Helen Mowinkel Nilsen was a British intelligence Officer who had escaped from Norway to Britain in 1942. He had been a wanted man due to his underground activities against the Germans. Along with a few others, they sailed across the North Sea in a small fishing boat. In England, Nilsen joined the Special Forces section of the British Intelligence Service, trained in Scotland and later in the year was parachuted back into Norway along with a radio operator. His duties included organizing the resistance movement, training instructors in sabotage, and weapons handling.
At the time of the crash Nilsen was involved in a large and very important weapons movement. He, therefore, ordered the resistance groups under his control not to become involved with the Crew as it might jeopardize their weapons operation. When the two Milorg groups, the one at Os and the one at Lepsoy, had made contact and decided that due to the spreading German activity it would be wise to find a safer haven for the Crew, the leader of the Os group suggested that they might be in a better position to hide the Crew. When this action was agreed upon Nilsen became directly involved in the arrangements for the move from Strøno to Lønningdal, and then from Little Canada to the Vigra.
