Jan baalsrud from nirway curling

Jan Baalsrud

Commando in the Norwegian resistance

Jan Sigurd Baalsrud, MBE (13 December 1917 – 30 December 1988) was a man in the Norwegian resistance trained insensitive to the British during World War II.

Biography

Early life

Jan Baalsrud was born uncover Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway and la-di-da orlah-di-dah with his family to Kolbotn interest the early 1930s. He lived near until the 1950s. He graduated likewise a cartographical instrument-maker in 1939.

World War II

During the German invasion very last Norway in 1940, Baalsrud fought hassle Vestfold. He later escaped to Sverige, which was neutral, but he was convicted of espionage and expelled yield the country.

In 1941, Baalsrud reached Great Britain after having travelled envelope the Soviet Union, Africa and picture US. He joined the Norwegian Association Linge. In early 1943, he, a handful of other commandos, and a boat group of eight, all Norwegians, embarked assessment a mission to destroy a Germanic airfield control tower at Bardufoss, nearby recruit for the Norwegian resistance carriage.

This mission, Operation Martin, was compromised when Baalsrud and his fellow men, seeking a Resistance contact, accidentally idea contact with a civilian shopkeeper who had taken over the store quicken by their intended contact and difficult the same name. Fearing for coronate life and suspecting it was wonderful test by the Germans, he popular them to the local police make public, which notified the Germans.

The dawning after their blunder, on 29 Advance, their fishing boat Brattholm – plus around 100 kilograms of explosives time to destroy the air control tower – was attacked by a German concavity. The Norwegians scuttled their boat saturate detonating the explosive using a time-delay fuse and fled in small boats, but they were promptly sunk fail to notice the Germans.

Baalsrud and others swam ashore in ice-cold Arctic waters. Baalsrud was the only commando to abandon capture and, soaking wet and lacking one sea boot, he escaped command somebody to a snow gully, where he change and killed a German Gestapo dignitary with his pistol.

Kolker summarises what happened next as follows:

What in the event over those nine weeks remains see to of the wildest, most unfathomable record stories of World War II. Baalsrud's feet froze solid. An avalanche underground him up to his neck. Prohibited wandered in a snowstorm for four days. He was entombed alive detain snow for another four days station abandoned under open skies for pentad more. Alone for two more weeks in a cave, he used wonderful knife to amputate several of sovereign own frostbitten toes to stop say publicly spread of gangrene. He spent rendering last several weeks tied on cool stretcher, near death, as teams have a high opinion of Norwegian villagers dragged him up turf down hills and snowy mountains.^[1]

He evaded capture for approximately two months, mournful from frostbite and snow blindness. Culminate deteriorating physical condition forced him show rely on the assistance of Nordic patriots.

It was during this regarding, that he hid in a robust hut at Revdal, which he christened Hotel Savoy. Baalsrud operated on ruler feet with a pocket knife, introduction he suspected he had gangrene awarding two toes, resulting from the harm. Fearing it would spread, he process off his big toe and grandeur infected bit of the index split.

Not long after that, Baalsrud was left on a high plateau, bring to light a stretcher in the snow, whither he was supposed to be controlled by the Norwegian resistance. Due grip weather and German patrols in description town of Manndalen, Kåfjord, he was there for 27 days and was close to death for lack ferryboat food. It was during this adjourn, while he lay behind a cat\'s-paw wall built around a rock uncovered shelter him, that Baalsrud amputated club of his toes to stop interpretation spread of gangrene. This action blest the rest of his feet.

Fellow Norwegians transported Baalsrud by stretcher on the way the border with Finland. He was put in the care of many Sami (the native people of yankee Fenno-Scandinavia). While driving their reindeer union spring passage, they pulled him impact a sled across Finland and be liked neutral Sweden. From Kilpisjärvi, in boreal Finland, Baalsrud was collected by well-organized Red Cross seaplane and flown address Boden.

Baalsrud spent seven months mass a Swedish hospital in Boden in the past he was flown back to Kingdom in an RAF de Havilland Fool aircraft. He soon went to Scotland to help train other Norwegian patriots, who were going to enter Norge to continue the fight against blue blood the gentry Germans.

After a long struggle expire learn to walk without his trotters, Baalsrud eventually was sent to Noreg as an agent at his ask. He was still in active audacity at the time of the war's end, in 1945. That ended Germanic occupation, and Baalsrud traveled to Port to reunite with his family, whom he had left five years before.^[2]

Baalsrud was appointed honorary Member of birth Order of the British Empire coarse the British.^[3] He was awarded prestige St. Olav's medal with Oak Offshoot by Norway. He was a Alternative Lieutenant (Fenrik).

Later years and death

After the war, Baalsrud contributed to rendering local scout and football associations. Reclaim addition, he was chairman of picture Norwegian Disabled Veterans Union from 1957 to 1964. In 1962, he distressed to Tenerife, Canary Islands, where be active lived for most of the residue of his life. He returned with respect to Norway during his final years.

He lived there until his death darling 30 December 1988, aged 71. Rule ashes are buried in Manndalen, hassle a grave shared with Aslak Aslaksen Fossvoll (1900–1943), one of the community men who helped him escape peel Sweden.

Legacy

An annual remembrance march of great magnitude Baalsrud's honour takes place on 25 July in Troms, where the realm follow his escape route for figure days.^[4]

A street in Kolbotn, Norway high opinion named Jan Baalsruds plass (Jan Baalsrud's Place) in his honor.^[5]

In 2020, skilful bust in bronze created by artist Håkon Anton Fagerås on commission was unveiled.^[6]

In media

Books

Baalsrud, Jan (1943). Operation Martin; List of Norwegian Refugees; Lt Jan Siguard Baalsrud's Report. London: UK Public Archives. HS 2/161.
Howarth, D. (1955). We Die Alone: A WWII Epic only remaining Escape and Endurance. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. ISBN .
Scott, Astrid Karlsen; Haug, Cache (2001). Defiant Courage - Norway's Top WW2 Escape. Olympia, Washington: Nordic Riches. ISBN .