WesWorld

1 January
At Smit, Ijmuiden, the fourth vessel of the O-17 Class of submarines has been laid down. It is expected this will be the last of the type to be built.

4 January
Commentators have noted that the Queen has not appeared in public nor made any public broadcasts over the Christmas season. Palace officials have confirmed that the Queen has been ill, but that she is recovering. No further details were forthcoming.

5 January
The Ministry of Defence has outlined the reductions in Army strength this year.
Netherlands Home Forces will lose XI Division at Venlo and VI Res. Division at Maastricht. The II Tank Brigade will relocate from Eindhoven to Venlo. Commando Nederlands-Indisch will lose IX Tank Regiment at Dongalla, and five Base Garrison Battalions each in Sumatra and Borneo and two in the Moluccas/ Celebes. This area will also lose two Independent Provincial Regiments. The strength of Suriname Commando has long been recognised as over strength and unsustainable and the 143 Inf. Regiment, 157 Inf. Regiment, XIV Tank Regiment and two Independent Provincial Battalions will be disbanded. Commando Arabia will lose its XIII Tank Regiment at Jeddah. The Ministry would not confirm rumours that the tanks and equipment will be handed over the Saudi Army.

6 January
The Royal Netherlands Navy HQ at Den Helder today confirmed that the planned disposal of old vessels will go ahead. Eighteen escorts and twenty frigates are to be decommissioned within the next few months in the East Indies. These ships are worn out, but as patrol needs grow in the region this shortfall is estimated to hit the Navy quite hard. To make up for these ships, at least four ships of the FF-46 Class will be laid down this year. This programme has been postponed by two years due to budget cuts. A new design of minesweeper will also enter service this year and at least eight vessels should be completed initially.

Vice-Admiraal Sieger fumed at his desk at Balikpapan. Throwing the telex down onto the desk he turned to his aide, "Christ have you seen this? Eighteen escorts and twenty frigates! Most of them from the Eastern Fleets. How do those grey-haired fools at Den Helder think we can solve the Moro crisis if they scrap our patrol craft?"
"But Sir, most of those old vessels were less seaworthy than the C-in-C's bathtub."
"But each boat was eyes at sea and a means to check the vast traffic that passes through here. A pile of scrap in the junkyard cannot patrol the seas. And don't give me that bilge about new replacements. Four new ships won't cover the loss and it will take two years to get those ships out here. Doubtless some fat old Admiral has his young son earmarked for a new command to go boating around the Channel rather than sending those ships here!"
The aide wisely seeing his commander's rage was still active decided to retreat to his ante-room.

Jiddah's in Hedjaz. Did you mean Jubail?

Probably (my local knowledge is sketchy!).

11 February
An announcement via radio and telegraph from Noordeinde Palace this morning stated that Queen Wilhelmina of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands passed away in her sleep peacefully at around five o'clock this morning.
The communiqué confirmed that the Queen had been ill since late last year but did not elaborate on the nature of the illness.
A brief statement from Crown Prince William was release which spoke of his mother's memory of a "fair and just rule of modern enlightenment" and of her achievements to the nation and the United Provinces across the world.

12 February
National day of mourning across the United Kingdoms.
A memorial service was held in Kamina Cathedral in Kongo by the Bishop of Kongo. The mood is sad, but events across the border are more pressing at the moment.
King Alexander has chosen not to return home for his mother's funeral due to the situation in Ubangi-Shari.
In Ubangi-Shari some memorial services have been held. General N'Dofa sent his condolences to the Royal Family, but in a speech this afternoon announced the Queen's death as "a fitting moment to recognise the new free Republic of Ubangi-Shari, free from white slave rule and colonial oppression."
The mood is quite sad in Luxembourg at the Queen's passing.
DEI Governor General Hubertus Johannes van Mook made a radio address today to commemorate the Queen's life and rule. While black armbands are in evidence in across Java, Sumatra, Perakan and Mollucca, they are less in evidence in Papau, Flores and the Celebes.
Dutch Guiana will send two official representatives to the State Funeral.
Official condolences have been received from the Kingdom of Saud and the Sultanate of Yemen

Late this afternoon, Crown Prince William was confirmed as the next Monarch. The Coronation is tentatively planned for 1 March, roughly a week after the Queen's State Funeral.

Quoted from "Hood"

DEI Governor General Hubertus Johannes van Mook made a radio address today to commemorate the Queen's life and rule. While black armbands are in evidence in across Java, Sumatra, Perakan and Mollucca, they are less in evidence in Papau, Flores and the Celebes.
handled PR very badly, lost local support and credibility, lost on the battlefield to 1950s Malaysia style anti-insurgency tactics, and are pretty much non-factors now.
Dutch Guiana will send two official representatives to the State Funeral.

Something seems to be missing before "handled PR very badly."

Atlantis is saddened at the news of the passing of Queen Wilhelmina and sends its condolences.

Whoops, that was a cut and paste artefact.

The governments of Britain and Argentina send their condolences too.
Most likely the Prime Minister and the King will attend the funeral.

Iberia is saddened by the loss of a great queen. The King will travel to the Netherlands for the funeral.

Bharat, Persia, and Hedjaz convey their condolences. Bharat's representation at the funeral will likely be from its ambassador to Germany, unless I've opened an embassy in the Netherlands and forgotten about it. Persia will be represented by its ambassador, and I'm thinking Hedjaz may at best have a consul-general.

18 February
Given the lukewarm acceptance of the Customs Union plan in Belgium, a further revised proposal for Netherlands and Belgium has been drawn up for discussion in both nations. The United Economic Planning Committee has proposed that the Belgian Franc would be not be pegged to the Guilder but that Belgium would still have access to loans on equally favourable terms and could decide to participate in joint monetary policies with other UKN nations. For inter-UKN trade with Belgium, the primary currency would be the Belgian Franc. Some degree of joint interest rate policy is still thought wise.

19 February
The radio programme Arbeidsvitaminen airs for the first time on station AVRO TROS. This new programme of music runs from Monday to Friday between ten and twelve o'clock. The creator of programme is AVRO programme leader Jaap den Daas. He is also the man behind the radio programmes The Colourful train on Tuesday and Brain Gym. The first broadcast kicked off with the song Go Ahead of the Columbia Orchestra.

20 February
Queen Wilhelmina was buried in the Dutch Royal Family crypt in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft today. Prince William and Queen Juliaana were present along with their children and other relatives. King Alexander, the Queen’s second son, was present at a memorial ceremony at Kamina Cathedral. Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg also attended as did many Heads of State and Royal Figures from across Europe and the wider world. Among the dignitaries were King Edward VIII and Queen Mary, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, King Aleksandar and Queen Maria, the Yugoslav Foreign Minister Boris Furlan, German Chancellor Adenauer, Argentine President Juan Ramon Mugnolo, and a Philippine delegation led by Vice President of the Council Manuel Roxas and including Senators Don Enrique Barretto, Don Jose Malcampo and Don Pedro Teves and the Bharati Ambassador to Germany. The event was televised and broadcast on Netherlands Radio across the world.

21 February
The Yugoslav Foreign Minister Boris Furlan has had a series of talks with his Dutch counterparts today.

23 February
During a routine press briefing on economic matters the Finance Minister hinted that Belgium would be offered the chance to host the new Central Treasury should the Customs Union enter full effect in the future.

24 February
Cornelius van Winkel during a visit to the Finance Ministry today officially notified the Dutch Government that the Volksraad of the East Indies has decided to join the Customs Union and discuss further the proposed entry requirements and terms and conditions.

1 March
The Coronation was held today in Der Hague. Prince William Constantijn Christof Frederick van Oranje-Nassau was enthroned as King William Constantijn Christof Frederick van Oranje-Nassau.
Queen Juliaana was present along with their children and other relatives. Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg also attended as did many Heads of State and Royal Figures from across Europe and the wider world. The event was televised and broadcast on Netherlands Radio across the world.

Given that the Belgian Throne is held by his eldest sister Queen Juliaana and his brother King Alexander is head of state of the Duchies of Kongo and Ubangi-Shari, William’s official title has been altered slightly from his mother’s. The title of Lord of Besançon, which is now located in France has also been dropped. This move officially separates the thrones of the Netherlands, Belgium and Kongo to avoid criticisms of concentrations of monarchical power but keeps all three firmly within the House of Oranje-Nassau.
Rumours suggest that King William has inherited half of his mother’s wealth, the other two siblings equally sharing the reminder. Her personal land holdings have all gone to William, including those located in central Africa, hence why he remains a Prince of Kongo to secure a stake in the Royal control of the Kongo.

The official title is now; By the Grace of God King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Prince of Kongo and Ubangi-Shari, Prince of Belgium, Prince of Lippe-Biesterfeld, Marquis of Veere and Vlissingen, Count of Katzenelnbogen, Vianden, Diez, Spiegelberg, Buren, Leerdam, and Culemborg, Viscount of Antwerp, Baron of Breda, Diez, Beilstein, the town of Grave and the lands of Cuijk, IJsselstein, Cranendonk, Eindhoven, Liesveld, Herstal, Warneton, Arlay and Nozeroy, Hereditary Lord and Seigneur of Ameland, Lord of Borculo, Bredevoort, Bütgenbach, Clundert, Daasburg, Geertruidenberg, Hooge en Lage Zwaluwe, 't Loo, Lichtenvoorde, Montfoort, Naaldwijk, Niervaart, Polanen, Steenbergen, Sint-Maartensdijk, Sankt Vith, Soest, Ter Eem, Turnhout, Willemstad, and Zevenbergen. Grand Master of the Military Order of William ( Militaire Willemsorde), Order of the Dutch Lion, Order of Orange-Nassau.

14 March
Radio Omroep Noord (RON) has started broadcasting for the north and east of the Netherlands to serve the Frisian community. West Frisian is an official language of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

15 March
The Iron Tower has been blown up with dynamite by an unknown group of terrorists. Originally inaugurated on August 24 1930, the tower stands on the banks of the river Iron near the city centre of Diksmuide. On its sides are written; Plus jamais de guerre, No More War, Nie wieder Krieg. The tower is primarily a memorial for the fallen soldiers of the Great War but also a symbol of the desire for greater Flemish political autonomy. The annual Iron Pilgrimage at the foot of the tower is a political demonstration against war and for Flemish autonomy. The Iron Tower also carries the letters AVV / FRP which stand for All for Flanders, Flanders for Kristus.

17 March
Intensive police investigations into the demolition of the Iron Tower have secured no leads, the QIS is also investigating.

28 March
The newly converted ex-liner Albert, now a modern repair ship, arrived in Balikpapan this morning at the end of her voyage from the Netherlands. She will form part of the 5th Support Flotilla based at the harbour.

Quoted

17 March
Intensive police investigations into the demolition of the Iron Tower have secured no leads, the QIS is also investigating.

Somehow I believe that no leads will be found... :whistling:

While looking around for news ideas, I ran across this "Iron Tower" and made me think. Looking around, English wiki actually uses "Yser Tower" as english translation for IJzertoren" instead of "Iron Tower" while on the French wiki "Tour de l'Yser" is used instead of "Tour du Fer". While the Dutch word "IJzer" does mean "Iron", looking around a bit regarding the name, it is possible that it originally has nothing to do with it which is why 'Yser' is used in English and French when refering to the river and the tower (or they just try to be proper by using something similar sounding).

... just a minor nitpick.

I noticed the odd translation too, but just decided to go with it. Perhaps the monument has a different history in WW?

With the "river Iron" being mentioned, it looks like it is the same in Wesworld as it is in OTL. But like I said, just a minor nitpick.

My only defence is its a Google Translate of Dutch Wiki text.

Iron Tower sounds cooler though.

1 April
The 6th Cruiser Division was formally founded as an administrative unit at Soerabaja today. The new cruiser of the Province Class, Java, will join this unit once she commissions and completes her work up in June/July. In the meantime, the Van Galen, fresh from a refit, will join the squadron next month and serve as temporary flagship for the unit.

2 April
In the Brabant municipality of East, West and Middelbeers, Hilda Smulders Beliën becomes the first female mayor in the Netherlands.

7 April
Today was the inaugural Ronde Van Noord-Holland single-day road bicycle race in Noord-Holland. It was won by Joop Middelink.

14 April
Vice-Admiraal Sieger had just signed off the final order lying on his desk. His readjustment of patrol units would soon begin to make the most of his assets. The 10th and 11th MAS Flotillas would move to the small harbour at Ujung Pandang; the 17th KLK Flotilla and the 5th MAS Flotilla would head to P. Bintan on the Raiu Archipelago. The 4th MAS Flotilla would cover the Sunda Strait from Talok and at Manokwari would be the 13th and 22nd KLK Flotillas. Overall he was satisfied that his patrol forces could more adequately cover the area assigned to him.

19 April
The result of the Belgian Senate vote today to back the Customs Union Bill has been met with relief and celebration in the Netherlands as the government now moves to draft a workable set of policy documents.

[Repost - discovered I'd accidently posted this to the 1945 news thread!]

29 April
A new newspaper, Algemeen Dagblad, has rolled off the presses in Rotterdam for the first time today. The newspaper is a sister of the New Rotterdam Courant founded by W. and J. Pluygers Accelerate. Jan Schraver is the editor. The newspaper is neutral without political or religious affiliation.

9 May
The Mathematisch Centrum (Mathematical Centre) in Amsterdam was officially opened today. The centre has been founded by Johannes van der Corput, David van Dantzig, Jurjen Koksma, Hendrik Anthony Kramers, Marcel Minnaert and Jan Arnoldus Schouten. Its mission is to develop mathematical prediction models to assist large Dutch engineering projects, such as the Delta Works. Work is also scheduled to be undertaken for the aircraft manufacturer Fokker.

14 May
The first replenishment stores vessel for the Navy, the Cornelius Drebbel, commissioned today. This most important ship which can transfer cargoes whilst underway will be assigned to the 2nd Support Division at Soerabaja to support the ships of the Eastern Fleets.

27 May
The Nyenrode Business Universiteit, a business school and the only private university in the Netherlands was officially founded today. It is located on a large estate in the town of Breukelen, between Amsterdam and Utrecht. The university’s official name is the Nederlands Opleidings Instituut voor het Buitenland (NOIB) but it takes its name from the thirteenth century Castle of Nyenrode. It has been founded by the top executives of Dutch multinational companies, such as Akzo, KLM, Philips, Shell and Unilever.

2 June
The cabinet meeting was heated. Prime Minister Herman Loeder mopped his brow, "why did all the cabinet meetings tend to end like this these days?" he thought to himself.
"Did you see the German reports yesterday about the sale of the surplus Drache helicopters to Turkey?" The War Minister Lieutenant-Admiral (ret.) Hans Pienaar barked. "And only days after telling us they were worn-out and unfit for further use. They lied to us!"
Foreign Minister Jan Baars looked up from his doodling on his notepaper, "The German government have obvious political reasons to avoid becoming entangled with such a situation."
Pienaar scoffed, "They do not know what it is to see their own countrymen and women tortured and killed. They do not care."
They had all read the news in the papers that morning about the alleged discovery of a mass grave in southern Ubangi-Shari. "We should shame to Germans for not helping us. Our Belgian cousins have long warned us about them, they are baby killers!" Pienaar thumped the table for emphasis.
Loeder interjected, "Hans. That would serve no practical purposes at all. Why would that help our cause? The Germans have no colonies and quite rightly they don't want to be involved in such complicated affairs. They have no obligation to help us, we only made the request on the advise of the Luchtmacht who saw a purely technical question rather than a political one. Also relations between us are not that warm, they are worried about the Customs Union and other policies of ours. Right now we should be building bridges and not burning them."
Those nearest the War Minister could hear is muttering, "I bet the English don't believe their recent claims that launching seven warships in one month is a sign of peace either."
Loeder banged the table, unusual for him, but we wanted to break up the moody atmosphere. "I think gentlemen we should end the session today. It is clear we are not well disposed to making rational comments.

1 July
At Nederlandsche Sheepsbouw Maatschappij, Amsterdam, the third cruiser of the Province Class, Borneo, was laid down today. She should complete at the end of next year.

8 July
The Navy today confirmed that the elderly ex-South African battleships Kortenaer and Piet Hein will decommission at the end of the year. Kortenaer will be returned to SAE as a museum ship.