A flotilla of Norwegian vessels with links to daring North Sea wartime missions to Shetland is preparing for a poignant return to Scottish waters.
Dubbed the Liberation Convoy, four small boats and a merchant ship will recreate the covert Shetland Bus operation, a secret Second World War mission that used civilian boats to smuggle special forces soldiers, secret agents and freedom fighters from Shetland to Norway, along with explosives, weapons and radios for the resistance movement.
Co-ordinated initially by resistance fighters within hours of the German occupation of Norway in April 1940, it involved dozens of small Norwegian boats disguised as fishing vessels, armed with machine guns hidden in barrels on their decks.
Later operating under British Command, they travelled between Norway and the sheltered harbour at Lunna, north of Lerwick, and later Scalloway and Lerwick, supported by locals who offered help to repair vessels and support Norwegian refugees.
Most operations were carried out in the depths of winter and in dreadful sea conditions made worse by the constant threat of enemy attack from above, and from below, mines and U-Boats.
At the same time, hundreds of Norwegian merchant and military ships supported the Allies by delivering vital fuel and other supplies. Their crews paid a terrible price: out of over 30,000 sailors who served, around 4,500 lost their lives.
The VE Day 80 flotilla, which has been organised by a group of volunteers anxious to keep the story of Norway's WW2 maritime role alive, will set off from Bergen later this month and cross the North Sea together.
They are due to arrive in Lerwick on May 6 to open their decks to visitors and take part in events to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, including several focused on the Shetland Islands' Norwegian connections and involving families of those directly linked to the lifeline Shetland Bus operation.
The top secret Shetland Bus operation, which at one point involved James Bond creator Ian Fleming, saw Flemington House in Weisdale, mainland Shetland, commandeered by the British Army as a control centre for training agents and saboteurs.
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Norwegian boats delivered refugees and resistance fighters to the sheltered bay at Lunna, north of Lerwick, and later Scalloway and Lerwick, and picked up special agents and equipment to help carry out sabotage attacks on the occupy Nazi forces.
Support bases were established in Peterhead and Buckie and Aberdeen, where Elgin bank manager Captain Jack Cowie of the Gordon Highlanders, became the liaison officer for Norwegian fishing boats in transit to and from Shetland.
His role was shrouded in secrecy. His daughter Isabell Jack said: “Obviously it was a secret operation so not much was said to us as children.
"Dad was proud of what he did, but he wasn’t a man to make a fuss and after the war ended, he returned to his job working for the bank, until he retired.”
Leading the small flotilla will be 60-metre merchant ship S/S Hestmanden, which saw action in both the First and Second World Wars.
Built in 1911 and still powered by its original steam boiler, it ran a coastal freight route until the Second World War.
But with Nazis occupying Norway and the country’s government in exile in London, it joined the state-owned shipping company Nortraship's large fleet of around 1,000 ships delivering fuel and other supplies, and transporting soldiers and equipment.
The sole remaining Nortraship fleet ship, it now operates as a floating museum honouring the country’s war sailors.
After the VE Day 80 events in Lerwick, it will depart for a mini tour taking in Kirkwall, before arriving in Aberdeen on May 19, and Edinburgh on May 25.
Norwegian historian Ragnhild Bie, whose two grandfathers were both war sailors and who will travel on board S/S Hestmanden, said: “The UK generously welcomed our Royal Family and government in exile after the Nazis invaded, and throughout the war some 30,000 Norwegian war sailors served the Allied resistance alongside Britain’s own mariners.
"Some 4,500 war sailors lost their lives and countless others endured psychological and physical traumas that affected them and their families long after the war had ended."
Alongside in the flotilla will be M/K Heland, built in 1937 as a fishing boat.
It began covert operations in 1941 working with a Norwegian resistance group to transport agents and weapons between Shetland and Sunnmøre.
It made several trips across the North Sea, including one which saw it carry 23 refugees to safety.
It will spend three days in Lerwick before a 25 miles journey north to Lunna, the first base for the Shetland Bus initiative.
It will also visit Baltasound on Unst before returning to Lerwick and finally Scalloway on May 14, before its journey home four days later.
Also in the flotilla will be fishing boat M/K Andholmen.
From there, it was involved in dozens of secret trips and raids.
Now restored, it is floating museum manned by a volunteer crew.
“Ordinary Norwegians were trained as special forces soldiers in both England and Scotland,” said Per Ola Holm, the boat's current skipper.
“Many went on to crew the Shetland Bus vessels as they dodged German submarines and war planes during their dangerous missions, or they returned home on sabotage missions and to fight the occupying Nazi regime.”
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He added: “Everyone who crewed those small boats and ships taking the route knew they were risking their lives, but the fragile link it provided between the Shetland Islands, the Orkneys and occupied Norway was just too important.”
It will spend five days in Lerwick before taking in Lunna, Scalloway and Kirkwall before returning to Bergen.
The oldest vessel in the flotilla will be MK Erkna. Constructed in 1907, it was requisitioned by the German Kriegsmarine but stolen back by the resistance movement in November 1941.
On one secret journey to Shetland, the Erkna carried 60 Norwegian refugees – the largest number to be carried in a single Shetland Bus journey.
After visiting Lerwick, it will spend around a week in Kirkwall before heading to Aberdeen on May 19, before arriving in Edinburgh on May 25.
Among the more unusual vessels to take part in the Shetland Bus operation is M/B Arnefjord.
Built in 1917 it worked as an ‘agent boat’ fitted with fine leather and mahogany interiors to transport travelling salesmen, doctors, priests, youth groups, sports teams and for postal deliveries.
With war raging and German forces nudging closer to Norway, it was called upon to transport Norwegian soldiers to battles which saw them first push back German forces only to later return home in defeat.
With Germans occupying Norway, M/B Arnefjord and many other vessels were commandeered to transport Nazi soldiers.
However, a resistance group secretly worked with the boat’s owner, Markus Nese, to modify the boat and have her used for escape voyages.
One September evening in 1941 it set off for Shetland with 20 refugees on board, only to encounter a raging storm.
“One giant wave loosened the wheelhouse from its base by two inches - another one would have meant disaster,” says his grandson, Morten Neset, who will sail M/B Arnefjord to Lerwick.
“Six boats crossed the North Sea that weekend - only four made it.”
On its arrival, it was immediately enlisted in the Royal Navy and became known as "The Brigadier's Yacht", used by Brigadier William Fraser to travel between the Shetland Islands.
Back in Norway, meanwhile, the resistance group had aroused suspicion, and Markus Nese was held by the Gestapo and subjected to repeated interrogations and prison.
He bravely refused to divulge details of the resistance group, despite horrifying pressure and abuse.
After the war, he reclaimed the vessel and returned to its previous role as an agent boat, carrying post, milk and people.
M/B Arnefjord will call at Scalloway on May 10, and travelling to Balta Sound via Lunna before returning to Norway on May 16.
The convoy is “fitting recognition” of the alliance between Norway and the UK, and of Shetland’s special role, according to Lord Lieutenant of Shetland, Lindsay Tullock.
"As we commemorate and give thanks to those who were lost, we remember also the resilience of the men and women involved in the liberation of Norway and Europe.
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"The arrival of the Liberation Convoy in Shetland will be an opportunity to acknowledge the long-standing alliance between the people of Shetland, the rest of the United Kingdom and Norway,” he said.
“People of Shetland have vivid memories and recollections of the covert Shetland Bus operations during the Second World War.
"The enduring relationship between Shetland and Norway has strengthened over the years and will continue to do so as we join together in Remembrance on the 80th Anniversary of the end of the War in Europe.”
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