Octorber 2 - 3, 1944
After Evensen and Jakobsen had delivered the Canadians to Lønningdal, they spent the night in the village, and then returned home on Monday. They went to Bjørnen and told the Bjørnens, without giving details about locations, that the pilots had been moved from one hiding place to another and were still in safe hands.
But when Evensen arrived home around noon, he received frightening news. The day before had been the day of the confirmation ceremony for two of his neighbours, and the Evensen family had been invited to both. They had been to dinner at the house of one and coffee at the house of the other. Einar's family had made excuses for his absence.
While the celebrations were going on, a man arrived at Bjørnarøy in a rented boat. He went to both celebrations and said that he was looking for the aircrew from the crashed plane, and he was certain that Einar Evensen had them. The man emphasized that he had to get to them and that the number one priority for his organization was to get them away before it was too late. Einar's family had answered that they hadn't the slightest idea what the man was talking about.
Einar's father was particularly sharp with the man. But the man said he would be back on Monday at one o'clock. The man showed up precisely on time, accompanied by the same man who had brought him the day before. He opened the conversation by thanking Evensen for his great effort. He added in a confidential tone that he represented the “secret services.”
Evensen had worked himself up into a mixture of fear and anger even before the man arrived, and blew up when the man arrived. Evensen told him that he was being ridiculous to say incriminating things in public and claim that he worked for the “secret service.” Evensen told the man to leave immediately and forget that he had been there. If Evensen had anything to do with the aircrew as the stranger had hinted, and that was certainly not the case, would he acknowledge this to an unknown stranger? He said even more in very clear and colourful language.
Evensen tried to find out information about the man. Jakob Hjelle, who knew most about the membership of underground organizations had never heard of the person, and neither had Helén Mowinckel Nilsen.
Evensen spent a restless night, dressed and ready to flee. He tossed and turned while he thought of what it would be like to be taken by the Gestapo. From time to time he got up and looked out to see if any boats were approaching. He knew that his parents didn't rest either; he heard them talking in their bedroom. But he didn't see any boats heading towards Bjørnarøy. He didn't relax because the enemy could land on the other side of the island.
Long before daybreak, he made a cup of coffee substitute, cut a slice of bread, and remained awake the rest of the night. He sat in the kitchen in the dark with the blackout curtains open. He smoked one cigarette after another, taking care to hide the embers in his hand. Nothing unexpected occurred during the day, and he began to breathe easier.
The “Redwing” underground organization in Bergen was led by Louis Petterson, with Gunnar Wiig-Anderson as radio-operator. Both lived in the Minde area of Bergen, near downtown. Pettersen had many contacts. One was Edvard Navdahl, the store manager of a ship chandler in Bergen, who had good connections up and down the coast, and was in constant contact with fishermen and sailors. Among other things, Navdahl had helped Pettersen set up the escape and supply route between Bergen and the Shetland Islands through Austevoll.
One day near the end of September, Navdahl was visited by a stranger who asked if he could speak with him alone. He had a northern accent, so Navdahl thought of him as “the Northerner.” Navdahl showed him into his office. The Northerner said that he was organizing the escape of eight allied airmen who had made an emergency landing in Os. The stranger asked Navdahl if he could arrange a vessel that could be used for the escape.
Navdahl was not sure that the man really was part of the underground, but found it difficult to totally avoid answering the question. Navdahl suggested that a small fishing boat would be a possibility and that he would look into it. The stranger thanked him with a nod and said he would return soon.
Navdahl reported the meeting with the Northerner to Louis Pettersen, who responded that Navdahl should not reveal that they had any contacts with the Allies, and that he should tell the Northerner that the pilots needed to be kept where they were. Pettersen passed the information on to Gunnar Wiig-Andersen, who sent a message to London: “Have eight British airmen who crashed in Os. Sending them over with the next boat that comes with supplies to Austevoll.”
The Northerner returned to the ship chandler a few days later and said that he wanted to make connections with the “Home Front” but that he was no longer in direct contact with the airmen. Navdahl immediately informed Petterson, who wondered what was going on.
While the Canadians were in hiding at Little Canada, members of the underground had to continue their other activities. Mowinckel Nilsen provided weapons training to a group of underground members in Fana. The returned to Nesttun by bus. Mowinckel Nilsen as usual had his scarf around his neck with the little Mauser pistol hidden in it. He did not enjoy the bus trip, because he recognized a German secret police agent two seats in front of him.
At Nesttun, Mowinckel Nilsen and his friends hopped off the bus. The others shook his hand, wished him good night, and set off to their homes. Mowinckel Nilsen went to the train station and waited on the platform for the next train to Bergen. The Gestapo officer, who was dark-haired and of medium height and wearing a Gestapo coat and boots, also was on the platform. A half-squad of infantry soldiers came marching in and stopped on the platform. Their Feldwebel (sergeant) gave them a rest break, so they were standing in small groups and smoking. Each was in uniform, with a Mauser rifle and grenade.
When the train arrived and the doors opened, they all got in the same train car, Mowinckel Nilsen with them. Mowinckel Nilsen exchanged small talk about the weather with the soldiers, as was his habit. He got off the train at Minde station, and walked a circuitous route to his destination. Even then he walked past the house a few times to make sure he was not followed, and then finally went up and rang the doorbell. “Is Sven in?” he asked the woman who opened the door.
“Please come in,” she replied. “Sven” was Gunnar Wiig-Andersen nom-de-guerre. Wiig-Andersen appeared and Mowinckel Nilsen told him about what was going on in Os, and that he urgently needed to send a message to London. “But I already sent a message,” said Wiig-Andersen with a puzzled tone. Mowinckel Nilsen was even more surprised.
Wiig-Andersen told him that Pettersen had supplied the information. Mowinckel Nilsen immediately thought of the man who had approached Evensen in Bjørnarøy. “Something's wrong,” he said. Wiig-Andersen said that it couldn't be easy to hide and feed all eight men. “Eight?” Mowinckel Nilsen repeated. Yes, he had sent a message about eight men. “That's not right. The crew has six men.”
Mowinckel Nilsen thought that the story of eight men must be based on the rumour that he had circulated about the eight commandos, and mentioned that to Wiig-Andersen. They agreed to warn Pettersen, so that everyone should be aware of what was going on. While they were discussing what to do next, the doorbell rang twice. The person at the door asked if Sven were in. They both recognized Pettersen's voice. He joined them and listened to what Mowinckel Nilsen had to say.
An hour later they were still talking. Mowinckel Nilsen told them about the man who had visited Evensen on an island in Os and has asked about the aircrew. He had been irresponsible and talked openly about being in the “Secret Service.” He was definitely not who he claimed to be. They agreed that the person who had visited Evensen had to be the same person who had approached Edvard Navdahl. But who on earth was he?
They thought about the possibility of being turned into the Gestapo, and were chilled at the thought. Over the years there had been frequent round-ups of underground members in Bergen, especially in the first years of the occupation.
First was a large group that had been based at Sjømannsskolen, with links to groups on the coast, then three quarters of a year later, the Stein organization, and half a year later it was the turn of the unfortunate Televåg; there was no shortage of examples. The Gestapo spread throughout the City, and extended their tentacles to the coastal districts. In every case informers had acted to help the enemy.
Pettersen said that they had to play their cards right in order to avoid catastrophe. The next day, he went to the ship's chandler to talk to Navdahl. They agreed that when the Northerner appeared again, Navdahl would tell him that unfortunately he could not assist him either with a boat or with contacts, and that he would not have anything to do with the matter.
The regarding eight men was met by scepticism in England because the missing Wellington had a crew of six. They suspected that the radio operator had been discovered by the Germans and that he was forced to send the message with a gun to his head. They therefore asked if details or characteristic features about the aircrew could be supplied.
That was easy enough, because Mowinckel Nilsen was able to let them know that one of them was nicknamed Red. The people in London realized that the message referred to Harvey Firestone and that it was probably genuine. The message from Norway also clarified that there were six men in the crew, and that the plane had been set on fire.
On October 3, “Home Station” sent Wiig-Andersen a message in Morse code: “We hope to send the cargo to Austevoll Saturday night the seventh. The British aircrew will be collected at the same time. Voss radio-operator will be delivered to same location. Can you pass on this information? The boat will arrive at Følesvåg. The coded message two days before will be “Hold kjøttkakene varme” (keep the meatballs hot), and the message the day the boat leaves will be “I dag vi har lutefisk” (today we have lutefisk). If necessary, a special boat will be sent to retrieve the aircrew. Please confirm.”
On October 6, Wiig-Andersen replied: “The boat must be the night of Thursday the 12th. Will take man without luggage to Voss.”
They still didn't know the name of the “Northerner” but finally succeeded in setting up a meeting between him and Johan Viken. The meeting was at night on a bridge over a stretch of river rapids. The man claimed he was involved in an intelligence organization, and that one of his jobs was distributing radios. Viken thought this was a strange task, but made no comment. But he wanted to know what type of organization the man belonged to, why he had changed his approach after the scene at Bjørnarøy. The man apologized for saying things he shouldn't have, but would not say why he thought that people in Oyane had hidden the allied airmen, only that he had his connections.
No one ever learned why the Northerner had tried to become involved. Johan Viken concluded that the guy was well-meaning and did not believe that he was an “agent provocateur.” However, there was no way that the underground would ever want to use a man who was so reckless in what he said and where he said it.
The same man made several other questionable approaches to underground groups in the Bergen area. He was told in unequivocal terms to disappear from the area, but he disregarded the warnings. For a while the underground planned to kill him because of the threat he presented, but ultimately they did not do so. On May 8, 1945 (the day the Germans surrendered in Norway), he was free to join the party with everyone else.
After Evensen and Jakobsen had delivered the Canadians to Lønningdal, they spent the night in the village, and then returned home on Monday. They went to Bjørnen and told the Bjørnens, without giving details about locations, that the pilots had been moved from one hiding place to another and were still in safe hands.
But when Evensen arrived home around noon, he received frightening news. The day before had been the day of the confirmation ceremony for two of his neighbours, and the Evensen family had been invited to both. They had been to dinner at the house of one and coffee at the house of the other. Einar's family had made excuses for his absence.
While the celebrations were going on, a man arrived at Bjørnarøy in a rented boat. He went to both celebrations and said that he was looking for the aircrew from the crashed plane, and he was certain that Einar Evensen had them. The man emphasized that he had to get to them and that the number one priority for his organization was to get them away before it was too late. Einar's family had answered that they hadn't the slightest idea what the man was talking about.
Einar's father was particularly sharp with the man. But the man said he would be back on Monday at one o'clock. The man showed up precisely on time, accompanied by the same man who had brought him the day before. He opened the conversation by thanking Evensen for his great effort. He added in a confidential tone that he represented the “secret services.”
Evensen had worked himself up into a mixture of fear and anger even before the man arrived, and blew up when the man arrived. Evensen told him that he was being ridiculous to say incriminating things in public and claim that he worked for the “secret service.” Evensen told the man to leave immediately and forget that he had been there. If Evensen had anything to do with the aircrew as the stranger had hinted, and that was certainly not the case, would he acknowledge this to an unknown stranger? He said even more in very clear and colourful language.
Evensen tried to find out information about the man. Jakob Hjelle, who knew most about the membership of underground organizations had never heard of the person, and neither had Helén Mowinckel Nilsen.
Evensen spent a restless night, dressed and ready to flee. He tossed and turned while he thought of what it would be like to be taken by the Gestapo. From time to time he got up and looked out to see if any boats were approaching. He knew that his parents didn't rest either; he heard them talking in their bedroom. But he didn't see any boats heading towards Bjørnarøy. He didn't relax because the enemy could land on the other side of the island.
Long before daybreak, he made a cup of coffee substitute, cut a slice of bread, and remained awake the rest of the night. He sat in the kitchen in the dark with the blackout curtains open. He smoked one cigarette after another, taking care to hide the embers in his hand. Nothing unexpected occurred during the day, and he began to breathe easier.
The “Redwing” underground organization in Bergen was led by Louis Petterson, with Gunnar Wiig-Anderson as radio-operator. Both lived in the Minde area of Bergen, near downtown. Pettersen had many contacts. One was Edvard Navdahl, the store manager of a ship chandler in Bergen, who had good connections up and down the coast, and was in constant contact with fishermen and sailors. Among other things, Navdahl had helped Pettersen set up the escape and supply route between Bergen and the Shetland Islands through Austevoll.
One day near the end of September, Navdahl was visited by a stranger who asked if he could speak with him alone. He had a northern accent, so Navdahl thought of him as “the Northerner.” Navdahl showed him into his office. The Northerner said that he was organizing the escape of eight allied airmen who had made an emergency landing in Os. The stranger asked Navdahl if he could arrange a vessel that could be used for the escape.
Navdahl was not sure that the man really was part of the underground, but found it difficult to totally avoid answering the question. Navdahl suggested that a small fishing boat would be a possibility and that he would look into it. The stranger thanked him with a nod and said he would return soon.
Navdahl reported the meeting with the Northerner to Louis Pettersen, who responded that Navdahl should not reveal that they had any contacts with the Allies, and that he should tell the Northerner that the pilots needed to be kept where they were. Pettersen passed the information on to Gunnar Wiig-Andersen, who sent a message to London: “Have eight British airmen who crashed in Os. Sending them over with the next boat that comes with supplies to Austevoll.”
The Northerner returned to the ship chandler a few days later and said that he wanted to make connections with the “Home Front” but that he was no longer in direct contact with the airmen. Navdahl immediately informed Petterson, who wondered what was going on.
While the Canadians were in hiding at Little Canada, members of the underground had to continue their other activities. Mowinckel Nilsen provided weapons training to a group of underground members in Fana. The returned to Nesttun by bus. Mowinckel Nilsen as usual had his scarf around his neck with the little Mauser pistol hidden in it. He did not enjoy the bus trip, because he recognized a German secret police agent two seats in front of him.
At Nesttun, Mowinckel Nilsen and his friends hopped off the bus. The others shook his hand, wished him good night, and set off to their homes. Mowinckel Nilsen went to the train station and waited on the platform for the next train to Bergen. The Gestapo officer, who was dark-haired and of medium height and wearing a Gestapo coat and boots, also was on the platform. A half-squad of infantry soldiers came marching in and stopped on the platform. Their Feldwebel (sergeant) gave them a rest break, so they were standing in small groups and smoking. Each was in uniform, with a Mauser rifle and grenade.
When the train arrived and the doors opened, they all got in the same train car, Mowinckel Nilsen with them. Mowinckel Nilsen exchanged small talk about the weather with the soldiers, as was his habit. He got off the train at Minde station, and walked a circuitous route to his destination. Even then he walked past the house a few times to make sure he was not followed, and then finally went up and rang the doorbell. “Is Sven in?” he asked the woman who opened the door.
“Please come in,” she replied. “Sven” was Gunnar Wiig-Andersen nom-de-guerre. Wiig-Andersen appeared and Mowinckel Nilsen told him about what was going on in Os, and that he urgently needed to send a message to London. “But I already sent a message,” said Wiig-Andersen with a puzzled tone. Mowinckel Nilsen was even more surprised.
Wiig-Andersen told him that Pettersen had supplied the information. Mowinckel Nilsen immediately thought of the man who had approached Evensen in Bjørnarøy. “Something's wrong,” he said. Wiig-Andersen said that it couldn't be easy to hide and feed all eight men. “Eight?” Mowinckel Nilsen repeated. Yes, he had sent a message about eight men. “That's not right. The crew has six men.”
Mowinckel Nilsen thought that the story of eight men must be based on the rumour that he had circulated about the eight commandos, and mentioned that to Wiig-Andersen. They agreed to warn Pettersen, so that everyone should be aware of what was going on. While they were discussing what to do next, the doorbell rang twice. The person at the door asked if Sven were in. They both recognized Pettersen's voice. He joined them and listened to what Mowinckel Nilsen had to say.
An hour later they were still talking. Mowinckel Nilsen told them about the man who had visited Evensen on an island in Os and has asked about the aircrew. He had been irresponsible and talked openly about being in the “Secret Service.” He was definitely not who he claimed to be. They agreed that the person who had visited Evensen had to be the same person who had approached Edvard Navdahl. But who on earth was he?
They thought about the possibility of being turned into the Gestapo, and were chilled at the thought. Over the years there had been frequent round-ups of underground members in Bergen, especially in the first years of the occupation.
First was a large group that had been based at Sjømannsskolen, with links to groups on the coast, then three quarters of a year later, the Stein organization, and half a year later it was the turn of the unfortunate Televåg; there was no shortage of examples. The Gestapo spread throughout the City, and extended their tentacles to the coastal districts. In every case informers had acted to help the enemy.
Pettersen said that they had to play their cards right in order to avoid catastrophe. The next day, he went to the ship's chandler to talk to Navdahl. They agreed that when the Northerner appeared again, Navdahl would tell him that unfortunately he could not assist him either with a boat or with contacts, and that he would not have anything to do with the matter.
The regarding eight men was met by scepticism in England because the missing Wellington had a crew of six. They suspected that the radio operator had been discovered by the Germans and that he was forced to send the message with a gun to his head. They therefore asked if details or characteristic features about the aircrew could be supplied.
That was easy enough, because Mowinckel Nilsen was able to let them know that one of them was nicknamed Red. The people in London realized that the message referred to Harvey Firestone and that it was probably genuine. The message from Norway also clarified that there were six men in the crew, and that the plane had been set on fire.
On October 3, “Home Station” sent Wiig-Andersen a message in Morse code: “We hope to send the cargo to Austevoll Saturday night the seventh. The British aircrew will be collected at the same time. Voss radio-operator will be delivered to same location. Can you pass on this information? The boat will arrive at Følesvåg. The coded message two days before will be “Hold kjøttkakene varme” (keep the meatballs hot), and the message the day the boat leaves will be “I dag vi har lutefisk” (today we have lutefisk). If necessary, a special boat will be sent to retrieve the aircrew. Please confirm.”
On October 6, Wiig-Andersen replied: “The boat must be the night of Thursday the 12th. Will take man without luggage to Voss.”
They still didn't know the name of the “Northerner” but finally succeeded in setting up a meeting between him and Johan Viken. The meeting was at night on a bridge over a stretch of river rapids. The man claimed he was involved in an intelligence organization, and that one of his jobs was distributing radios. Viken thought this was a strange task, but made no comment. But he wanted to know what type of organization the man belonged to, why he had changed his approach after the scene at Bjørnarøy. The man apologized for saying things he shouldn't have, but would not say why he thought that people in Oyane had hidden the allied airmen, only that he had his connections.
No one ever learned why the Northerner had tried to become involved. Johan Viken concluded that the guy was well-meaning and did not believe that he was an “agent provocateur.” However, there was no way that the underground would ever want to use a man who was so reckless in what he said and where he said it.
The same man made several other questionable approaches to underground groups in the Bergen area. He was told in unequivocal terms to disappear from the area, but he disregarded the warnings. For a while the underground planned to kill him because of the threat he presented, but ultimately they did not do so. On May 8, 1945 (the day the Germans surrendered in Norway), he was free to join the party with everyone else.