Ospoy
We covered a little more than a kilometre and a half when we spied Jacob waving to us from a boat house at a quay. We hurried over, and there beside the quay was a boat, and on the deck was a blond, ruddy cheeked, smiling individual who also waved at us as we approached. We got aboard and as we pulled away from shore we indicated our gratitude by saluting a smiling Jacob Hjelle. Haldor and Lars Orrebakken, our new companion, were to take us on the next leg of our voyage. We soon discovered that Lars could not speak English and neither did Haldor. Once again sign language was used to communicate. Lars owned the boat that was named "Snogg." He had volunteered to undertake the mission on hearing of the need.
We travelled south on the fjord, passing Hattvik, and proceeded without incident on to Ospoy. In total we had covered about thirty three kilometres on the fjords. We passed many German naval vessels and submarines on the way, waving at times to the crews who would wave back, not realizing who we were.
Ospoy was more or less a large rock projecting out from the water. Lars and Haldor deposited us on its shore and left us there in broad daylight.
We turned and scrambled up on the rocks in order to hide ourselves from any passing boat, when to our surprise a stranger appeared. He was tall and very thin, and carried a parcel under his arm. We were at a loss to know what he was doing there. In our attempts to communicate with him, we learned that he spoke Norwegian, Portuguese and a little German. We once again were faced with a language problem. He indicated to us somehow that he was to stay with us. As there was no one else on the island and he was apparently unarmed, we felt that he was not a threat to us.
We were on the island for a short while when a boat appeared and it was obvious that it was making for shore. As it inched its way to the rock, we tried to stay out of sight but the Norwegian with us soon showed himself and waved to us to follow. We went directly to the boat and were waved aboard by one of two men on deck. They motioned to us to hurry and in short order we were helping one another over the rails. As soon as the last of us was on board, we were on our way. This boat was obviously much larger and faster than the boats we had been on up to that time in Norway.
The man who seemed to be in charge, we learned after the war, was Sverre Ostervoll and it was his boat we were on. He motioned for us to get below, and we, following instructions, did so. We were in a cabin that was, although we were on a larger boat, still not large enough to accommodate the seven of us very comfortably. We again were in close quarters but our spirits were very high. They received a real boost just a short time after we were on our way. Sverre Ostervoll, in pantomime, asked us if we wanted to smoke. When we indicated that we did, the other man whose name was Sverre Monsen, handed us a tin of tobacco and some cigarette paper, to roll our own. You can well imagine how our spirits soared when we discovered that printed on the tin, was a notice that the contents of the tin were for the exclusive use of His Majesty's Royal Navy, and on opening it found that it contained fine-cut, fresh real tobacco.
You can imagine our feelings! We had an inkling during our descent from "Little Canada" that we were heading home, but could not be certain of anything. We still had doubts that the people we were with were who they claimed to be. The fact that Sverre Monsen had the tin of fresh British tobacco indicated that they had close contact with allied naval units.
After leaving Ospoy we headed in a north by north-west direction for about five kilometres when a boat headed in our direction and, to our great surprise, came abreast. At the wheel of the boat was Einar Evensen, and he was there only for a few short moments, to wish us well on the fmalleg of our joumey.
We continued on for a very short distance and then headed almost due south. We could make out land on either side of us. The fjord was a little bit over a kilometre wide, and we held our course for another five kilometres. We could see ahead that the fjord was dotted with many islands, both large and small. Finally Sverre Ostervoll headed between two of the larger islands in our path, and steered to a very small, rocky, island, on which there was a little hut. The two Sverres indicated that we were to stay out of sight of all passing boats and that they would come back that night, to take us to rendezvous with a boat that would carry us back to the Shetland Islands and freedom.
We did not know then that Sverre Ostervoll, due to his knowledge of the coastline and his skill as a seaman, had for a long period of time landed many allied agents and tons of ammunition in his boat.
We were still accompanied by the Norwegian whom we had met on Ospoy. Knowing that the many islands in the area were inhabited, and that many boats were passing very near, we hurried into the building to keep out of sight. Once again we checked new surroundings. Our new shelter was just that- shelter. It was rather filthy and had two separate areas. One section had been used as living quarters where there were bunks and a table, it had a small window on one wall overlooking the fjord. The other section was apparently a pen in which sheep apparently had been kept and was rather smelly. We were consoled by the fact that we were due to leave that very night, thus the state of our accommodations did not bother us to too greatly. After all our experiences since being down in Norway, we felt a bit more inconvenience was little enough to bear.
We had not realized it but our new found friend was sheathed in many tiers of clothing. He busied himself by removing and trying to make a neat package of them. He made us understand that he had been in hiding from the Germans and that he was on his way to England and refuge there. We did try to make him feel at ease with us and I am sure we succeeded. We were able to learn that he had passed information on German shipping movements to allied agents. He showed us a picture of a boat that he claimed he had worked on and to our surprise it was a picture of the Altmark.
The picture, which showed the Altmark nestled in a Norwegian fjord, had had been taken just before the British Navy intercepted it, and rescued over six hundred British sailors that the German Navy were holding on board as prisoners. He offered me the picture and insisted that I keep it, obviously as a souvenir. I, of course still have the picture. It has more meaning now, as I very recently learned that the stranger was Johannes Jacobsen's brother.
We covered a little more than a kilometre and a half when we spied Jacob waving to us from a boat house at a quay. We hurried over, and there beside the quay was a boat, and on the deck was a blond, ruddy cheeked, smiling individual who also waved at us as we approached. We got aboard and as we pulled away from shore we indicated our gratitude by saluting a smiling Jacob Hjelle. Haldor and Lars Orrebakken, our new companion, were to take us on the next leg of our voyage. We soon discovered that Lars could not speak English and neither did Haldor. Once again sign language was used to communicate. Lars owned the boat that was named "Snogg." He had volunteered to undertake the mission on hearing of the need.
We travelled south on the fjord, passing Hattvik, and proceeded without incident on to Ospoy. In total we had covered about thirty three kilometres on the fjords. We passed many German naval vessels and submarines on the way, waving at times to the crews who would wave back, not realizing who we were.
Ospoy was more or less a large rock projecting out from the water. Lars and Haldor deposited us on its shore and left us there in broad daylight.
We turned and scrambled up on the rocks in order to hide ourselves from any passing boat, when to our surprise a stranger appeared. He was tall and very thin, and carried a parcel under his arm. We were at a loss to know what he was doing there. In our attempts to communicate with him, we learned that he spoke Norwegian, Portuguese and a little German. We once again were faced with a language problem. He indicated to us somehow that he was to stay with us. As there was no one else on the island and he was apparently unarmed, we felt that he was not a threat to us.
We were on the island for a short while when a boat appeared and it was obvious that it was making for shore. As it inched its way to the rock, we tried to stay out of sight but the Norwegian with us soon showed himself and waved to us to follow. We went directly to the boat and were waved aboard by one of two men on deck. They motioned to us to hurry and in short order we were helping one another over the rails. As soon as the last of us was on board, we were on our way. This boat was obviously much larger and faster than the boats we had been on up to that time in Norway.
The man who seemed to be in charge, we learned after the war, was Sverre Ostervoll and it was his boat we were on. He motioned for us to get below, and we, following instructions, did so. We were in a cabin that was, although we were on a larger boat, still not large enough to accommodate the seven of us very comfortably. We again were in close quarters but our spirits were very high. They received a real boost just a short time after we were on our way. Sverre Ostervoll, in pantomime, asked us if we wanted to smoke. When we indicated that we did, the other man whose name was Sverre Monsen, handed us a tin of tobacco and some cigarette paper, to roll our own. You can well imagine how our spirits soared when we discovered that printed on the tin, was a notice that the contents of the tin were for the exclusive use of His Majesty's Royal Navy, and on opening it found that it contained fine-cut, fresh real tobacco.
You can imagine our feelings! We had an inkling during our descent from "Little Canada" that we were heading home, but could not be certain of anything. We still had doubts that the people we were with were who they claimed to be. The fact that Sverre Monsen had the tin of fresh British tobacco indicated that they had close contact with allied naval units.
After leaving Ospoy we headed in a north by north-west direction for about five kilometres when a boat headed in our direction and, to our great surprise, came abreast. At the wheel of the boat was Einar Evensen, and he was there only for a few short moments, to wish us well on the fmalleg of our joumey.
We continued on for a very short distance and then headed almost due south. We could make out land on either side of us. The fjord was a little bit over a kilometre wide, and we held our course for another five kilometres. We could see ahead that the fjord was dotted with many islands, both large and small. Finally Sverre Ostervoll headed between two of the larger islands in our path, and steered to a very small, rocky, island, on which there was a little hut. The two Sverres indicated that we were to stay out of sight of all passing boats and that they would come back that night, to take us to rendezvous with a boat that would carry us back to the Shetland Islands and freedom.
We did not know then that Sverre Ostervoll, due to his knowledge of the coastline and his skill as a seaman, had for a long period of time landed many allied agents and tons of ammunition in his boat.
We were still accompanied by the Norwegian whom we had met on Ospoy. Knowing that the many islands in the area were inhabited, and that many boats were passing very near, we hurried into the building to keep out of sight. Once again we checked new surroundings. Our new shelter was just that- shelter. It was rather filthy and had two separate areas. One section had been used as living quarters where there were bunks and a table, it had a small window on one wall overlooking the fjord. The other section was apparently a pen in which sheep apparently had been kept and was rather smelly. We were consoled by the fact that we were due to leave that very night, thus the state of our accommodations did not bother us to too greatly. After all our experiences since being down in Norway, we felt a bit more inconvenience was little enough to bear.
We had not realized it but our new found friend was sheathed in many tiers of clothing. He busied himself by removing and trying to make a neat package of them. He made us understand that he had been in hiding from the Germans and that he was on his way to England and refuge there. We did try to make him feel at ease with us and I am sure we succeeded. We were able to learn that he had passed information on German shipping movements to allied agents. He showed us a picture of a boat that he claimed he had worked on and to our surprise it was a picture of the Altmark.
The picture, which showed the Altmark nestled in a Norwegian fjord, had had been taken just before the British Navy intercepted it, and rescued over six hundred British sailors that the German Navy were holding on board as prisoners. He offered me the picture and insisted that I keep it, obviously as a souvenir. I, of course still have the picture. It has more meaning now, as I very recently learned that the stranger was Johannes Jacobsen's brother.
As night settled in we became fidgety; unable to stretch out properly, we shuffled about. We had not eaten for some time and therefore became both thirsty and hungry. Very slowly the hours passed and there was no sign of Sverre Ostervoll. We had no way of knowing that he had attempted to reach us to bring food, and to inform us that our rendezvous time had been set back. He had been thwarted by German patrol activity on the water and had been forced to turn back.
Night slowly turned to day; we became rather concerned as the second day wore on with no sign of Sverre, our only contact with the outside world. Through the window we watched many boats passing on the fjord and speculated if they were friendly or not. With the help of our Norwegian friend we were soon able to recognize most of the friendly boats. Watching the boats as we did, we thought we could detect increased activity by the German patrol boats, noting that they were passing closer and closer to the island, thus increasing our fears that they might come ashore.
We had whiled away our time in idle talk throughout the first day on the is land, but as the second day passed our conversation became more serious and we discussed what possibilities were available to us should no one appear within the next day or two. We soon realized that we had no other option but to remain where we were, our increased thirst and hunger notwithstanding.
At the side of the hut there was a small pool of water and Neil decided to drink the water. He gathered some in his water bottle, and using the tablets that were in his escape kit to purify the water, he satisfied his thirst. A couple of the other crew members did likewise. The results were dramatic as they became ill and were very uncomfortable for a number of hours. The foul smell that permeated the hut previously, seemed like a breath of fresh air to the conditions in the hut after the boys were ill.
Unknown to us, Sverre and others listening to the BBC broadcasts from England, heard the following transmission repeated over and over again," It rains in the mountains". It was followed by another message "one day later". These messages indicated to him that the ship from the Shetlands would be at a specific rendezvous point the following night at a pre-arranged time. He once again decided to attempt to reach us with water and food. The waters were unusually calm and the night was clear and bright giving him no opportunity to get through the German patrols.
Throughout the next day and evening the transmissions heard on the BBC were "It rains in the mountains," and there was no following message. There was furious activity by the Norwegian group leaders; they had to confirm that all involved knew that Sverre would be attempting to avoid the German patrols to get to us, and to our meeting place. That night they set up many diversions in order to lure the German patrol boats from Sverre's intended course. They knew that in order to assure that all their efforts to effect our liberation be successful, Sverre would have to succeed in picking us up and getting to the rendezvous with the ship from the Shetland Islands on time. As mentioned before the ship was to unload its cargo and leave immediately. If we were not here during the time they took to unload, they were not going to wait.
The stress of thirst and hunger, the repugnant smell of our surroundings, combined to keep the seven of us awake most of the night. On the one hand we desired sleep, on the other, we wanted to remain awake in the event Sverre would arrive.
Night slowly turned to day; we became rather concerned as the second day wore on with no sign of Sverre, our only contact with the outside world. Through the window we watched many boats passing on the fjord and speculated if they were friendly or not. With the help of our Norwegian friend we were soon able to recognize most of the friendly boats. Watching the boats as we did, we thought we could detect increased activity by the German patrol boats, noting that they were passing closer and closer to the island, thus increasing our fears that they might come ashore.
We had whiled away our time in idle talk throughout the first day on the is land, but as the second day passed our conversation became more serious and we discussed what possibilities were available to us should no one appear within the next day or two. We soon realized that we had no other option but to remain where we were, our increased thirst and hunger notwithstanding.
At the side of the hut there was a small pool of water and Neil decided to drink the water. He gathered some in his water bottle, and using the tablets that were in his escape kit to purify the water, he satisfied his thirst. A couple of the other crew members did likewise. The results were dramatic as they became ill and were very uncomfortable for a number of hours. The foul smell that permeated the hut previously, seemed like a breath of fresh air to the conditions in the hut after the boys were ill.
Unknown to us, Sverre and others listening to the BBC broadcasts from England, heard the following transmission repeated over and over again," It rains in the mountains". It was followed by another message "one day later". These messages indicated to him that the ship from the Shetlands would be at a specific rendezvous point the following night at a pre-arranged time. He once again decided to attempt to reach us with water and food. The waters were unusually calm and the night was clear and bright giving him no opportunity to get through the German patrols.
Throughout the next day and evening the transmissions heard on the BBC were "It rains in the mountains," and there was no following message. There was furious activity by the Norwegian group leaders; they had to confirm that all involved knew that Sverre would be attempting to avoid the German patrols to get to us, and to our meeting place. That night they set up many diversions in order to lure the German patrol boats from Sverre's intended course. They knew that in order to assure that all their efforts to effect our liberation be successful, Sverre would have to succeed in picking us up and getting to the rendezvous with the ship from the Shetland Islands on time. As mentioned before the ship was to unload its cargo and leave immediately. If we were not here during the time they took to unload, they were not going to wait.
The stress of thirst and hunger, the repugnant smell of our surroundings, combined to keep the seven of us awake most of the night. On the one hand we desired sleep, on the other, we wanted to remain awake in the event Sverre would arrive.