Gerard Sturm, born Feb. 25, 1877 in Middelburg, son of Franciscus Jacobus Sturm (coachman) and Caroline Maria Neugebauer. He married Elizabeth Jacoba Jansen, born Jan. 25, 1875, on Sept. 15, 1905, in Koudekerke. Elizabeth Sturm died Nov. 17, 1933; Sturm later remarried Margaretha van Leeuwen. After a very active life, Gerard Sturm died in Middelburg on March 1, 1957. Education Gerard Sturm went through craft school in his hometown, then took a special education to focus on the so-called building trades. He was particularly interested in restoration of buildings, entirely in line with the emerging interest in the Netherlands in the preservation of monuments from earlier times. From draughtsman to construction supervisor After completing his education, Sturm got a job as a draftsman in the reconstruction of the largely vanished Kloostergang in Middelburg. He then worked as an architectural supervisor on various works around the country, such as the construction of a new teaching hospital in Utrecht and the construction of various tramways. From 1908 to 1911, he supervised the restoration of the former courthouse on the Roode Steen in Hoorn, the current building of the Westfries Museum. During that period, Sturm lived in a rented house on Drieboomlaan in Hoorn. In January 1913 he moved to Maastricht in connection with restoration work on a church there. Civil servant at Rijksgebouwendienst Gerard Sturm joined the office of G.J. Vrijman in The Hague, predecessor of the Rijksgebouwendienst, as architectural officer 1st class on April 1, 1915. Upon reaching retirement age on March 1, 1942, he was honorably discharged. Deputy inspector at Rijksinspectie Kunstbescherming Sturm was then asked to advise the inspector of art protection in the Netherlands in his inspections. Between May 1943 and July 1944, Sturm inspected 63 of 108 monuments and reported to the inspector. On March 24, 1942, he was involved in securing the Night Watch in the marl caves of St. Peter's Mountain. Unfortunately, during the war he lost his own house and almost complete contents as a result of bombing. For his contribution to the preservation of Dutch art treasures, he received a commemorative medal in 1945. Architect After the liberation, Sturm settled in Zeeland, to work there - until his sudden death - as an architect in the restoration of many war-damaged monuments. (Source: luckens.nl May 2018)