Born at Asten, The Netherlands, on May 27 1931. He attended elementary school at Liessel and from 1945 to 1948 high school at Asten. His studies at the Eindhoven teachers' college were cut short on emigration of the family to Canada in May of 1950. In 1956 he attained Canadian citizenship but due to family circumstances found himself back in the Netherlands from 1961 to 1966. In that period he worked as a technical translator at DAF. Writing became his main hobby in retirement to which he devotes endless time researching family history and stories of interest for the family's descendants.