Monument will honour British soldiers who helped liberate Norway
18 Jan 10
A new monument to honour the British Royal Engineers who helped liberate Norway from the Nazis in 1945 is being built at Rock Barracks, Woodbridge Airfield, Suffolk, by a Norwegian architect.
Captain Marty Willson, Royal Engineers, the officer-in-charge of the erection of the memorial, receives the first of the stones for the base of the memorial
[Picture: Cpl Rupert Frere RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
The monument's foundation will be made from 'Hitler's Stone', originally quarried during World War Two for use in a monument to Germany's victory over Norway. Now those stones are to have a permanent home in Suffolk.
Rock Barracks is the home of 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault), the Army's airborne Royal Engineers. Soldiers from their antecedent units were instrumental in the liberation of Norway in 1945 and, once the war was won, were helped by a young 18-year-old man named Leif Johannessen.
Mr Johannessen, now 82, trained as an architect and never forgot the contribution made by British Royal Engineers, known as Sappers.
Mr Johannessen said:
"This monument is a gift to say thank you and honour the British soldiers who helped liberate my country. The boys who came to Norway in 1945 were from the Airborne Division with the Pegasus badge on their arm and it became a favourite symbol of mine and I'm very proud to have been in contact with these boys."
The stones have already arrived at Rock Barracks. The remainder of the monument is due to arrive and be unveiled sometime in the spring at a ceremony to be attended by Mr Johannessen and other Norwegian dignitaries.
Captain Marty Willson, Royal Engineers, studying the stones originally cut to commemorate Hitler's victory which will comprise a new memorial to honour the British soldiers who helped liberate Norway in 1945
[Picture: Cpl Rupert Frere RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
The monument will be approximately five metres tall. At the top will be a Pegasus statue, stood on top of parachute wings as used by The Parachute Regiment. This will stand atop a mast, itself on a base, with the stones around the base.
The Commanding Officer of 23 Engineer Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Dave Wilson, said:
"A number of years ago Mr Johannessen started work on a project to give official thanks to the UK Airborne Engineers for their part in securing Norway's freedom.
"Over the past two years Mr Johannessen has designed and built a bespoke war memorial in commemoration of the allies', in particular the Airborne Sappers', involvement in the liberation of Norway during World War Two.
"Mr Johannessen also secured agreement from the Norwegian Government to use some of 'Hitler's Stone', quarried on specific orders from Hitler for transportation to Berlin, destined for a monument to celebrate Germany's victory over Norway.
"The quarry has been a listed Norwegian conservation area since the war, with the stones protected by Norwegian law. These same stones will now form the foundation for the memorial. Mr Johannessen also gained authority for some of the sheet steelwork on the memorial to be cut directly from the side of the Tirpitz, a wrecked German battleship, again with Norwegian governmental approval.
The foundation for the new memorial will be made from stones originally quarried during World War Two for use in a monument to Germany's victory over Norway
[Picture: Cpl Rupert Frere RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
"The regiment is very proud and honoured to be the recipients of this commemorative memorial."
In November 1942, volunteer Airborne Sappers from 9th (Airborne) Field Company Royal Engineers (RE) and 261 (Airborne) Field Park Company RE, under command of Major I D Irvine RE (Officer Commanding) and Captain J N Chivers RE (Second-in-Command), formed part of the glider-borne component on Operation FRESHMAN.
Their aim was to disrupt German experiments on the production of an atomic bomb and destroy the heavy water installation at Vermork, 80km west of Oslo. The operation failed and those captured were executed.
In May 1945, Major Chivers, by now Officer Commanding of 261 (Airborne) Field Park Company RE, returned to Norway as part of the Allied force to retake and liberate Oslo - known as Operation DOOMSDAY.
After the capitulation of German forces on 8 May 1945 he acted as the intermediary between the British, Norwegian and German forces at the German surrender in the capital - Major Chivers's 18-year-old assistant through much of this period was Leif Johannessen.