More on and Norway and British joint involvement fighting German troops up north. Not sure it was covered already. I will try to add a link from the Scalloway Museum received from a forum member from Scotland. The Shetland Bus Story Stefan.
Glad to see the story is back in view again. Anyone of my age must have read the book The Shetland Bus in the 1960's, together with the stories of Wingate and the Chindits it was a must read in most public libraries. It seems to be out in print again or possibly a modern version for the new generations.
a few links here Leif Larsen - The Shetland Bus. The Shetland Bus 'Hands Across the Sea' Shetland's Larsen memorial Shetland Memorial To British And Norwegian Servicemen
Stefan, good memories of when David Howarth RN revealed his part in the clandestine activities through his publication, The Shetland Bus. Without doubt the Scalloway Museum is a must to visit if visiting the Shetlands. Down the road on the harbour front is the slipway used as a depot for the clandestine activities into Norway. It is now disused and in a state of disrepair, but plans have been laid to renovate it. I think it was named the King Olaf Slipway from a personal visit by the King of Norway. Across the road and further down the street is Norway House, red in colour, where billeting and messing for the crews and engineering staff took place. Also in the area in front of the harbour is the Scalloway Memorial to those who contributed so much to keep the flame of resistance alight in Norway. Interestingly, the Shetland Bus initial operations were held north of Scalloway but on the east side of the Shetland mainland at Lunna, a bleak place. Lunna House, the traditional home of the Hunter family was requestioned as the unit's HQ but in May 1942 operations were transferred to Scalloway due to the lack of workshop facilities at Lunna. Civilian workshop services gave excellent support to the unit The clandestine activities of the unit were never compromised. At the adjacent Lunna Kirk there is a memorial on the inside of the churchyard wall to David Howarth RN. Said to be the home of the earliest Christian worship in Scotland, Lunna Kirk is currently up for sale. Earlier this summer,5 of us went mackerel fishing out of Scalloway. At first, we had a poor take. The young man who owned the boat knew his fishing geography and said "up rods" and went further out to sea.to a place apparently renowned for mackerel.There, a good response to coloured artificial bait and we had mackerel almost jumping into the boat.
I am glad having started the thread. I think, after our trip to Norway, I will have to visit the Shetlands too sometime next year. Stefan.
Let me add a couple of questions: 1. Did merchant seamen from Shetland helped with their boats on D-Day? As well as men and women from there as part of the 51st Highland Division? 2. Without WW2, would the islands still be a bit underdeveloped, even today? Stefan.
North Sea oil in the 1970s brought dramatic changes to both the Orkneys and Shetlands and they benefits are still seen today. It brought wealth and prosperity and people to the islands. For example the oil & gas terminal at Sullom Voe. Sullom Voe Terminal - Wikipedia Orkney got the Flotta oil terminal in Scapa Flow Flotta oil terminal - Wikipedia
Stefan. There was never a case of the Shetland Bus contingent being utilised for D Day as the unit continued their trips to Norway until the German surrender when they were able to sail openingly into Norway to meet rapturous crowds. While Norway was occupied, it was not known what the German intentions were for Norway but Hitler tied up divisions there for his fear that Norway would be invaded....in essence part of the Allies deception plan. However, in the end, Montgomery took the surrender of all German forces in North West Europe at Luneburg Heath and the Sherland Bus unit continued operations to the end of hostilities Escapees from Norway were recruited into the forces of the Norwegian Government in exile as appropriate to their appitude. The Shetland Bus fishermen were enlisted into the KGL Norske Marine (Royal Norwegian Navy) after receiving extensive British Army weapons training. Of course, they should have had the protection of the Geneva Convention but this could not be relied upon after Hitler's Nacht und Nebel (Night and Fog) decree The Shetland Bus boats were armed fishing boats initially manned predominately by Norwegians who had escaped from Norway and thus knew their coastline very well and developed themselves into good navigators. Later the unit was improved with the addition of three US subchasers which improved their chances of survival against the ever-present enemy, the sea which could be ferocious.at times. Lewick to Bergen is 230 miles and larger distances were covered on trips to North Norway. Additionally, there was always the risk of being attacked by Luftwaffe patrols. While at Sumburgh I had a conversation with two Norwegian yachtsmen who told me that they had sailed from Bergen to Lewick and it took 29 hours but of course the armed fishing boats were engine powered and required an engineer to supervise propulsion in a crew of usually 4 men. An engine breakdown at sea required the engineer to be at his best with limited resources to resolve it but there were times when sails had to be erected. There is an excellent insight to the operations of the Shetland Bus by Kaare Iverson, a fishing boat engineer. entitled Shetland Bus Man It details how he escaped from Norway, his training on courses in the British Army and his clandestine trips to the Norwegian Coast as a member of the KGL Norske Marine. One chapter is devoted to "From Fisherman to Soldier" Karre Iverson later married a Sherland lady, raised a family and lived for the rest of his life as a Shetlander in Scalloway. Shetland Bus Man.... obtainable from the Sherland Times, price £10.99 via www.shetland -books.co.uk
Thank you Harry and Ewen, My wish to visit the Shetlands has grown again. But it will have to wait until later in 2023. Stefan.
Stefan....... Shetland Bus crews remembered this passed week with a special ceremony at Scalloway. Link to Shetland Times. The Shetland Times Laying of a wreath at the Scalloway Shetland Bus Memorial by the crew of the Norwegian Minesweeper Otra Apparently also they called in to visit people in a nearby care home much to the delight of the residents.
Hi all, I just returned from a trip to Victoria BC. I did not manage to take a trip on this sailing vessel but I learned that she, the SV Duen, was one of those that were used as part of the Shetland Bus service. She is now used for 3-hour tourist trips. She passed through several private hands before coming to Victoria and as I understand it the owners lost knowledge of her use in the war until 2001 when an ex merchant mariner who had a book on the Bus saw the ship in harbour. https://www.threehoursail.com/app/webroot/uploads/shetland-bus.pdf
May I offer a wee correction to the above? My wife's relatives in Norway played a significant role in the Shetland Bus operations. Arnfinn Haga wrote a history of the operations that were centered on the island community of Rongevær (also my wife's family name, BTW), Rongevær - et øysamfunn i krig ("Rongevær - An island community at war"). It includes this episode from 1944 involving two telegraphers, brought from Britain to an observation post on the western coast of Norway (my translation from the Norwegian): "It happens that a small wheel in a large machine can have its inestimable importance. This assignment was an example of that. "Early in the summer there were clear signs that they were about to be found out. Outside the island they saw boats in several directions, they lay still for long periods before slowly moving to a new position. The telegraphers were also visited by a panting courier whom the contact man had ordered on his way, and he could relate what the boats were indeed doing. Piten and his companion had long ago staked out a retreat route and prepared to flee. They briefly reported it to the Centre, as the mother station was called. "But they were not allowed to go their way, to their great astonishment. Instead, they were strictly required to send weather reports, and weather reports only. They even received a request from King Haakon himself to stay at their post. If not before, now they understood that this had to be something special. They cobbled together to the best of their judgement reports on wind direction and wind strength, precipitation and sparse sunshine. "Then suddenly, when everything looked darkest, the Centre sent a Morse code message that they were free to flee. They put their heavy burdens on their backs and began the descent. They did not dare to walk upright, in truth they sat on their backsides and slid down mountainside goat tracks. "A boat with two men in it was waiting in the contact family's cove. In the aft end they had laid a net in a large pile, and underneath it they placed radio transmitters and other equipment for which it had become difficult to give any "natural" explanation. The contact man was also standing there, and he handed Piten a well-used cap. "The boat headed south, stopping now and then at well-known fishing grounds where a couple of the men let out their lines and began to jig with characteristic movements. Neither the patrol boats nor the locating boats thought it was worth the trouble to hail something as mundane as a fishing boat that was so clearly busy with its own business, and after a successful trip two of the 'fishermen' were able to set up camp up in the mountains in Lindås. "At last the telegraph operators understood why the Centre had refused them to allow them to flee in the first place: this was in the days before the major Allied landing on the Continent on 6 June, and the armada that was to cross the Channel needed weather forecasts that were as certain as possible. So it was better to risk having two frozen souls up on a mountain ridge in Solund be taken taken by the Germans." https://cappelendamm.no/_rongevar-arnfinn-haga-9788202772161
Regarding crews transferred to man vessels for D-Day the Shetland Bus crews may have been confused with the Operation Bridford crews. Some of these manned a couple of the Chants at D-Day. For those who are not familiar with the story; a small fleet of modified MLs made a series of voyages to Sweden to bring back ball bearings. The boats were crewed by merchant seamen and fishermen and manned by Ellerman Wilson Line of Hull.
