Little Canada - 2 October
On entering the cabin, we were introduced to Hans, a nom du guerre for Ivar Dyngeland who, too, was being sought by the Germans. He had been working in the Bergen area in some form of police work, when the Germans discovered that he was very active in the underground. He had been in hiding from them in Fusa, but went to the cabin to be with us during our stay there.
Introductions over, Nilsen suggested that we empty our backpacks which contained a variety of things; blankets, sleeping bags, plates, pans, some vegetables, a small package of ersatz coffee, a couple of tins of condensed milk, and a small loaf of bread.
As we mingled about in the very small cabin where there were eleven of us in a very confined space, we had a taste of some of the food that we had brought. The bread was cut very thin and we all had a slice, which was covered with a thin coating of the condensed milk. We commented on the strange texture of the bread, and were informed that it was not made of flour but of wood. After the snack, those of us who smoked were offered tobacco and paper by those Norwegians who had lit up, and we rolled our own. The first puff of the cigarette practically choked us, as the tobacco was not cured, and it burned our throats. We had long been out of the few cigarettes that we had with us when we crashed.
As we smoked Nilsen explained that we were to remain with Ivar, that he and the others would be leaving very shortly. He explained that there were only two means of access to the cabin, the difficult one that we had taken from Lønningdal, and another route that led from an entirely different direction. He told us that he had many men posted in various areas in order to watch for the approach of German patrols. He was confident that it would be very unlikely for any German search party to be able to penetrate his circle of lookouts, without being observed. In the event that the search parties would move in our direction, runners would come to warn us of their approach.
It was just a couple of hours before dawn when Nilsen said that he had to go to Bergen and therefore had to be on his way. He assured us that we had little to worry about, that lvar would take good care of us, and that he would try to get back to us soon. He and the others bade us farewell and in short order the three disappeared in the darkness among the trees.
Little did we know then of the elaborate arrangements that had been formulated to assure our safe passage from Strono to the cabin in the mountains. We subsequently learned that, although Einar and Thorvald were mainly on their own during the Strono to Lønningdal part of the trip on the fjords, many others, who we did not see or hear, had been involved in our safe passage from the boathouse on Lønningdal, to the farm, and then on to the cabin. Lookouts had been posted in many areas along our land route portion to assure that all was well. These people were heavily armed and prepared to fight on our behalf should the occasion arise.
When the Germans came to the boathouse in which we were hidden was one time that the Norwegians, hiding in the underbrush nearby, almost intervened although they were badly outnumbered. Unknown to us, we had been locked in the boathouse.
After the departure of Nilsen, Hjelle, Øvredal and Harmens, we rolled out the sleeping bags in preparation to catch some well-needed sleep. The floor space of the cabin, being very limited, did not afford us too much room. The cabin interior was less than four metres by four metres square (twelve feet by twelve feet).
Looking into the cabin, there was a small wood stove on the left wall and then a fairly large cupboard with shelves. Against the far wall opposite the doorway there was a long bench that was flush to the left wall. The only window in the cabin was almost centred on the right wall; beneath the window against the wall was a small table with two chairs on either side. There was a small shelf in the corner of the right wall by the doorway. There were also two small stools on the floor.
Above the doorway in the eave of the roof was an area about a metre in depth; generally it was used for storage, during our stay it became a bedroom for a couple of us each night as well.
The space was limited but we managed rather well under the circumstances. We discussed the happenings of the day for a short while, but, tired from our very long and arduous trip, we crawled into our sleeping bags and were soon sound asleep. It was the first time that we slept in Norway without having a watch posted as we had been assured it would not be necessary.
We awoke well after sunrise to discover that Ivar was awake and moving about the cabin. We rolled out of the sleeping bags, tidied up both ourselves and the cabin, had a slice of bread with some of the condensed milk given to us by Ivar, for breakfast, and once again set about exploring our new surroundings.
The cabin was vecy clean and tidy and appeared to us to be fairly new. We learned later that it had been built by Fredrik Øvredal, Haldor's brother, in 1943. We went outside and explored the area near the cabin, located high in the mountain about four kilometres north-east of the lake at Lønningal and less than one kilometre west of Samnanger fjord. It was in a wooded area surrounded by both trees and the stream which we had crossed the previous night. Not one of us had much experience in woodcutting nor in building cabins, but as one we admired the craftsmanship and expertise that had gone into the construction of the cabin.
Looking about we could not help but be reminded of Canada. One of the crew suggested that as the Norwegian Air Force, composed of Norwegians in exile, had set up a training center in Toronto called "Little Norway", we should in turn call the cabin and the area surrounding it, "Little Canada". We all readily agreed, and from that time on we referred to the area as "Little Canada".
We soon discovered that Ivar was not there just to act as a guard but he had the added responsibility of being the cook. He looked after making what food there was, and he did provide some interesting dishes. We ate with relish what food we had but didn't quite recognize some of the ingredients.
We could not stray any great distance from the cabin and there was little to occupy ourselves with. Early in our stay at "Little Canada", someone had the bright idea that it would be great if we could play cards, to help pass the time away. Not having any cards, a quick search of the cabin brought forth some thin cardboard that we thought would do to fill our needs. In short order we managed to fashion a deck and soon some of us were playing poker. Ivar watched us wondering what the game was all about. He did not understand a word in English, nonetheless we soon taught him some of the fine points of draw poker.
The cards were very thick and hard to manage, we had to split the pack into three lots in order to properly shuffle them. Two incidents took place during the times we played cards, one amusing, the other not so.
As I mentioned, Ivar was learning the game and had progressed very well, although we did have lots of delays trying to communicate with him. He had progressed to the point of realizing that three of a kind beat two pair. At the end of one hand he threw his cards face down on the table, indicating that he had lost. When his cards were turned over it was found that he held four Aces. He was under the mistaken impression that the two pair he held, could not beat three of a kind, held by one of the other players.
The other incident took place when Gord Biddle, having found what looked like a German forage hat in the storage area above the door, thought he would have some fun. Going outside of the cabin he circled it until he was beside the window. Slowly he moved his head to expose only the cap and his forehead. I was at the end of the table near the window when out of the comer of my left eye I saw what I thought was a German observing us. Having a German Luger 45mm. pistol at my hand I instinctively reached for it, and pushing myself quickly out of the chair, rose and pointed the pistol at the face in the window. As I did so I realized it was Gord. He was smiling at the reaction to his little joke. I admit that I took a very dim view of his actions at the time and I was not alone in my assessment of what had transpired. Gord had not realized just how tense we were, and later apologized for having scared the wits out of the lot of us.
A couple of days later, Haldor Øvredal appeared with a dark haired stranger, who was introduced to us as "Pete". As mentioned before, there were only two possible routes to be taken to "Little Canada", one route was the one we had taken from Lønningdal, the other was from Rølvsvag. Haldor and Rolf Olsen (Pete) were two of the guards who were posted at Rølvsvag. Not long after we had other visitors in the persons of Kjell Harmens and Jacob Hjelle, who had come from the other side. Kjell and Jacob had come with a radio and some more provisions.
It is impossible for anyone to realize how extremely difficult it was at the time for the Norwegians to exist on the meagre rations that they were allowed. How they managed to feed six extra mouths is a story in itself. I do know that we were not dining at the Ritz at "Little Canada", but we did manage well with the provisions that were brought to us.
Bringing the radio provided Kjell with an opportunity to enjoy himself at our expense. He told us that we were unfortunate, not being able to understand Norwegian. If we could, he said we would be able to listen to all the news about our crew. He claimed that the Germans were warning the people to be on the lookout for us, announcing that we were dangerous and that anyone seeing us was to report to them immediately. They also threatened that anyone caught helping us in any way would be shot. He jokingly said that up to that time no reward for information, or our capture, had been posted or announced, probably due to the fact that the Germans did not have a high assessment of our value. He told us that had the Germans offered a reward, he would be the first to collect it as he would gladly tum us in, even for a single krone.
The other Norwegians sat about smoking and seemingly were in a heated argument. I asked Kjell what the problem was and he informed me that there was no problem. They were just having a political discussion and that Rolf, being a communist sympathizer and red headed, usually got very heated when talking politics. When Kjell mentioned Rolfs red hair I was surprised as it seemed very black to me. Kjell then told me that he had dyed his hair to try to disguise himself, as he too was on the German wanted list.
On entering the cabin, we were introduced to Hans, a nom du guerre for Ivar Dyngeland who, too, was being sought by the Germans. He had been working in the Bergen area in some form of police work, when the Germans discovered that he was very active in the underground. He had been in hiding from them in Fusa, but went to the cabin to be with us during our stay there.
Introductions over, Nilsen suggested that we empty our backpacks which contained a variety of things; blankets, sleeping bags, plates, pans, some vegetables, a small package of ersatz coffee, a couple of tins of condensed milk, and a small loaf of bread.
As we mingled about in the very small cabin where there were eleven of us in a very confined space, we had a taste of some of the food that we had brought. The bread was cut very thin and we all had a slice, which was covered with a thin coating of the condensed milk. We commented on the strange texture of the bread, and were informed that it was not made of flour but of wood. After the snack, those of us who smoked were offered tobacco and paper by those Norwegians who had lit up, and we rolled our own. The first puff of the cigarette practically choked us, as the tobacco was not cured, and it burned our throats. We had long been out of the few cigarettes that we had with us when we crashed.
As we smoked Nilsen explained that we were to remain with Ivar, that he and the others would be leaving very shortly. He explained that there were only two means of access to the cabin, the difficult one that we had taken from Lønningdal, and another route that led from an entirely different direction. He told us that he had many men posted in various areas in order to watch for the approach of German patrols. He was confident that it would be very unlikely for any German search party to be able to penetrate his circle of lookouts, without being observed. In the event that the search parties would move in our direction, runners would come to warn us of their approach.
It was just a couple of hours before dawn when Nilsen said that he had to go to Bergen and therefore had to be on his way. He assured us that we had little to worry about, that lvar would take good care of us, and that he would try to get back to us soon. He and the others bade us farewell and in short order the three disappeared in the darkness among the trees.
Little did we know then of the elaborate arrangements that had been formulated to assure our safe passage from Strono to the cabin in the mountains. We subsequently learned that, although Einar and Thorvald were mainly on their own during the Strono to Lønningdal part of the trip on the fjords, many others, who we did not see or hear, had been involved in our safe passage from the boathouse on Lønningdal, to the farm, and then on to the cabin. Lookouts had been posted in many areas along our land route portion to assure that all was well. These people were heavily armed and prepared to fight on our behalf should the occasion arise.
When the Germans came to the boathouse in which we were hidden was one time that the Norwegians, hiding in the underbrush nearby, almost intervened although they were badly outnumbered. Unknown to us, we had been locked in the boathouse.
After the departure of Nilsen, Hjelle, Øvredal and Harmens, we rolled out the sleeping bags in preparation to catch some well-needed sleep. The floor space of the cabin, being very limited, did not afford us too much room. The cabin interior was less than four metres by four metres square (twelve feet by twelve feet).
Looking into the cabin, there was a small wood stove on the left wall and then a fairly large cupboard with shelves. Against the far wall opposite the doorway there was a long bench that was flush to the left wall. The only window in the cabin was almost centred on the right wall; beneath the window against the wall was a small table with two chairs on either side. There was a small shelf in the corner of the right wall by the doorway. There were also two small stools on the floor.
Above the doorway in the eave of the roof was an area about a metre in depth; generally it was used for storage, during our stay it became a bedroom for a couple of us each night as well.
The space was limited but we managed rather well under the circumstances. We discussed the happenings of the day for a short while, but, tired from our very long and arduous trip, we crawled into our sleeping bags and were soon sound asleep. It was the first time that we slept in Norway without having a watch posted as we had been assured it would not be necessary.
We awoke well after sunrise to discover that Ivar was awake and moving about the cabin. We rolled out of the sleeping bags, tidied up both ourselves and the cabin, had a slice of bread with some of the condensed milk given to us by Ivar, for breakfast, and once again set about exploring our new surroundings.
The cabin was vecy clean and tidy and appeared to us to be fairly new. We learned later that it had been built by Fredrik Øvredal, Haldor's brother, in 1943. We went outside and explored the area near the cabin, located high in the mountain about four kilometres north-east of the lake at Lønningal and less than one kilometre west of Samnanger fjord. It was in a wooded area surrounded by both trees and the stream which we had crossed the previous night. Not one of us had much experience in woodcutting nor in building cabins, but as one we admired the craftsmanship and expertise that had gone into the construction of the cabin.
Looking about we could not help but be reminded of Canada. One of the crew suggested that as the Norwegian Air Force, composed of Norwegians in exile, had set up a training center in Toronto called "Little Norway", we should in turn call the cabin and the area surrounding it, "Little Canada". We all readily agreed, and from that time on we referred to the area as "Little Canada".
We soon discovered that Ivar was not there just to act as a guard but he had the added responsibility of being the cook. He looked after making what food there was, and he did provide some interesting dishes. We ate with relish what food we had but didn't quite recognize some of the ingredients.
We could not stray any great distance from the cabin and there was little to occupy ourselves with. Early in our stay at "Little Canada", someone had the bright idea that it would be great if we could play cards, to help pass the time away. Not having any cards, a quick search of the cabin brought forth some thin cardboard that we thought would do to fill our needs. In short order we managed to fashion a deck and soon some of us were playing poker. Ivar watched us wondering what the game was all about. He did not understand a word in English, nonetheless we soon taught him some of the fine points of draw poker.
The cards were very thick and hard to manage, we had to split the pack into three lots in order to properly shuffle them. Two incidents took place during the times we played cards, one amusing, the other not so.
As I mentioned, Ivar was learning the game and had progressed very well, although we did have lots of delays trying to communicate with him. He had progressed to the point of realizing that three of a kind beat two pair. At the end of one hand he threw his cards face down on the table, indicating that he had lost. When his cards were turned over it was found that he held four Aces. He was under the mistaken impression that the two pair he held, could not beat three of a kind, held by one of the other players.
The other incident took place when Gord Biddle, having found what looked like a German forage hat in the storage area above the door, thought he would have some fun. Going outside of the cabin he circled it until he was beside the window. Slowly he moved his head to expose only the cap and his forehead. I was at the end of the table near the window when out of the comer of my left eye I saw what I thought was a German observing us. Having a German Luger 45mm. pistol at my hand I instinctively reached for it, and pushing myself quickly out of the chair, rose and pointed the pistol at the face in the window. As I did so I realized it was Gord. He was smiling at the reaction to his little joke. I admit that I took a very dim view of his actions at the time and I was not alone in my assessment of what had transpired. Gord had not realized just how tense we were, and later apologized for having scared the wits out of the lot of us.
A couple of days later, Haldor Øvredal appeared with a dark haired stranger, who was introduced to us as "Pete". As mentioned before, there were only two possible routes to be taken to "Little Canada", one route was the one we had taken from Lønningdal, the other was from Rølvsvag. Haldor and Rolf Olsen (Pete) were two of the guards who were posted at Rølvsvag. Not long after we had other visitors in the persons of Kjell Harmens and Jacob Hjelle, who had come from the other side. Kjell and Jacob had come with a radio and some more provisions.
It is impossible for anyone to realize how extremely difficult it was at the time for the Norwegians to exist on the meagre rations that they were allowed. How they managed to feed six extra mouths is a story in itself. I do know that we were not dining at the Ritz at "Little Canada", but we did manage well with the provisions that were brought to us.
Bringing the radio provided Kjell with an opportunity to enjoy himself at our expense. He told us that we were unfortunate, not being able to understand Norwegian. If we could, he said we would be able to listen to all the news about our crew. He claimed that the Germans were warning the people to be on the lookout for us, announcing that we were dangerous and that anyone seeing us was to report to them immediately. They also threatened that anyone caught helping us in any way would be shot. He jokingly said that up to that time no reward for information, or our capture, had been posted or announced, probably due to the fact that the Germans did not have a high assessment of our value. He told us that had the Germans offered a reward, he would be the first to collect it as he would gladly tum us in, even for a single krone.
The other Norwegians sat about smoking and seemingly were in a heated argument. I asked Kjell what the problem was and he informed me that there was no problem. They were just having a political discussion and that Rolf, being a communist sympathizer and red headed, usually got very heated when talking politics. When Kjell mentioned Rolfs red hair I was surprised as it seemed very black to me. Kjell then told me that he had dyed his hair to try to disguise himself, as he too was on the German wanted list.