Morris Koggel, Ann Meyerink Koggel

Ann and Marinus Antonius Koggel entered Pier 21 in Halifax, September 26, 1952, Arriving aboard the Zuiderkruis from the Netherlands.

I left for Indonesia in 1947 to fight for Holland in the war there. There were very few opportunities for those returning from the war and I had decided before arriving back in Holland in 1950 that I would be emigrating soon after. Ann and I met in November 1951 and I asked her to marry me a few months later. We got married in August of 1952 and set sail for Canada a month later, on September 18th. Ann's father was opposed to the marriage and the move and said when we left Holland that he was sending his daughter to her grave and would never see her again. I promised him that she would be back to visit him within 3 years. As difficult as times were in Canada in those first years, we kept that promise and Ann, who was pregnant with our third child, went back to Holland with the two oldest boys for several weeks in the summer of 1955. We had 11 children in total, almost all of whom have visited Holland. We're happy about the decision to come to Canada.