What Is The Liberation Convoy and why is it sailing to Scotland?

Why is a Norwegian World War Two convoy sailing to Scotland? And what’s James Bond’s link?

During WWII, the Shetland Bus - a lifeline of Norwegian fishing boats and submarine chasers - smuggled agents, refugees, and supplies between Shetland and Nazi-occupied Norway. Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, helped orchestrate these perilous missions.

Now, to mark 80 years of peace, a flotilla of four historic boats and a ship (the Liberation Convoy) will voyage from Bergen to Scotland. The focal point? A VE Day ceremony on 8 May in Lerwick, Shetland, honouring wartime heroes and Norway’s gratitude to Shetland, Scotland and Britain. Two vessels, S/S Hestmanden and M/K Erkna, will then carry on to Orkney, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Newcastle to illuminate the story of Norway’s heroic war sailors, some 4,500 of whom lost their lives.

This barely scratches the surface of the story. If you’d like to learn more about the Shetland Bus which was a joint Norwegian-British operationand the Convoy’s route, click the links. As the world faces renewed turbulence, it's an important time to celebrate peace, strengthen ties and reflect on the lessons of the past. Please get in touch so we can tell you the whole story, and help connect you with historians, sailors’ descendants, captains of the Convoy, ambassadors from both the UK and Norway, and the Royal Norwegian Navy. We can also arrange access to the vessels in Bergen, Lerwick, Kirkwall, Aberdeen, Edinburg and Newcastle.

Lerwick, the capital of Shetland in Scotland

A peacetime convoy of former World War II vessels will cross the North Sea in May to celebrate unsung British and Norwegian heroes, as Europe commemorates the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

The flotilla is made up of historic fishing boats and a merchant ship. These were used to smuggle special forces soldiers, secret agents and freedom fighters from Shetland to Norway, along with explosives, weapons and radios for the resistance movement. On their return journeys, they brought back refugees and soldiers fleeing Nazi-occupied Norway.

The perilous route, which risked the constant threat of discovery by German submarines and planes, was famously dubbed ‘the Shetland Bus’ by the fearless sailors who navigated it, and the British soldiers who took part in the operation.

Commemorating their bravery, many of the small boats originally used during WWII, have been brought together again to take part in The Liberation Convoy.

MK Andholmen, was one of the vessels used for missions to Shetland, as well as Orkney and mainland Scotland. “Ordinary Norwegians were trained as special forces soldiers in both England and Scotland,” said Per Ola Holm, the current skipper of MK Andholmen. “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.”

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.”

Another vessel from the group, the merchant ship D/S Hestmanden, served as part of the Norwegian merchant fleet, which operated from the UK throughout WWII and helped secure supplies of medicine, food and fuel, as well as ammunition and weapons to aid the Allies’ resistance.

“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,” said Norwegian historian Ragnhild Bie, whose two grandfathers were both war sailors.

“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,” added Bie, who is serving as crew onboard Hestmanden, which has been turned into a floating war sailors museum.

The Liberation Convoy will cross from Bergen in Norway to Lerwick in the Shetland Islands for VE Day ceremonies on 8 May, before it branches out to ports across the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands, Scotland and England.

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.

Contact:
Bob Kerr, Communications officer, Shetland Islands Council, Lerwick
+44 (0) 1595 744535
bob.kerr@shetland.gov.uk

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