Gregers Winther Wulfsberg Gram (15 December 1917 – 13 November 1944) was a Norwegian resistance fighter and saboteur. A

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

and later second lieutenant in the Norwegian Independent Company 1 () 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 ...

, he was killed in 1944.

Early life

Gregers Gram was born in Vestre Aker in 1917 as the son of Harald Gram, later known as

stipendiary magistrate Stipendiary magistrates were magistrates that were paid for their work (they received a stipend). They existed in the judiciaries of the United Kingdom and those of several former British territories, where they sat in the lowest-level criminal ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. He was named after his paternal grandfather Gregers Winther Wulfsberg Gram, who served as Norwegian Prime Minister in Stockholm and County Governor of Hedmark. Gram did not pass his examen artium at the first try, but later enrolled at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

to study law.

Second World War

When German troops invaded Norway on 9 April 1940, Gregers Gram became active in the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

. After serving as a soldier in the early battles following the German invasion, he soon became involved in propaganda activity and the illegal press, he had to flee from Norway in 1941. After arriving in Great Britain, he was recruited by the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

and received military training with Norwegian Independent Company 1. He was paradropped into Norway together with Max Manus on 12 March 1943, and the two carried out a successful sabotage mission, Operation Mardonius, which resulted in the sinking of two ships and damage to a third on 28 April, despite the fact it was a very light night, and water conditions were such that the canoes generated a very visible

phosphorescence Phosphorescence is a type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. When exposed to light (radiation) of a shorter wavelength, a phosphorescent substance will glow, absorbing the light and reemitting it at a longer wavelength. Unlike fluor ...

in their wake. Gram and Manus returned to the United Kingdom, where they stayed until October 1943. Gram was awarded the British

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

as a result of his participation in the operation, the recommendation for the award describes how Manus became ill with pneumonia shortly after they arrived in Norway, meaning that Gram had to undertake much of the organisation on the ground, and also nursing Manus during his recovery. Gram was also decorated with Norway's War Cross with sword in summer 1943, presented to him by King Haakon at a ceremony at the training school STS 26 in Scotland, near

Nethy Bridge Nethy Bridge ( or ') is a small village in Strathspey in the Highland council area of Scotland. The village lies south of Grantown-on-Spey within the historical parish of Abernethy and Kincardine, and the Cairngorms National Park. History O ...

. In addition to Gram, Manus, and Rønneberg and Poulsson from the Rjukan missions, also received the War Cross with sword at this ceremony. Present were Crown Prince Olav,

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Oscar Torp, and Chief of Defence of Norway General von Tangen Hansteen. In October 1943, Gram (along with Manus, Einar Juvén and C.F. Wiborg) returned to Norway to perform a second operation, known as Bundle, targeting German ships. Other sabotage missions followed, coordinated within Oslogjengen, Milorg's sabotage group in Oslo led by Gunnar Sønsteby. Parallel to his saboteur activity, Gram continued his involvement with propaganda, including the black propaganda Operation Derby directed towards German soldiers. In particular he was involved in an attack organised by Sønsteby which destroyed German records about the Norwegian workforce, and his attack on an oil storage depot. Gram was killed on 13 November 1944 in an ambush in the PlassKafeen café in Grünerløkka in Oslo. Together with fellow resistance member Edvard Tallaksen, Gram went to a meeting with fake Nazi deserters. Shooting ensued, and Gram was killed at the hands of

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

. His father Harald Gram, who was also involved in the resistance movement, survived the war.

Legacy

At the time of his death, the process of recommending Gram for the British

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

was already under way (this medal was not generally awarded posthumously at the time). The recommendation particularly mentions the successful sinking of a German patrol vessel in Oslo harbour in February 1944, and the daring, but unsuccessful, daylight attack on the troopship ''Monte Rosa''. His Military Medal was presented to his father on 7 February 1945 by Sir Victor Mallet, who was then head of the British

Legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

in Stockholm. To commemorate Gram a bust was erected near Njårdhallen, in the

Ullern Ullern is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Old Norse language, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The l ...

borough of Oslo, in 1994. The road ''Gregers Grams vei'' in Oslo has been named after him. In 2008 he was portrayed in the Norwegian film '' Max Manus'' by actor Nicolai Cleve Broch.

References

External links

Family genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gram, Gregers 1917 births 1944 deaths Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian military personnel killed in World War II Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany Norwegian resistance members Military personnel from Oslo Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel World War II resistance press activists Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) Recipients of the Military Cross Recipients of the Military Medal Deaths by firearm in Norway