MS Marnix van Sint Aldegonde passengers waiting for departure at Genoa Port Terminal, April 1937

            Charles Gesner van der Voort (1916-1991) was part of a group of Dutch bachelors in pre-war Shanghai. Another member of this group was David van Gelderen (1908-1990), originally from Rotterdam. He arrived in Shanghai in 1933, working for Unilever, a merger of the operations of Dutch Margarine Unie and British soap maker Lever Brothers.

The photo albums of his China years contain many photos of the bachelor life in those days: travel, work, parties, trips within China and to Japan. They also include photos of the bombing of the Unilever factory during the 1937 Japanese attack of Shanghai, membership of the French Special Police and other unique photos.

Like Charles, David was interned in Chapei Civil Assembly Centre by the Japanese from 1943 to 1945. 
Being Jewish, internment in Shanghai probably saved David’s life; since all of his family members in the Netherlands were killed by the Nazis. 

David married, had two children and continued to work for Unilever. He became member of Nederlandse Reünisten Vereniging China (NRVC, Dutch Reunists Association China).

Returning from a long leave in the Netherlands, in April 1937 he traveled from Genoa to the Netherlands East Indies by MS Marnix van Sint Aldegonde, of Netherland Line (Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland, SMN). David took this photo at Genoa Port Terminal, waiting for departure.

Although an airplane service between Europe and East Asia existed before WWII, most people traveled by ship. The typical stops along the way, depending on shipping company and period, could be Rotterdam, Gibraltar, Marseilles, Genoa, Naples, Port Said, Suez, Aden, Colombo, Penang, Malacca, Singapore, Saigon, Manila, Hong Kong, Shanghai. If you wanted to avoid getting sea-sick in the Gulf of Biscay, you traveled by train from Amsterdam to Genoa.

For a pictorial overview, please see the album Voyage Netherlands-Shanghai. In the album you can find:
- Several maps, advertisements, and a passenger list
- Hennie van Senden’s recollections of the 1934 voyage
- Phil Beekmeijer photographs, starting his 1940 voyage at Amsterdam train station.
- David van Gelderen 1937 photographs from Genoa, Port Said, Hong Kong and aboard MS Marnix van Sint Aldegonde and 1932 photographs aboard Kaisar-I-Hind.
- Sylvia and Reggie Harding Klimanek 1934 photographs aboard s.s. Zuiderkerk

Courtesy Van Gelderen family archives
   

Taken in: Italy / Liguria / Genoa / San Pier d'Arena (show map)

Taken on: April 16, 1937

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Camera: Canon EOS 550D, f/5.0, 1/60 sec, 46mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 550D
Lens:	EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	46mm
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 16.0 (Windows)
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