Little Norway in Autumn

LITTLE NORWAY

Last year (2018), we attended a presentation by the author of the book “Exile Air” explaining the history of Little Norway in Canada. We have seen the monument near the ferry to Toronto Island Airport, but visited the memorial in Muskoka last week (October 2019) for the first time.
In 2018 while on the Hurtigruten cruise, my brother Graham and I visited the aviation museum in Bodo in north-western Norway. We were delighted to see that they had a large area devoted to Little Norway.

In October, 2019, Pat and I made a quick decision to visit the memorial at the Muskoka airport between Bracebridge and Gravenhurst, Ontario. It is an impressive tribute to the courage and determination of Norwegians who fought against the Nazi tyranny in World War Two.

The history begins at the outset of the war. Initially, Hitler did not wish to invade the Scandinavian countries, but the German navy was concerned about protecting their ships and U-boats that were attacking the convoys delivering war materials to Russia. Hence, in April, 1940, Germany began the occupation of this peaceful sovereign country.

Many of the young men decided to escape to other countries in order to join the war effort. These brave souls sailed across the North Sea by boat – a very dangerous voyage due to heavy weather and German patrol boats. Others took a somewhat safer route crossing the border into Sweden, then on to Spain and South America and up to Canada in order to train as aircrew.

It is important to realize that funding in full was provided by the Norwegian merchant marine.
The first base was built on the island which is now Toronto Island Airport. However, there were some problems with this location. Many Toronto residents claimed that the air traffic was a risk to the city. In fact, there were accidents. For example, one of the training aircraft crashed into a ferry. Of perhaps more importance, the young aircrew trainees were having too much fun exploring the bars and dating the local girls. As a result, the base was moved to the Muskoka airport where the authorities thought that the men would live a life of physical fitness in the great Canadian outdoors.

However, the smitten young women discovered that there was a train that ran to Bracebridge and Gravenhurst every Friday, the so-called (and appropriately known) “Passion Express.” In fact many of the Norwegians married local women. Sadly, a number of the wives were widowed due to training accidents. Some of the ladies later moved to Norway to be with their husbands and some of the men moved back to Canada after the end of hostilities.

It should be mentioned that further training for many of the pilots was provided at bases such as Moose Jaw and Medicine Hat (34 Service Flying Training School) and other operational training units. More than 3000 aircrew and ground crew were trained here in Canada.

Among those pilots was John (sic) Jangaard, who was a relative of ours. We visited him in London and he and his family visited us in Farnborough when I was doing post-doctoral training at the Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine in 1974. He had flown spitfires in one of the RAF Norwegian squadrons (330,331 or 332). Following the war, he settled in London and became a fishmonger – he was, in fact, certified as Fishmonger to the Queen Mother.

On October 16 (2019) the weather forecast looked very good, so Pat and I decided to drive through Algonquin Park to visit the Harkness Fisheries Research Center (named after my great uncle, William Harkness) and then on to Bracebridge. The following morning we drove the short distance to Little Norway.

It should be mentioned that further training for many of the pilots was provided at bases such as Moose Jaw and Medicine Hat (34 Service Flying Training School) and other operational training units. More than 3000 aircrew and ground crew were trained here in Canada.

Among those pilots was John (sic) Jangaard, who was a relative of ours. We visited him in London and he and his family visited us in Farnborough when I was doing post-doctoral training at the Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine in 1974. He had flown spitfires in one of the RAF Norwegian squadrons (330,331 or 332). Following the war, he settled in London and became a fishmonger – he was, in fact, certified as Fishmonger to the Queen Mother.

On October 16 (2019) the weather forecast looked very good, so Pat and I decided to drive through Algonquin Park to visit the Harkness Fisheries Research Center (named after my great uncle, William Harkness) and then on to Bracebridge. The following morning we drove the short distance to Little Norway.

What a pleasant surprise it was! The memorial itself is located in the terminal building. There was a Norwegian flag flying above the terminal and several plaques and monuments outside. Inside there were many photos and memorabilia occupying the major part of the passenger area (there are a couple of scheduled flights per day). We were greeted by a well-dressed gentleman who asked us if we were there for the ceremony that was to occur in three hours. It turned out that he was an assistant to the Norwegian Ambassador who was arriving shortly with a general officer from the Royal Norwegian Air Force. There was to be a wreath laying just after noon.

We spent about two hours perusing the collections pertaining to Little Norway before we had to leave. One lesson that we learned was that we should have packed some more formal clothing with us as we were invited to join the large crowd that was assembling. One of the persons that we met was the daughter of one of the senior training officers, John Stene, who earned the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross).

Olaf and John Stene's Daughter

It was wonderful to see the flag flying over the terminal, to read the various plaques, and to study the photos of the crews and aircraft. I had previously made a model of Rolf Arne Berg’s (RAB) spitfire and found a photo of the original aircraft on the wall that was dedicated to the Norwegian fighter aces.

We are indeed proud of our Norwegian heritage! 

By the way, the autumn colors were spectacular!