The fallen resistance people in Limburg

Pierre “Kees” Driessen
(P.F.A.)

The machine constructor Pierre Driessen, also called Piet, was addressed within the resistance by the pseudonym Kees. [1]
At the Oranje Nassau mines, a well-organized resistance group had formed early on around the mine policeman Bensen. They engaged in sabotage and produced an illegal magazine, “De Mijn.” Pierre Driessen also became a part of it.
In the fall of 1943, vicar Th.J. Snackers brought the group of Bensen and Crasborn into contact with the L.O. [2.1, p.769]
Pierre Driessen became leader of the Heerlen knokploeg (battle team), which was later enlarged to knokploeg Zuid-Limburg. These teams (K.P.) worked for the L.O. as a “strong arm.”
He had started his career in the resistance by helping Jewish people in hiding, which brought him into contact with the Heerlen K.P. [2.1, p.780]

Only after the raid in Weert on June 21, 1944, did spirits seem to have matured sufficiently for a radical change. An irritated Moonen not only urged greater caution, but also made it clear that indiscriminate shooting and breaking and entering had to stop. The events in Weert caused a shock effect and Moonen’s admonitions were finally taken to heart. At a meeting in a monastery in Heerlen in early July 1944nbsp;… Pierre Driessen was given the leadership of K.P.-Zuid-Limburg. [2.1, p.776]
Uncle Leo Moonen had always been very reluctant, as far as the brattle teams were concerned.
Pierre Driessen was also in charge of the raid on the Valkenburg distribution office. [6]
Moreover, Cammaert wrote about him in his introduction: Led, among other things, the raid on the jail in Maastricht. After liberation he was given a commanding position in the Stoottroepen. [2.2]
This was a result of the appointment of the district sabotage commander of the KP, Bep van Kooten as commander of the Limburg section of the Stoottroepen. Then, under the leadership of Driessen, the first men were recruited in Wijckerveld in Maastricht. Soon this formation grew into a 175-man company, consisting of K.P. people, supplemented with volunteers from the L.O. and other resistance groups. [2.1, p.799]
After the liberation of southern Limburg, the Stoottroepen had their Limburg headquarters initially in Maastricht and then in Valkenburg. They were entrusted with part of the front in Germany, which was close to South Limburg.
During October 1944, the designation “vak” fell into disuse. Instead, the term battalions (bat) was henceforth used. The 1st Bat (Maastricht) came under the command of P.J.A. Driessen. [3]

On December 16, when the Battle of the Bulge [4] broke out, the Stoottroepen were withdrawn from the front sector Roosteren-Geilenkirchen and moved to the southern sector Geilenkirchen-Aachen. There they were ordered to prevent penetration by German paratroopers. Also in this task the Stoottroepers performed exemplary. [2.1, p.806]
The image database of the Netherlands Institute of Military History (NIMH) contains an indistinct photo of Pierre Driessen with the following accompanying text:
First visit of the Commander South, Jacques Crasborn, to the staff of the Limburg Command at the Hotel Oranjehof in Valkenburg. From left to right: Pierre Driessen, Jacques Crasborn, Dick Meulenberg and Bep van Kooten. [5]

His initials, dates and locations of birth and death are still unclear. There is an Im Memoriam card of one Petrus Franciscus Antonius Driessen. Could this be our Pierre? He was born on June 5, 1912 in Sambeek and died on October 4, 1980 in Ubachsberg. But there is no indication on this card that this is him. [6]
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Footnotes

1. Het grote gebod Register schuilnamen
2. Cammaert, A. P. M. (1994). Het verborgen front: Geschiedenis van de georganiseerde illegaliteit in de provincie Limburg tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.
   1. Hoofdst. 7: De knokploegen en de geschiedenis van de stoottroepen tot de zomer van 1945
   2. Hoofdst. 0, pp.18ff: Introductie van vaak genoemde personen
3. ww2insouthlimburg.nl Stoottroepen
4. Ardennen offensief Wikipedia • Nederlands • Deutsch • English • Français • Português
5. NIMH (Nederlands instituut voor militaire historie) • txt • img
6. Driessen, Petrus Franciscus Antonius
   1. voerendaal.reubsaet.net
   2. rijckheyt.nl
7. More in our story Resistance in Valkenburg