The Shetland Bus, comprising a fleet of small fishing cutters, rescued refugees from the Nazis and provided the Norwegian Resistance with secret agents, instructors and weapons for clandestine sabotage and raids
First Voyage of the Shetland Bus in Freezing Arctic Winter
The operation was so hazardous that it could take place safely only under cover of the perpetual darkness that prevailed over the North Sea during the Arctic winter
The first voyage of the Shetland Bus began on August 30, 1941, when the Aksel left the Shetlands bound for Norway. The crew’s task was to land an agent at Bergen in southwest Norway
Great care was taken to equip the agent so that nothing about him betrayed the fact that he came from the Shetlands rather than a port close to Bergen whose registration number had been specially forged on Aksel’s bows
Supplying the Norwegian Resistance
Despite delays due to foul weather off the Norwegian coast, the inaugural voyage was a success and it was followed by many more. Agents were landed in Norway and afterwards picked up, Resistance fighters took delivery of supplies to keep up the fight against the Nazis, and refugees fleeing danger were embarked
But it was in the nature of the Shetland Bus enterprise that the Germans would one day intervene and that boats, crews and cargoes would fall into their hands
Caught by the Gestapo
This is what happened after the Olaf sailed for Telavag, a fishing village 24 miles southwest of Bergen on April 17 1942. The Olaf was carrying two agents who were landed safely but before long, the German Gestapo learned that they were in hiding in Telavag
On April 26, the Gestapo arrived in the village to arrest the two agents. In the gun battle that ensued, one agent was shot dead and two high-ranking Gestapo officers also died
German revenge was terrible. The villagers of Telavag were rounded up and their homes and all other buildings were destroyed. Seventy-two men were sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany. Thirty-one of them died there. The rest of Telavag’s male population was executed and the women and children were interned
Death on the Shetland Bus
Despite the cover of intense winter darkness, several Shetland Bus boats were attacked by Luftwaffe aircraft or German motor torpedo boats on patrol along the Norwegian coast. As a result, forty-four Norwegians were killed while on missions for the Shetland Bus. Others were captured and imprisoned or tortured and executed
The North Sea caused its own share of death and disaster. On November 14, 1941, the Blia was on its way to the Shetlands with 35 refugees on board when it was caught in a hurricane. The boat was swamped and everyone, passengers and seven-man crew, died in the raging sea. In January 1943, the entire crew of the Bodo perished when their boat hit a mine off the Scottish coast
The Shetland Bus, a Lifeline to Freedom
By the time the War in Europe ended on May 8, 1945 the Shetland Bus had transported 192 agents and some 390 tons of arms, armaments and supplies to Norway and had taken 373 refugees back to safety in Britain
In this context, the Shetland Bus took on a significance that boosted the morale of the beleauguered Norwegians. Taking the Shetland Bus came to mean a lifeline to freedom in Britain
And for those who remained under occupation in Norway, it provided welcome reassurance that, though the way there might be perilous, unconquered Europe was not that far away
Sources
Howarth, David, The Shetland Bus: A WWII Epic of Escape, Survival, and Adventure. Guilford, Connecticut, The Lyons Press, 2008) ISBN-10: 1599213214/ISBN-13: 978-1599213217
Sorvaag, Trygve, Shetland Bus: Faces and Places 60 Years on (Lerwick, Shetland Isles, Shetland Times Ltd., 2005) ISBN-10: 189885288X/ ISBN-13: 978-1898852889
Website:The Shetland Bus
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