Remembering Ouderland The Foreign Hero Of 1971 War The New Nation
Badrul Huda Sohel :
William A.S. Ouderland, an Australian who directly took part in the Liberation War of Bangladesh died on this day (May 18) in 2001 in a hospital in Western Australia. His unwavering love and affection for Bangladesh really amazes us even today. Ouderland came to Dhaka in the late 1970 as a production manager of Bata Shoe Company as a part of job in his career. Due to his professionalism, he was appointed as the company manager in Dhaka.
William A.S. Ouderland was born on December 6, 1917 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. At the beginning of his life, at 17, he took a job in Bata Shoe Company. He left his job after 2 years and joined the national army. He also left the army in 1940 and participated in the Second World War (1939-1945) as a guerrilla commando of the Dutch forces.