During World War II, Germany was obtaining ‘Heavy Water’ produced at the Vemork hydroelectric plant in Norway. Heavy Water can be used to create a heavy hydrogen isotope that can be used as a moderator in nuclear reactors as part of the manufacture of atomic bombs. The reason the Vemork site is remote that its very nature required it to be sited in the mountains to generate the necessary hydro-electric power.
The potential threat of a German Atomic bomb was of the highest concern to the Allies as Germany had access to world class physicists. In 1942, the SOE Operation FRESHMAN was unsuccessful in destroying the stocks of Heavy Water and suffered very heavy casualties – all the members of the FRESHMAN team, as well as the glider crews and the crew of one airecraft, were either killed or executed, and Her Royal Highness will be visiting their graves in Oslo. Then, in 1943, Operation GUNNERSIDE was launched. A Norwegian team led by Joachim Rønneberg was dropped by parachute and having infiltrated the plant, destroyed the Heavy Water containers. The team made their escape by skiing more than 200 miles to Sweden. Later, the Germans decided to move their remaining supplies to Germany, which involved using a ferry; the Resistance prevented this by planting a bomb on the ferry, the Hydrø, which sank.
Vemork/Operation Gunnerside
The rail terminus at Mæl, from which the Hydro sailed.
The incident is famous for the Resistance having to decide to go ahead and sink the ferry despite the presence on board of Norwegian families. HRH will be visiting the site from which the ferry left and there will be a briefing by Dr Insall and a short meeting with a senior local police officer whose family had a relative who was travelling on the Hydro when it sank – and who survived.
The heavy water cellar during the early stages of its restoration
It had been thought that the cellar containing the Heavy Water had been destroyed, but a few years ago it was discovered that it had survived, and the museum undertook a major restoration project. The restored cellar now describes the story of GUNNERSIDE and contains many artefacts from the operation.
GUNNERSIDE is seen as the most successful sabotage operation of the Second World War, and Vemork is the most iconic site linked to the Resistance in Norway. Joachim Rønneberg and his colleagues became national heroes and remained so until their deaths – Joachim had a State Funeral attended by the Crown Prince (The King was unable to attend). HRH met Joachim on several occasions along with many of his Linge colleagues.
Joachim Rønneberg
Her Royal Highness will lay flowers at the memorial to GUNNERSIDE outside the Cellar at Vemork.
Commonwealth War Graves
There are no Commonwealth war cemeteries in Norway because those who died there have been buried in civil cemeteries and churchyards. Many of the graves of those in the Commonwealth plot in Vestre Gravlund (Oslo’s Western Civil Cemetery) are of airmen who died when attacking the site of the then Oslo airport. However, the plot also contains the graves of five commandos involved in Operation FRESHMAN, who were brutally interrogated at Grini concentration camp and then shot on 19 January 1943, together with that of a sailor who had been captured during Operation TITLE, an unsuccessful SOE operation to sink the battleship Tirpitz.
Her Royal Highness will visit the FRESHMAN graves in Oslo and there will be a short Service of Remembrance.
Linge Club
HRH will meet military veterans, including holders of the War Cross with Sword, during a visit to the Linge Club. The Linge Club was established in 1947 and named after the first head of SOE’s Norwegian contingent who was killed on a raid on the Norwegian coast. After moving between various locations, it is now located in the attic of the building in the Oslo Fortress and contains cells where during the war members of the Resistance were held prior to their execution. The original Linge Club closed in 2007 due to the age of the surviving members.
The Norwegian Shipowners’ Mutual War Risks Insurance Association (DNK)
The critical role of the Norwegian shipping in support of the Allies during the War remains largely unknown in the UK. But, for example, had it not been for Norwegian tankers, it is likely that the RAF would not have had the fuel to keep flying during the Battle of Britain. Most of their fleet was chartered to Britain, and they lost more than 2,000,000 tons of shipping and several thousand seamen. If Norway, like Denmark, decided not to resist the Germans, the Allies would have faced critical shortfalls in shipping and supplies.
The DNK Offices contains memorabilia of the Anglo/Norwegian wartime cooperation. During the visit Her Royal Highness will unveil a painting by Serena Vivian-Neal that was donated to the Project and purchased by the DNK to raise funds.
The painting shows members of the Norwegian ‘Coastwatchers’ in a covert hideout monitoring the movements of a German battleship.
The Resistance Museum
The Norwegian Resistance Museum was opened by the then HRH Crown Prince Harald in May 1970, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Norway. The museum was designed by an architect who worked together with some of the key members of the resistance to produce a chronological gallery containing much equipment and many artefacts which vividly reflect the experiences and achievements of the Norwegian people during their occupation.
The first director of the museum was Knut Haugland, a member of the GROUSE team which was dropped onto the Hardangervidda plateau in October 1942 to make preparations to support the ill-fated Operation FRESHMAN. They then survived, unsupplied and largely unsupported, until the arrival of the Operation GUNNERSIDE party. Most of the Grouse party also participated in the operation.
Her Royal Highness, together with Crown Prince Haakon, will unveil a plaque in the foyer of the Resistance Museum.