MFN member Herman Koolmees

My name is Herman Koolmees, now 82 years young.
I was born in Rotterdam. In 1946 we moved to The Hague, where my father became manager of a repair shop. Via the LTS W&E, I went to the UTS W and later to the HTS in Arnhem (3 increasing levels of technical education). In 1959 we moved to Dieren, and then to Geldrop in 1960.
The HTS did not go well, so after postponement I entered military service (communication service). There I was trained as an "encryption machine" mechanic, for which you even had to take the oath. But I never got my hands on one! The work I was assigned to was transport. And I liked that - which is why I signed up after the mandatory service period.
I married Agnes, and after some wandering we ended up in Drenthe in a nice little farm with 3,000 m² of land. Unfortunately, it was 125 km away from where I worked, due to the housing shortage at the time.

Back to The Hague.
My father was constructor/draughtsman by education and had a broad interest in everything that moved, especially on wheels! So soon a Berini "egg" arrived (a normal bicycle with a small auxiliary engine on the front), and a Solex for my mother. The Berini disappeared and a real motorcycle came in its place: a Matchless Silver Arrow from 1930 with a 400cc 2-cylinder engine and with rear suspension - a beautiful machine!

My mother also got her driver's license with her NSU Quick 98cc 2-stroke (with pedals) and an NSU Fox 125cc 4-stroke was added.
My mother had a serious crash with the Quick when changing lanes with height differences. That resulted in hospitalization with a severe concussion.
When my uncle fell with his Norton six months later, hit a bridge abutment and died, the verdict was "we don't ride without a helmet anymore".

The Quick was too light, therefore a Puch 175cc came in its place. That one was too fast for the Fox, so a second Puch 175cc came.

In 1950 Jack Branse placed an appeal in Motor Magazine for keeping and collecting "old" motorcycles. This resulted in the establishment of the VMC, the Dutch Veteran Motorcycle Club, in 1957. You had to have a motorcycle or engine block from before 1931 to become a member. The Matchless from 1930 was 27 years old at the time. Later the age limit for motorcycles went to before 1940. Thus now, in 2024, they have to be at least 84 years old!!
A Ner-a-car from the period 1922-1924 was added. A "real" American, there is also an English version. The most visible difference between the two is the position of the front fork springs: on the English they are upright, and on the American they are slightly tilted backwards.

The very first VMC ride was held in 1957, just like the "gashouderrally" (gas storage rally, hold on the premisses of an old gas production site). There you could drive on a closed terrain without a license plate or driver's license. In the photo I am the rightmost figure on the Ner-a-car.

Another highlight was the demonstration at the RAI, still in the Ferdinand Bolstraat in Amsterdam, where even Minister Algera (Transport and Water Management) honoured the stand with a visit.

In 1959 a Scott Flying Squirrel was added, a water-cooled 600cc 2-cylinder two-stroke, built in 1927. Scott came out with this new model in 1926, with a frame with a longer wheelbase. You could choose between a 500 or 600cc engine, 3 different front forks (including the first(?) telescopic front fork), 2 types of gearbox (a 3-speed and a quasi 2-speed system) and also 2 tank versions: keep it simple!

A nice stamp is the one with Frank Applebee, who won the 1912 TT on the Isle of Man. Tim Woods repeated this in 1913.

Picture of Frank Applebee on the winning Scott

In 1960 we "found" a Moto Guzzi GTV Telaio 500cc from 1935, with an Inlet-Over-Exhaust engine. The Guzzi came to me in 1970, when I moved back to Brabant, Nuenen.

So far for the motorcycle history in my "youth".
At the moment I am still riding a Guzzi 1100 ie California Special from 1999 with a lot of pleasure, but it is slowly becoming a little less.

Agnes Koolmees on the Moto Guzzi at Castel Morrella, Spanje

Now comes the "problem" for me.
My "flaw" is that I have a broad interest in quite a few things, including motorcycle books and leaflets, magazines, clocks and, of course, motorcyles. In my youth, I built many Keil Kraft balsa flying scale models. Then the Airfix plastic aeroplanes and motorbikes (± 6 cm long) came, and from that I moved on to the 1:9 Protar models, mostly old motorbikes and some racers (I still have about 20 to build).

When an article about the MFN appeared in a motorcycle magazine, I thought "that's nice". I looked up a stamp shop in Eindhoven, and they had a few motorcycle stamps. Coincidence: my neighbor across the street saw them. He collected English stamps and had some from the Isle of Man lying around. I decided to contact the then MFN chairman, Mr. Jan Termaaten. I was lucky, so to speak. He invited me to come to the 15th anniversary of the club to get acquainted, which was in the fall of 2002 in Austerlitz, and I have been a member ever since.

I "limit" my collecting mainly to stamps with motorcycles built up to 1940, or they must have something special for me. And I try to find a stamp from every country. The booklet by Nico Helling was a hit for me! And as long as it is possible, I come to the club afternoons with my motorcycle: nice atmosphere, nice people, nice stamps - what more could you want!

With greetings, Herman Koolmees

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