Oluf Bernhard Reed-Olsen (8 July 1918 – 14 October 2002) was a Norwegian resistance member and pilot during

World War II 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 ...

. As a resistance member he is best known for the Lysaker Bridge sabotage as well as operating illegal radio transmitters. After the war he was a businessman and

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

leader. He wrote books and contributed to a film based on his war experience.

Early life

He was born in Aker. He grew up in Bestum and graduated from middle school at

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 ...

in 1934. He then took commerce school and took pilot education in the airline Widerøe's Flyveselskap.

World War II

Sabotage and escape

When

reached Norway with a German invasion on 9 April 1940, he started resistance work on the same day. On the night between 13 and 14 April he blew up the Lysaker Bridge together with Kåre Moe and Leif Moe. This sabotage had national-level repercussions, in that it contributed to the surfacing of the

Administrative Council Administrative Council () was a part of Council of State (Kingdom of Poland), Council of State of the Congress Poland. Introduced by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815, it was composed of 5 ministers, special nominees of the Tsar, Ki ...

on the next day. The Germans soon took control over Norway, and Reed-Olsen and Kåre Moe were sent to photograph and spy on German installations, most importantly at

Oslo Airport, Fornebu Oslo Airport, Fornebu was the primary international airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at ...

. Reed-Olsen had easier access around town because he had joined the civil firefighting squad of Furulund as a team leader and owned a motorbike. They were caught after breaking into a crashed aircraft at Fornebu. Although the Germans did not know the nature of their actions, they were apprehended and sent to Oslo. However, at Lysaker Bridge the lorry slowed down because of the bridge damage and the two escaped from the lorry, jumped into Lysakerelva, swam further down and eventually careered to their homes. The two fled Norway by boat from Bestumkilen on 2 September. Reed-Olsen bought the boat after selling his motorbike. They first sailed down the Norwegian coast and picked up a third man Rolf Gabrielsen whom they met in

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...

. They finally left for the United Kingdom from

Farsund is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Farsund (town ...

on 14 September. According to Reed-Olsen, they had almost reached the

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

district when the wind turned and brought them as far east as

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. After the wind turned again, they almost reached the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

, when on 29 September they were picked up by the British destroyer . After a diversion when the ship had to salvage crashed pilots (one of five was alive), the Norwegians set foot in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 4 October.

Air service and intelligence

They soon travelled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. They reported at the Norwegian recruiting office, spent one month in the city before leaving for Canada via Scotland, on the ocean liner SS ''Duchess of Richmond''. They reached

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and were drafted into the

Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service () was alongside the Norwegian Army Air Service the forerunner to the modern-day Royal Norwegian Air Force. History The RNNAS was established on 1 June 1912,Official Norwegian Defence Force websiteThe first ...

. They were stationed on the Norwegian steamship before the training camp Little Norway opened, and then about three months at Toronto Flying Club before finally going to Little Norway. Reed-Olsen graduated from the air force academy there in 1941. They then went on a fourteen-day boat trip from Halifax, Canada via England and Scotland to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

.Reed-Olsen, 1945: p. 158, 162–165 He served in the No. 330 Squadron RAF. From 1942 he underwent training in

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

and

parachuting Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

. On 20 April 1943 he was paradropped over

Eiker Eiker is a traditional district in the county of Buskerud, Norway. History Eiker consists of the municipalities of Nedre Eiker and Øvre Eiker. The area is located in the southern part of Buskerud county. Eiker is an agricultural area with a ...

, from whence he bicycled to

Southern Norway Southern Norway (; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical List of regions of Norway, region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function ...

. He performed intelligence radio broadcasts from the

Birkenes Birkenes is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Birkeland, where about half the municipal population lives. Other vill ...

district and elsewhere. He served the

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (MI numbers, Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of Human i ...

. In the autumn of 1943 he operated the radio station codenamed ''Meton'' in Lommedalen together with Hjelm Waage Thurn-Basberg, with whom he had worked in Southern Norway. ''Meton'' was one of nine illegal transmitters in

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

; four of these belonged to the Secret Intelligence Service. It was also transmitted from

Kolsås Kolsås (), sometimes called Kolsaas, is a hill in the municipality of Bærum, Norway. Geologically, Kolsås belongs to the Oslo Graben area. Its two peaks consist of hard rhomb porphyric lava covering softer rocks, forming steep cliffs to the ...

for a short time. Both Reed-Olsen and Thurn-Basberg fled to England via Sweden shortly thereafter. Reed-Olsen then had another stay in Norway before going to Canada again. In 1944 he married Joan Whiteside in

. Lastly, he went on a

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

tour in the United States for the post-war rebuilding of Norway. For his efforts he was decorated with the

War Cross With Sword The War Cross with Sword ( Norwegian Bokmål: ''Krigskorset med sverd, '' Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Krigskrossen med sverd'') is the highest ranking Norwegian gallantry decoration. It is awarded for extraordinary brave actions or extraordinary lead ...

and the Distinguished Service Cross.

Post-war life

After the war he worked for the

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) () is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximately 2,430 employees (officers, enlisted ...

(as a

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 ...

), then the civil companies Det Norske Luftfartsselskap and Norsk Brændselolje before becoming an independent businessman. He also dedicated himself to

, arranged summer camps at Håøya and was a board member of the

Norwegian Guide and Scout Association The Norwegian Guide and Scout Association (, NSF) is a Norwegian Scouting and Girl Guide and Girl Scout, Guiding association founded in its present form in 1978, when the ''Norwegian Boy Scout Organization'' (founded in 1911 and among the charter ...

. He chronicled his war experiences in the books ''Contact'' (1946, reissued 1983) and ''Vi kommer igjen'' (1953), (published in English as ''Two Eggs On My Plate''). The first book was made into the motion picture ''Kontakt'' in 1956, with Reed-Olsen contributing as a screenwriter and actor. He died in October 2002 in Oslo.

Honours and awards

War Cross with sword The War Cross with Sword ( Norwegian Bokmål: ''Krigskorset med sverd, '' Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Krigskrossen med sverd'') is the highest ranking Norwegian gallantry decoration. It is awarded for extraordinary brave actions or extraordinary lead ...

(1944) * Norwegian War Medal *

Defence Medal 1940–1945 The Defence Medal 1940–1945 () is the award rewarded to those military and civilian personnel who participated in the fight against the German invasion and occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The Defence Medal 1940–1945 can be award ...

with rosette *

Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a third-level military decoration awarded for gallantry during active operations against the enemy at sea to officers; and, since 1993, ratings and other ranks of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed-Olsen, Oluf 1918 births 2002 deaths Writers from Oslo Norwegian aviators Norwegian resistance members Norwegian escapees Escapees from German detention Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service personnel of World War II No. 330 Squadron RNoAF personnel Norwegian World War II pilots Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian expatriates in Canada Norwegian expatriates in Iceland 20th-century Norwegian businesspeople Scouting and Guiding in Norway Norwegian World War II memoirists Royal Norwegian Air Force personnel Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Non-British Royal Air Force personnel of World War II