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Many people know the Waalsdorpervlakte from the commemoration of the dead that takes place there every year on 4 May. When you contemplate the ceremony, you see the procession silently passing by the monument with the four crosses and you hear the sonorous sounds of the bourdon, the shutter bell with its deep voice. The Bourdon bell is a tribute to all inhabitants of The Hague, both civilians and soldiers, who gave their lives in the 1940-1945 war.

A few years after the liberation, various resistance organisations took the initiative to erect a monument in The Hague to commemorate the atrocities of the Second World War. A committee was formed, which started an action among the people of The Hague. The people of The Hague gave generously, but not enough for a large monument on the Stadhoudersplantsoen, which was the initial idea. The plan for a smaller monument on the Waalsdorp Plain in the dunes between The Hague and Wassenaar met with great approval. After all, there was already a large memorial in Amsterdam: the National Monument on Dam Square. And the Waalsdorpervlakte was the place where the German occupier executed those who fought for freedom.

The idea for a bourdon in that place was realised. On 30 April 1959, Prof. mr. P.S. Gerbrandy handed over the bronze bell to the city council. Gerbrandy had as war prime minister from London with his radio speeches for 'Radio Oranje' inspired the resistance in the Netherlands. The Bourdon clock was cast at the Royal Bellfoundry Petit and Fritsen in Aarle-Rixtel. On the edge of the bell there is a text written by Prof. R.P. Cleveringa, symbol of the resistance of the Leiden University against the German occupier. His words on the clock read: 'I ring to the glory and following of those who gave their lives to ward off injustice, to the winning of freedom and to the preservation and elevation of all the spiritual good of the Netherlands'.