o´clock because I had asked them to wake me up at that time. I got a piece of bread from one and a cup of thee from the other and then I went on. I came in Leeuwarden when the participants of the race had already gone including the first group of the tour skaters but from 6.30 till 7.00 there was a registration for late comers. I put my bike down and registered and stayed a while in order to recover and then I started the “Elfstedentocht”.
Of course his tour was also not simple. With so little sleep and food he was already exhausted before he reached the first city of the eleven. A family took care of him by giving him food and drinks as much as he wanted and after that he finished the tour in around 10 hours. This is the incredible story of Willem Augustin´s first “Elfstedentocht”. I tell this story to show how much people are willing to accept for their skating passion. After this first time he participated in all later tours. So he participated in 9 tours. The last he did at the age of 73 together with a tv reporter in 1997. The video of this tour of him can be seen below.
When his wife died he moved from Amsterdan to Hindenloopen where the Schaatsmuseum (Skating Museum) is situated. He was going there every morning and afternoon for a cup of coffee. When he was 81 somebody asked him if he will participate in the next “Elfstedentocht” he said he did not know but at least he went in November to Inzel , the international centre for training for speed skating, to continue his training. He says that there was no day in his life that he was not thinking about skating.
This is certainly an extreme form of skating addition but all fanatic Dutch skaters have at least a part of his passion for skating,
This is certainly an extreme form of skating addition but all fanatic Dutch skaters have at least a part of his passion for skating,
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