Our uncle Willem received an honorary medal, when he retired from the Groningen police force. My brother Alex discovered this newspaper article from 1974 in the Nieuwsblad van het Noorden.

Mayor Honors Retired Groningen Officer

Yesterday afternoon, Mayor H. G. Buiter presented the Gold Medal of Honor of the Order of Orange-Nassau to Police Adjutant W. Schoonveld at Groningen police headquarters.

Mr. Schoonveld, who has now retired, had a long and distinguished career. He served in the police troops from 1937 to 1940, became a municipal police officer in Arnhem in 1940, and joined the Groningen police force in 1945.

Since 1965, he has served as an adjutant with the municipal police. He spent his entire career in the traffic police, developing extensive knowledge of traffic laws and road safety techniques. In addition to his duties, Mr. Schoonveld has taught traffic courses to officers preparing for their B-certificate and has been a member of the examination committee for this diploma.