The life and legacy of Harry Goemans

• Author: Yolande Du Preez yolande.dupreez@ACM.co.za
• Published date: 24 November 2022
• Publication title: False Bay Echo

His grandson, Henry Fenn, shared his grandfather’s life story in a recent talk, “My grandpa, Harry Goemans: His life and legacy”, hosted by the Fish Hoek Valley Historical Association

Henricus Joseph Maria Goemans was born in a small town, Hillegom, in the Netherlands on April 26, 1917. He was the eighth child of 16 children and the fifth son, to be born to Adriaan and Aleida Goemans.

The Goemans family had been bulb growers and merchants since the 1850s. Harry’s grandfather, Petrus Goemans formed NVP Goemans & Sons in 1860 and his father, Adriaan, inherited the business in 1902.

Shortly thereafter, he married Harry’s mother Aleida Dernison in 1905 and they built their house, Nooit Gedacht, on the property that same year.

Harry’s early life revolved around being a choirboy at the Catholic Church and he was always a bit embarrassed to admit that he was a boy soprano in the choir.

He played soccer and kept racing pigeons and later followed his brothers to a Catholic boarding school.

However, boarding school was not for him and he was miserable and rebellious and was eventually sent home at age 11 to work as a labourer on the family farm.

While the family was wealthy, their fortunes took a downturn after the Great Depression.

The three eldest brothers, Piet, Jan, and Gerard, left the Netherlands to settle in France and the UK.

Harry’s father, Adriaan, was in Spalding Lincolnshire, in the UK on one of his frequent business trips when the Germans invaded the Netherlands in May 1940. He was unable to go back home and was forced to remain in England until after the war.

He managed to set up a successful bulb import-export business in Spalding which was run by Harry’s brother, Jan, or “John” as he was called in England.

He later became known as the father of alstroemerias worldwide because he was the first to start breeding new varieties in 1959 to mid-1960s, specifically intended for glasshouse growing.

Adriaan entrusted the business in the Netherlands to his eldest remaining sons, Dick and Harry.

Then came the war and the years 1944 to1945 were particularly hard for the family. The family resorted to eating tulip bulbs and Harry had to kill and eat his racing pigeons.

“My grandpa suffered from

night terrors for the rest of his life after he was rounded up and forced onto a train destined for the Reich factories to work as a slave labourer. He and a fellow prisoner decided to jump off the train which was guarded at each end of the carriage. They jumped off and...