Evert Roelof Bijl was a real person. Born in 1794 he joined the new Dutch army in 1814 and became a sergeant in the 8th militia battalion. This battalion was heavily engaged in the battles of Quatra Bras and Waterloo.
The total losses for the campaign following de original books was: 10 killed, 110 wounded and 3 captures or missing. This means a loss of almost 21%. Of the 22 officers + one medical officer, one was killed, one badly wounded and 5 lightly wounded (7 in total).
Now, almost 200 years later, the battalion is re-created. This website is the result. It's dedicated to the 8th militia, Evert Roelof and all the other proud men of the unit in 1815.
This site is also the virtual HQ of the battalion within the Napoleonic Wargame Club.
A real book about Evert Roelof is written and this site is also the place to find more information about that.
Mr Marco Bijl, the writer of the book and web manager of this site, is a direct descendent of Evert Roelof.