Author: Rebecca Penfold, Assistant Curator

In April 1939, Germany offered a non-aggression pact with Norway and other Nordic countries, but the Norwegians decided not to sign this agreement. During the period from 9 April to 10 June 1940, Norway and Denmark were attacked by Germany and were occupied from June 1940 until the end of World War II.

With Germany occupying Norway in the 1940s, several Norwegian men fled to Iceland, where they were part of the Allied occupation to prevent a German takeover. According to Arctic War: Norway’s role on the Northern Front, a booklet published in London in 1945, by His Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO) on behalf of the Royal Norwegian Government Information Office, there were twelve men who said, “We will form a Norwegian Army of our own” rather than become a part of the British Army. They became ski instructors and performed odd jobs in Reykjavik. Forming on 5 August 1940, they called themselves the Norwegian Company, Iceland. These soldiers helped the British Military understand the arctic elements they were now in. The Norwegian military continues to utilise training exercises and equipment tests in arctic climates at Camp Viking in Øverbygd to this day.

1 LAD Attached 1st Airlanding Brigade, which pictures J Buttery in the back row who was in Norway with 1st Airlanding Brigade in 1945. E:03.0244.03.

The REME War Report from June 1944 to May 1945 explains that “On 8th May 1945 the German High Command surrendered all their remaining land, sea and air forces unconditionally to the Allies, thus giving up their conquered territories of Denmark, Norway and the Channel Islands without a battle.” With the end of the war in Europe, the 1st Airborne Division took part in Operation Doomsday in Norway. REME were a part of the Allied forces that helped to liberate the Norwegian people. As part of this operation, they acted as a police and military force during the Allied occupation of Norway in May 1945. They were tasked with the disarmament and repatriation of the German occupation army as well as supervising the surrender of the German forces in Norway, preventing the sabotage of military and civilian facilities. This video of the British Parade in Norway, 1945 from British Pathé shows the breadth of Norway’s welcome of Britain.

The museum recently received items donated from a REME soldier’s deployment to Norway after the occupation of Scandinavia. Among these were newspapers created by British troops, titled ‘Skål!’ (Cheers!), described as a weekly publication for British personnel stationed in Kristiansand. Regular features included ‘News from home’, ‘At the flicks’, ‘Summary of world news’, and ‘The sportsmen’s log’, among others. William Roy Turner, the newspaper’s original owner, was discharged from the army in December 1945. The issue dated Friday, 20 July 1945, was produced just before he was sent home; in the margins, he noted, “I am a judge, tomorrow!” next to an athletics race to be held on the Sunday.

War diaries from June to November 1945 in our Archives explain what 1st Airborne Division Workshop REME were doing in Norway. In June 1945, it says that “the unit soccer team fulfilled several fixtures with Norwegian teams”.

The medals of John Bennett McRae in our collection. 2023.87.1.

Part of the record of service for John Bennett McRae, which we received during the donation of his medals, talks about him being a part of the 1st Airborne Division. McRae was re-mustered as a vehicle mechanic on 22 February 1945 and was then flown into Norway on 26 May 1945. The operational duties of the Division included welcoming back King Haakon, looking after Allied ex-prisoners of war, arresting war criminals and supervising the clearing of minefields.

Other jobs listed in the 1st Airborne Division Workshop REME war diaries explain that they were completing MT Repairs of both British and foreign makes, with many being ‘accident jobs’ in August 1945. The museum also has records that while in Norway, Lieutenant Alexander Jamieson Romanes was killed serving in the 1st Airborne Division. He died on 13 August 1945 and his grave is in Oslo Western Civil Cemetery, Norway. It was noted in one of our donations that he was killed in a traffic accident, although this is not found in any official records that we hold. Romanes’ grave is pictured on our Death in Service Database in the Remembrance Gallery of the museum.

The Liberation of Norway certificate awarded to Captain M W Munday. A:1984.2853.

At least two REME Soldiers that we know of received ‘The Liberation of Norway’ certificate from The People of Norway; Captain Maurice Wilfred Munday and J R Roberts signed in Oslo in December 1945. Roberts was a part of the 1st Airborne Division in Norway. This certificate of thanks was issued to British servicemen who participated in the liberation of Norway, 8 May 1945.

Although his service is not in our records, we do have the medals of Charles Joseph Douglas Calder, who was awarded the Arctic Emblem. The Defence Imagery website describes the first Arctic Emblems as being presented to veterans on 10 October 2006 as a mark of hardship on the Arctic Convoys in World War Two, specifically between 3 September 1939 and 8 May 1945. The emblem commemorates those who served in the Arctic in especially dangerous and extreme weather conditions against resistance from German forces. The Arctic Emblem was awarded for either serving in Russia or Norway.

Charles Joseph Douglas Calder’s medals including the Arctic Emblem. The Emblem is a small white star with a red dot and a blue ribbon with the words “The Arctic”. 2014.7078.

To end this potted history of REME and the British Military in Norway; a quote from our Archives from Fædrelandsvennen, a Norwegian regional newspaper based in Kristiansand, Norway, 27 August 1945, translated from Norwegian at the time:

“We are afraid that we Norwegians ourselves do not half realise what we owe our British friends: We have been too occupied, too full of joy over the liberation. We do not put the right valuation on all that we have to thank the English for. ”

Published in The Craftsman, February 2026.