2. Military Pocketbook of Sergeant P.G.J. Duits - Landweer (Reserve) Pontonniers
Below you will find the Military pocketbook of Sergeant Petrus Gijsbertus Johannes Duits. Mr. Duits was born on July 20, 1890, in Valburg (Gelderland) as the son of Nicolaas Duits and Berdina Laks. He was a skipper by profession. On March 3, 1910, Petrus Duits was assigned to the Corps of Pontonniers as a conscript of the 1910 selection from the municipality of Valburg. At that time, the corps was still an independent corps under the Artillery, until 1927. His service record in the registries does not make it clear whether he enlisted in Dordrecht. However, this is likely since Dordrecht had been the station for maritime engineering soldiers since the 16th century. Between his enlistment date and 1914, he went on several leaves and returned each time. On August 1, 1914, he returned from a major leave during the mobilization call-up. It was necessary to maintain the neutrality of the Netherlands. On October 31, 1914, Mr. Duits was promoted to corporal, and on August 31, 1915, he became a sergeant. As of August 1, 1917, Mr. Duits transferred to the 2nd Landweer Company of Pontonniers in the Landweer District Nijmegen. A year later, on June 11, 1918, he transferred to the Landweer District Arnhem I. On October 1, 1919, Mr. Duits went on leave again as part of the demobilization. His pocketbook indicates that as of September 1, 1922, due to reorganization, he transferred to the Corps of Pontonniers and Torpedisten. In 1925, he received a stamp for the return of military goods in his pocketbook. Presumably, he still held some form of reserve role afterward. Interestingly, there is a travel booklet with vouchers for transportation via state reimbursement accompanying the pocketbook. The document indicates that in 1931, he was still part of the supplementary reserve. When the supplementary reserve of his weapon and selection took place by public notice, he could use the travel vouchers in the booklet to travel for free to his mobilization destination. This was the Pontonniers barracks in Dordrecht. The booklet is signed by a captain on March 27, 1931.
The travel voucher booklet accompanying the aforementioned pocketbook
