Balen van, Willem Hendrik
Captain Willem van Balen (company photo of around 1961)
Willem Hendrik van Balen was born on 01 May 1914 in the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. His father’ s name was Jacob Johannes van Balen and his mothers maiden name Wilhelmina Catharina Mannesse. (d) He was raised by his mother as the parents had divorced.
Obtained his nautical training at the Maritime School in Rotterdam (Cert. B no.6) and passed his 3rd mates exam on 22 May 1935. It is unknown where he did his cadet year. He joined Holland America in 1937, when the company was bringing ships back into service from lay-up. (See also biography of Captain Dirk Bak)
NOT MANY DETAILS ARE KNOWN ABOUT HIS LIFE YET. IF ANYBODY WHO READS THIS BIO AND HAS ANY INFORMATION AND OR PHOTOS ABOUT HIS PRIVATE AND/OR WORKING LIFE, AND IS INTERESTED IN HELPING WITH MAKING THIS BIOGRAPHY MORE COMPLETE, PLEASE CONTACT ME ON CaptAlbert1@aol.com.
He was placed as a fourth officer on board the ss Burgerdijk, one of the 10 B class cargo ships built after the First World War.
The ss Burgerdyk. In 1937 the ship was employed on the Rotterdam – Gulf of Mexico service. (a)
He married Wouterina Geerdina Monshouwer on 10 May 1939 in Rotterdam. The registRation records at Rotterdam city Hall advise that a son Marinus Arnold passed away on 15 Sep. 1940, being 7 days old.
As of now it is unknown what Captain van Balen did during the 2nd world war. There is no war record of him so most likely he was stuck in The Netherlands during the war.
He continued to move through the ranks after the war and then was promoted to captain in 1956. He was assigned to the ss Blommersdijk (II) another of the 10 B class ships built in 1922.
The ss Arkeldyk. This was a Victory class ship bought in 1946 from the US Government. When Capt. van Balen was in command the ship was sailing on the West coast service to Vancouver. (a)
But quite quickly he was transferred to the ss Aagtedyk (II), one of the Victory ships that the company had bought after 1945 out of the American surplus fleet. In the coming years he would sail exclusively on these “A class” ships. Most of them were employed on the Gulf of Mexico service but from 1961 onwards they also went to the Far East via Africa in charter for the Dutch VNS.
The president of the Long Beach Harbour Board is seen here presenting Captain van Balen with a photo made by Apollo 9 astronaut Dave Scott of the Los Angeles area. The captain is indicating where his ms Katsedyk is docked. (c)
In 1971 he briefly made the newspapers when his ship the ms Katsedyk was the first ship to arrive at Los Angeles as part of the new Euro Pacific service that had been set up in combination with some other company’s to continue the West Coast service to Vancouver with only cargo ships. The most modern ships of each company were assigned to this service to provide an answer against the up and coming containerisation.
GAP Records stop in 1973 and in 1974 he must have retired after reaching the retirement age of 60 years old.
Nothing is known yet about his life after retirement.
Sailing listing:(a)
Date: Function: Ship: Wages and/or remarks.
20 Jan. 1937 4th. Officer Burgerdijk 92,– Temporary contract.
23 Jun. 1937 4th. Officer Veendam 92,–
01 Oct. 1937 According to new regulation 102,–
29 Oct. 1937 4th. Officer Delftdijk 102,–
GAP In 1937 Holland America switched to a new adminstration system and the records from then onwards are held by the company’s pension fund and are not accesible for research,
GAP 2nd world war.
GAP post war service.
08 Jun. 1956 Captain Blommersdijk one voyage
05 Aug. 1956 Captain Aagtedyk coastal voyage.
26 Sep. 1956 Captain Aardyk
26 Aug. 1958 Captain Arnedyk
30 May. 1959 Captain Arnedyk (e) Until 26 July
02 Sep. 1959 Captain Appingedyk
07 Jan. 1960 Captain Appingedyk Until 05 May
GAP
10 Aug. 1960 Captain Arkeldyk
15 Dec. 1960 Captain Averdyk Until 05 apr.61
12 May.1961 Captain Averdyk Until 12 Aug.61
06 Sep.1961 Captain Averdyk
18 Jun. 1962 Captain Arkeldyk Until 15 Jan. 64
GAP Could still be on Arkeldyk until 15 July 1964 TBC
30 Oct. 1964 Captain Schiedyk
GAP Could still be on Schiedyk until 03 Mar. 1967
06 May 1967 Captain Soestdyk Until 06 Jun.67
27 Jul.1967 Captain Soestdyk
GAP
18 Jul. 1968 Captain Kamperdyk
GAP
09 Mar. 1970 Captain Katsedyk
16 Sep. 1970 Captain Moerdyk (coastal)
09 Feb. 1971 Captain Katsedyk (until June 1972)
GAP until retirement.
Sources:
a. Stamboek & Mouvement boeken in the HAL Archive as held by the Muncipal Archives of the City of DRotterdam.
b. Capt. Albert voyage & ship database and photo collection
c. Contemporary newspapers.
d. Info by nephew Wil van Balen.
e. Info by Ex Radio officer Mr. Henk Tromp.
Last updated: 23 November 2025
April 5, 2019 at 9:55 am
Een beminnelijker mens was er niet. Ik spreek over de jaren vijftig en kwam bij de maatschappij als stuurmansleerling in juli 1952. Door deze man, destijds 1e stuurman, werd je in tegenstelling tot veel anderen die ik heb meegemaakt als jonge leerling en vierde stuurman als een normaal mens behandeld.
September 12, 2025 at 12:28 pm
De Heer W.H. van Balen is de broer van mijn vader.
De naam van mijn Oma is W.C. Mannesse.
Hij is niet vernoemd naar zijn vader .
De naam van mijn Opa is Jacob Johannes van Balen.
Erg leuk om deze pagina te lezen.
Ik was blij verrast.
September 13, 2025 at 10:36 am
Mijn dank voor uw commentaar.
Ik heb de correctie ingevoerd, en dit gaf ook de kans om op Wie is Wie wat meer informatie tevinden, zodat ik nu ook weet dat hij in 1939 trouwde. Voor de rest gaat de zoek tocht voort.
mvg
Capt. albert
September 30, 2025 at 1:43 pm
In mei 1959 maakte ik als assistent-radio-telegrafist (later: radio-officier) met de ss Arnedijk onder de immer glimlachende gezagvoerder .H. van Balen mijn eerste reis, Rotterdam-Golf van. Mexico v v..Voor vertrek waren ook zijn echtgenote en dochter aan boord.
September 30, 2025 at 9:27 pm
Thank you for your comment. Much appreaciated. It filled another small gap in my voyae listing of all the HAL ships ever from 1872 – 2023. From company info, It was not clear if van Balen was on board in May.
Best regards
Capt. Albert