Carl Fredrik Nils Mesterton (16 September 1888 – 10 November 1962) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

officer who became known as the military commander on the scene at the

Ådalen shootings The Ådalen shootings () was a series of events in and around the sawmill district of Ådalen, Kramfors Municipality, Ångermanland, Sweden, in May 1931. During a protest on 14 May, five people were killed by Swedish Army troops Military aid to ...

in Sweden on 14 May 1931.

Personal background

Nils Mesterton was born 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 ...

as the third son and fourth child of lieutenant Carl Daniel Mesterton and Ebba von Redlich, daughter of the

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consul-general in Stockholm. His grandfather was the doctor Carl Benedict Mesterton. Mesterton's father died in 1889, and in 1899 his mother married the poet

Oscar Levertin Oscar Ivar Levertin (17 July 1862, Norrköping – 22 September 1906) was a Swedish poet, critic and literary historian. Levertin was a dominant voice of the Swedish cultural scene from 1897, when he started writing influential high-profile essay ...

, who became Mesterton's stepfather. Following his upper-secondary final examination, Mesterton was trained as a reserve

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the

. He also finished a government administration examination and studied

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

at the university. Thereafter, he worked some time at a bank office. He later became an officer at the

Västernorrland Regiment The Västernorrland Regiment (), designation I 21, is a Swedish Army infantry unit which operated in various forms the years 1869–1983, 1991–2000 and from 2022. It is located in Sollefteå Garrison in Sollefteå with a detachment in Östersun ...

(I 21) in Sollefteå, Ångermanland.

Ådalen shootings

On 14 May 1931 in Lunde,

Västernorrland County Västernorrland County () is a county ('' län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name ''Västernorrland'' means "Western Norrland", as it was in the ...

, a demonstration was taking place between striking workers and strikebreakers when rioting broke out, and military troops from the Västernorrland Regiment were called in to maintain order. Captain Mesterton was the leader of the military unit. Protesters started to throw stones at the troops, and tried to enter the area where the

strikebreaker A strikebreaker (sometimes pejoratively called a scab, blackleg, bootlicker, blackguard or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers may be current employees ( union members or not), or new hires to keep the orga ...

s were located. The troops opened fire, and five people, of them four protesters and one bystander, were killed.

Aftermath

For his role in the shootings, Mesterton was tried by a

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

Sollefteå Sollefteå () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Sollefteå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. History The earliest written account on Sollefteå is found in a script dating back to 1270. During this time the name ...

which sentenced him to eight days in custody without surveillance. Several of the protesters were tried in a civilian court and received harsh prison sentences. After the Ådalen riots, Mesterton became the target of much of the protestors' anger. He was commonly referred to in the Swedish socialist press as the "murderer from Lunde". Mesterton himself is said to have taken the incident very hard and became a broken man. In 1950, Mesterton became lieutenant colonel in Västernorrland Regiment's reserve.

Personal life

In 1934 he married a widow. Mesterton died on 10 November 1962 in

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, Sweden and was buried at Karlslund's Cemetery in Nora.

Awards and decorations

*Knight 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mesterton, Nils 1888 births 1962 deaths Military personnel from Stockholm Swedish Army colonels Knights of the Order of the Sword Swedish people of Scottish descent People who were court-martialed