Senior Colonel Björn Engwall (24 September 1917 – 24 June 2005) was a

Swedish Coastal Artillery The Swedish Coastal Artillery () has its origin in the Archipelago Artillery that was raised in 1866. The Coastal Artillery was formed from the Archipelago Artillery, the Marine Regiment and parts of the Artillery in 1902. Kustartilleriet, abbr ...

officer. He served as commanding officer of Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment in

Vaxholm Vaxholm is a city, urban area and the seat of Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It occupies the islands of Vaxön and Kullö in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Fortress, which was constructed in 154 ...

from 1967 to 1969 and as Defence District Commander of Karlskrona Defence District and commanding officer of Blekinge Coastal Artillery Defence in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...

from 1969 to 1977.

Early life

Engwall was born on 24 September 1917 in in

Gävle Gävle ( ; ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 79,004 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the List of cities in Sweden, 13th-most-populated city in Sweden. I ...

, Sweden, the son of Knut Emil Engwall, a civil engineer, and his wife Emy (née Cedergren). Engwall passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...

'' at Norra Real in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 1937 and then did military service in Kronoberg Regiment in

Växjö Växjö () is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 71,282 inhabitants (2020) out of a Municipalities of Sweden, municipal population of 97,349 (2024). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial ce ...

Career

Engwall chose to transfer to the

, where he was accepted as a cadet in 1939 an enrolled in

. At the Royal Swedish Naval Academy he attended the same class as future Senior Colonel and the industrialist . Engwall graduated in 1942 and was commissioned in to the Swedish Coastal Artillery as a second lieutenant. Engwall was assigned to the motorized artillery units that were being established at the time. He also had a six-month assignment at the Swedish Army Vehicle School (''Arméns motorskola'', MotorS). After his service with 15 cm artillery batteries in

Karlskrona Coastal Artillery Regiment The Karlskrona Coastal Artillery Regiment (), designation KA 2, was a Swedish Navy coastal artillery regiment of the Swedish Armed Forces which operated between 1902 and 2000. The unit was based in Karlskrona. History Formation of Swedish Coasta ...

, he served with 21 cm Kanone 39 artillery batteries in Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1944 and to captain in 1949. Engwall attended the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College's staff and artillery courses from 1950 to 1951 and served as a teacher of artillery at the Royal Swedish Naval Academy from 1958 to 1959. Engwall served as chief of staff of the in

Härnösand Härnösand () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Härnösand Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 25,012 inhabitants in 2023. It is called "the gate to the High Coast" because of the world heritage landscape just ...

from 1959 to 1962 and was promoted to major in 1960. In 1962, Engwall was promoted to lieutenant colonel and then served as chief of staff of the Coastal Artillery Inspectorate (''Kustartilleriinspektionen'') until 1963. From 1963 to 1967, he was the head of the Swedish Coast Artillery School (''Kustartilleriets skjutskola'') and was promoted to colonel in 1964. From 1967 to 1969, Engwall served as the commanding officer of the Vaxholm Coastal Artillery Regiment. In 1969, he was promoted to senior colonel and served from 1969 to 1977 as Defence District Commander of Karlskrona Defence District and commander of . Engwall retired in 1977.

Personal life

In 1942, Engwall married Vera Hansson (1918–1975), the daughter of accountant John Hansson and Anna-Lisa (née Enberg). They had one daughter, Ylva (born 1949). In 1976 he married Maj Folkeson (born 1920), the daughter of merchant Folke Pettersson and Olga (née Wijnbladh). Engwall lived in a house in Holmsjö, north of

Blekinge Blekinge () is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second-smallest provin ...

until his first wife's death. He then lived in

with his second wife, until his death in 2005.

Death

Engwall died on 24 June 2005 in in

, Sweden.

Dates of rank

*1942 – Second lieutenant *1944 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

*1949 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

*1960 –

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

*1962 – Lieutenant colonel *1964 –

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

*1969 –

Senior colonel __NOTOC__ Senior colonel is an officer rank usually placed between a regular colonel and a British brigadier or American brigadier general. Use Most western militaries tend to equate a senior colonel as being on the level of a "brigadier general ...

Awards and decorations

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

(1971) *

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

(6 June 1968) * Order_of_the_Sword_-_Ribbon_bar

Knight of the

(1960)

Honours

*Member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1971)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Engwall, Bjorn 1917 births 2005 deaths Swedish colonels Swedish Coastal Artillery officers People from Gävle Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Engwall family