15th may 1945

[Kitty]

On the 15th may 1945, the WW1 V&W Destroyer HMS Woolston sailed into Bergen Harbour in order to take the official surrender of the Northern Norway German Command.
Escorted in by dozens of fishing boats, Woolston docked with her escorts, including a Norwegian MTB. The dockside was filled with patiently waiting Norwegian civilians with German soliders interspersed, their guns slung over their shoulders as they watched in interest.
The hand over of Northern Norway to the Allies was done quickly and efficiently, wit honly a small pocket of German resistance in a fortress to the north of Bergen.
Whilst docked in the town Woolston played host to hundreds of civilians who came aboard to meet the sailors and look around a fighting ship of the Royal Navy. One incident involved a Norwegain Freedom Fighter showing off his pistol, on which he had failed to engage the safety catch and it went off, causing all sailors around him to hit the deck, much to his amusement. Local Norwegians would deliver baskets of eggs and fresh milk each day to the crew, a delicacy they had not encountered in any great degree for years.
The one sad part of the formal surrender was the delivery into Allied hands of dozens of Soviet soldiers and sailors, all of whom begged the ALlies to allow them to stay ro return to England with them. These requests were refused and they were delivered to Archangel as soon as possible. It is believed many of them were shot within days for being captured, or were sent to the Gulags.

[morse1001]

Fascinating story!