Dutch Second World War Rebuilding Tile

A Dutch Delft De Porceleyne Fles Rebuilding tile designed by Hendricus Johannes (Henk) Tieman (1921-2001). The tile shows men picking up a piece of land from the sea. It is inscribed Walcheren must become dry and dated 3 October 1944 to 24 January 1946. At the top is the coat of arms of the Dutch province of Zeeland with the motto I struggle and emerge. On 3 October 1944 the Royal Air Force bombed the seawall that kept the water from the island of Walcheren nearly destroying the infrastructure and agriculture on the island. It took until October of 1945 to close the breach and January 1946 to drain the land. The tile commemorates this effort to save the island. Short Biography: Hendricus Johannes (Henk) Tieman was born in 1921 in The Hague. He worked for the Porceleyne Fles ceramic factory from 1938 to 1982 as a tile designer of mostly monumental ceramics for buildings but also worked in mosaic and glass painting. He passed away in 2001 in Rotterdam.