‘I am the collection and the collection is me’ | 03

Rob Vis (82) collects everything related to the air force

Hundreds wings and awards, sabers, two cabinets full of uniforms, dozens of logbooks and much more. 82-year-old Rob Vis himself is down-to-earth, but anyone who sees his collection of air force memorabilia will understand that this is false modesty. A bedroom has been made available for it in his home in Almere. “I am the collection and the collection is me.”

^{Text: Kirsten de Vries | Photos: Sergeant Gregory Freni}

It is certainly a pleasant atmosphere in the house of Rob and his wife Hilda. From a collection of inkwells (“we have about four hundred”) and an army of penguin statues to souvenirs from the United States, among others; the couple enjoys collecting. “We are not into minimalism. We have memories of everything around us. That’s such a rich feeling. The children find it messy, by the way,” says Rob with a smile.

Conscription

In the late 1950s, Rob started collecting air force items. First airplane pictures. When he also sees the badges in photos, he actually finds them very interesting. His collection makes him decide to do his military service in the air force. “I actually had to go to the infantry, but that didn’t appeal to me. I applied for a transfer and then spent 21 months in security at Volkel Air Base.” After military service, he continued his career in the Human Resources department of the municipality of Amsterdam. But his love for all things Air Force remains.

Rob is a perfectionist when it comes to his collection. Wings and awards, with or without name tags, are neatly stored in drawers. “Light, air and moisture are disastrous.” He also has flying rights from some pairs wings of both man and woman. He also has sets of father and son and even grandfather and grandson. “I have one or more of all commanders from 336 Squadron.” One of the showpieces of Rob’s collection is the uniform of Major General Loek Hansen, who served during the Second World War, with all the associated awards and wings. “They sit on a mascot and thus provide a nice overview of his flying career.”

‘Light, air and moisture are disastrous’

1,200 badges

The big question is of course: how does Rob get all these unique items? The answer is obvious: via sites as eBay and Marketplace. But it goes much further than that. For years, Rob has been scouring fairs, building up an entire network in the kite world and visiting (former) airmen and collectors at home and abroad. Many of them give him something to take home. “I have visited hundreds of people. Some people get attached to their things and then I got nothing, which I could understand. But others said, ‘Hey, how nice of you to do that. What do you want?’” Of the twelve hundred badges he has, he received more than five hundred directly from the owners. He is also very happy with the eight Kite Crosses he has. He even wrote a book about this award with a friend.

Family reunion

What is difficult to obtain are pilots’ logbooks. “They stay in the family or are in a museum.” Still, Rob managed to get hold of about forty. A few of these books are very special and even led to a reunion between father and son. “One day I received a call from Mr. Niesmann’s son, a former German pilot. ‘Herr Visser, my father no longer speaks to me because I gave his logbooks to you. Can I have them back?’” Rob was not happy with his request, but decided to cooperate anyway.

Years later, he heard through an acquaintance that father Niesmann had died and decided to call his son. “He said to me: ‘Yes, I still have the logbooks. I have thought about you often. You can get them back’.” And so the logbooks ended up back in the bookcase in Rob and Hilda’s bedroom. There is also a logbook of another pilot, containing his experiences during the German invasion of May 10, 1940. “I received a call from the wife of this pilot. One of the last things he said was: ‘Make sure the logs get to Mr. Fish’.”

Prince Bernhard

Rob is full of stories. For example, he talks in detail about his encounters with Prince Bernhard (“we offered him a copy of our book”), Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema (“I met him occasionally”), the American pilot Paul Tibbets (“he threw the first bomb on Hiroshima”), Gerardus Meinardus Bruggink (“he flew one of the last flights against the Japanese in 1942”) and Manja Blok (“the first female F-16 pilot”). His wife Hilda does not collect, but has traveled halfway around the world due to her husband’s passion for collecting. “We have been to England, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; you meet so many nice people,” says Hilda.

Auction sites

Although Rob has now reached a respectable age, he still collects happily. He no longer goes to fairs, he now mainly searches auction sites and maintains contact with other collectors. “According to my wife, I spend too much time behind my laptop. The ‘search for’ and ‘obtaining of’ is the most fun. Once you have it, the tension is gone. Does it keep me awake? Absolutely not. But when I get what I want, that is a very nice moment. I am now working on a few things again.”

‘When I get what I want, it’s a very nice moment’

If Rob dies, his children will not continue their father’s work. “They have nothing to do with it. But I have a good acquaintance who will take over part of it. Other things go back to the families and a number of awards go to the Museum of the Chancellery of the Dutch Orders.”