Page 5 - Lambert Wackers

Many of the triangulation monuments are in remote areas that even with modem logistics
represent a formidable challenge for state-of-the-art, space-based geodetic surveys. The
state of preservation of the triangulation pillars correlated inversely with accessibility.

Now at least, we have an inkling of what Lambert’s actual activities may have been. He
worked in the wilderness, deciding on elevated triangulation points, building concrete
monuments, and measuring, mapping and charting the island of Sumatra.
It was plodding and climbing through a tropical wilderness, physically challenging, collecting
precise scientific measurements on top of mountains, and analyzing geodetic data.
These must have been interesting, demanding, and rewarding assignments for Lambert.

~~~

In 1896, after 12 years of service in the tropics, Lambert was entitled to a one-year-long
leave in the Netherlands. Near the end of his leave, Lambert was promoted to Captain in the
Corps of Engineers.

Lambert did not return to Kerkrade or Breda. Both his parents had passed away; his
mother died in 1868 in Düren, Germany, and his father in 1889, in Amsterdam.

The following suggests that Lambert went straight to Amsterdam.
I found an engagement announcement with his fiancée, Catharina Jacoba Keijser, in the
Java-Bode of January 20, 1897,

Engaged (Verloofd, Fiancés)
in Amsterdam, December 1896

Three months later the Haagsche Courant, March 25,1897,

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