Einar Skinnarland DCM (27 April 1918 – 5 December 2002) was a Norwegian resistance fighter during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Life and career

Einar Skinnarland was born in

Vinje Vinje is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark which is part of Øvre Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Åmot. Other villages in the muni ...

, in

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

county, Norway. Skinnarland graduated from Telemark Engineering College in

Porsgrunn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Porsgrunn (town), city ...

. Skinnarland worked at the

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around th ...

plant at the Vemork hydroelectric plant, and decided to escape to the UK to help the war effort. He reached Aberdeen with the hijacked coastal steamer ''Galtesund'' in 1942, and was soon enrolled as a member of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 () under the SOE. He participated as a wireless operator in the

Norwegian heavy water sabotage The Norwegian heavy water sabotage (; ) was a series of Allied-led efforts to halt German heavy water (deuterium) production via hydroelectric plants in Nazi Germany-occupied Norway during World War II, involving both Norwegian commandos and Al ...

at the Vemork hydroelectric plant, site of the heavy water production at Rjukan Falls in Telemark. He was the first agent to be sent to

Rjukan Rjukan () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Tinn Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of Tinn Municipality. The town is located in the Vestfjorddalen valley, between the lakes Møsvatn ...

, dropped on the

Hardangervidda Hardangervidda () is a mountain plateau ( Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Telemark, and Buskerud counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate, and o ...

on 28 March 1942. He had lived near the factory almost all of his life. His brothers and several of his friends also worked at the factory. Skinnarland moved to Toronto in Canada in 1965 and helped build some of the world's largest dams.

Legacy

In the 1948 film '' Kampen om tungtvannet'', his character was played by

Henki Kolstad Henki Kolstad (3 February 1915 – 14 July 2008) was a Norway, Norwegian actor and pop-cultural national treasure. With his debut at the National_Theatre_(Oslo), Oslo national theater, he was known for his appearances in ''Olsenbanden'', the child ...

Awards

Einar Skinnarland was highly decorated for his wartime achievements. * War Cross with sword *

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military ...

* Medal of Freedom * Croix de Guerre avec palme

References

External links

Obituary : Einar Skinnarland, A real-life Hero of Telemark
''The Globe and Mail'', 5 February 2003 1918 births 2002 deaths People from Vinje Norwegian resistance members Norwegian military personnel of World War II Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) Norwegian emigrants to Canada {{World-War-II-bio-stub