Thanks to Agterkamp’s contacts, the airmen were able to leave a few days later by train, travelling via Zutphen to Amsterdam. In Leiden, however, the airmen were arrested and taken into custody. Due to a betrayal within the resistance group, both Besselink and Agterkamp were also arrested and taken to the Oranjehotel prison. They were sentenced to death and executed by firing squad in the dunes near Bloemendaal on 17 November 1941.
About the execution
Martin Schouten, a cousin of Jan Agterkamp, wrote in de Volkskrant on 20 November 1996:
‘My mother once told me about a minister who had visited them on the day of the execution. According to the minister, Uncle Jan was in high spirits, truly prepared to die. But then news arrived that the execution had been postponed, and he was completely disappointed. A week later, the day came again, and the execution was carried out, but by then, he was no longer so cheerful...’