Gold Run: The Rescue of Norway’s Gold Bullion from the Nazis, 1940

by Pearson, Robert

  Haslund had to plan how they would move the gold from the factory to the warship. Molde was an inferno with roads virtually impassable so his plans would have to be fluid and subject to change on the spot. The biggest problem was trying to secure enough lorries that were serviceable and undamaged. Haslund asked two local men, Aksel and Trygve Melsæter to assist after he saw them filling up their truck with petrol. Twice they crammed their truck with bullion and each time transported it to a quay and a waiting ship, the ‘Legona’. On the third occasion the brothers loaded their lorry and then were instructed to take their consignment to another part of town where they met up with a brewery lorry. This vehicle attempted to drive down the centre of Molde towards the quay, but due to the bombing, flames and debris it was forced to turn back. The Melsæter brothers didn’t have much luck either and encountered similar problems. It seemed like there was just no way through. Miraculously other trucks acquired by Haslund, did make it through, despite the horrendous fire storms and chaos that was engulfing the town and lighting up the night sky. The trucks, the exact number of which is unknown, were at the quayside as HMS Glasgow docked alongside. It was a timely moment.

  Molde burns. Picture credit: Romsdalsmuseet, N-6413 Molde, Norway.

  There was also the matter of the King: Captain Denny, the Royal Navy’s Senior Naval Officer at Åndalsnes and Molde, was informed on the evening of the 28th that His Majesty King Haakon was in residence near Molde and from that point onwards Denny remained in contact with Sir Cecil Dormer, the British Minister accompanying the royal entourage. Denny reported the following in his proceedings:124

  Moved British and Norwegian Headquarters at Molde to upper part of town. Molde raided continuously with low level dive-bombing and machine-gunning from 06:00 until 19:30 and my previous headquarters were burnt to the ground. In the first attack of the day, the well-hidden aviation spirit dump was completely destroyed by incendiary machine gun attack. The town was soon in flames and continued to burn furiously all day. The mixture of H.E. and incendiary bombs used by the Germans was most effective against the town which was almost 100% wood built.

  During the day, Denny received a British coded signal stating what really was the inevitable to all at Molde…evacuate. Preparations were immediately put in place in readiness for the next course of action and on the 29th Denny reported the following:125

  Åndalsnes Harbour front and adjacent hills were ablaze from incendiary bombs. 04:30 Commander Johnston returned from Åndalsnes and brought the Admiralty messages ordering the evacuation of H.M King of Norway.

  Picture credits: Romsdalsmuseet, N-6413 Molde, Norway.

  Denny stated that he then requested ‘every assistance for evacuation’. He continues.

  Bombing continued intermittently all the forenoon and by mid-day the whole of the lower town of Molde was on fire and had to be completely evacuated. During the afternoon, I organised evacuation arrangements for the following parties:-

  H.M the King of Norway with entourage.

  The British Minister and such parties of other nationalities as he thought fit to conduct.

  The Norwegian gold

  British wounded from the Norwegian hospital and all British personnel in Molde.

  R.V.Zs [rendezvous] were fixed for 21:15, though I had no idea what ship would be coming in or when. During the afternoon received W/T [wireless telegraphy] message from Admiralty directing me to cease transmission of secret messages by radio.

  Unhappily, at 21:10, German aircraft carried out an incendiary raid around the quay area, and the sole surviving structures caught fire, apparently blocking all ingress by land to the quay.

  Molde in ruins. Picture credits: Romsdalsmuseet, N-6413 Molde, Norway.

  The Confection building lies in ruins. Picture credit: Unknown.

  By dawn, Captain Denny his W/T set and his naval personnel had retired to the hills above Molde, as had the Base personnel at Åndalsnes. The hills and woods were now the only safe place to be. Denny, utterly exhausted, took the opportunity to inform the Norwegian authorities that the evacuation of armed forces from Åndalsnes had begun; it must have been a hugely difficult moment for him and a grave disappointment to the Norwegians. However, Denny’s report goes on to mention the contribution of the Norwegians and the part they played in assisting the Allies, particularly the nurses and volunteers, but he was also suspicious of a few whose intentions he deemed dubious at best. ‘Molde contained a number of Norwegians of doubtful sympathies, and there is no doubt espionage existed and that the state telephone system was tapped…’126

  The Allies were leaving; they had failed in their attempt to rout the German invasion, although not through lack of bravery, but rather through a dearth of leadership and decisiveness from the British Government and Chiefs of Staff High Command. It had been a miserable experience for all concerned and now Norway was to be fully occupied by an uninvited force for five long years.

  Captain Denny was finally evacuated on April 30th by the Ulster Prince, along with significant others such as Captain Frank Foley and Admiral Diesen. Without doubt, Captain Denny had been exemplary; a job well done under the most exhausting circumstances.

  11

  A Daring Rescue

  April 29th

  HMS Glasgow was the seventh ship to bear the name (the first was launched in 1707). She was ordered in December 1934, and first laid down in April 1935 at Scotts Engineering Company in Greenock, Scotland and launched in June 1936 as a Southampton Class Cruiser. She was commissioned in September 1937 displacing 11,540 tons. Her armament comprised of twelve 6 inch (150 mm) guns housed in triple turrets, eight 4 inch (105 mm) AA guns, eight (40.5 mm) guns, eight 0.5 inch (13 mm) machine-guns and six 21 inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes. Her crew complement was 750 men. HMS Glasgow also had two Supermarine Walrus aircraft on board for spotting and other duties. Her maximum speed was rated at 32 knots (59km/h).

  Of the three Royal Navy cruisers involved with the gold transport, HMS Glasgow is probably the best known. Carrying gold bullion was nothing new to Glasgow. During 1939, and as part of the Royal Tour to America and Canada, the cruiser had taken part in the transfer of Britain’s gold reserves to Fort Knox. On that occasion HMS Southampton and HMS Repulse accompanied her. His Majesty King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, meanwhile, sailed in the Empress of Australia. It was purportedly Churchill’s idea that Britain’s gold reserves were to be taken to a place of relative safety, although for security and morale the transfer was kept very secret.127

  During the so called ‘Phoney War’ Glasgow, part of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron and Northern Patrol, took the fight to Hitler and his Kriegsmarine, but the biggest fight of all was with the perilous North Sea in winter, which sided with none of the belligerents. Poor weather or not Glasgow battled her way regularly across the North Sea on patrol, but the conditions took their toll on the cruiser and Captain Pegram was forced to dock his ship in Belfast for repairs and refit. By late March after a period of rest and relaxation for the crew HMS Glasgow was back at Rosyth and preparing for Norway with troops and war material hastily embarked for ‘Plan R4’ – the somewhat vague military objective of taking Narvik and securing the iron ore routes with Trondheim, Bergen and Stavanger also targets for occupation. Events overtook this plan and with the sighting of German battle cruisers off Norway on April 7th, 1st Cruiser Squadron, still docked at Rosyth was ordered to disembark her troops immediately and to intercept the German battle force.

  On the night of April 8/9th when Denmark and Norway were simultaneously invaded, Glasgow, already placed at readiness, managed to get under way sailing directly for northern waters. Intelligence stated that large German warships were in the area and attempts by Glasgow to engage these ships, later to be identified as Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, were to prove unsuccessful. In fact Glasgow was never even close to locating the two ships, but later she was attacked by German bombers and suffered near misses causing fatalities, injuries and damage to the ship. Glasgow returned and refuelle
d at Scapa Flow then recommenced patrol off the west coast of Norway with HMS Sheffield and a destroyer escort. Enemy ships were again ascertained to be operating in the area, but no engagements were made.

  On April 13/14th Glasgow took part in the first operation, along with Sheffield, to land 350 Royal Marines and soldiers on Norwegian soil – ‘Operation Henry’. The landing at Namsos was unopposed although Captain Pegram was certain that the Germans were aware of the landing. Glasgow took part in further operations and patrols and came under attack again from German bombers, but their aim was poor and Glasgow escaped unscathed. For their part, the AA gunners on Glasgow managed to bring down a bomber. Later, after securing their objectives, Glasgow’s small invasion force was taken off and relieved by 146th Brigade. Low on fuel, Glasgow returned to Scapa Flow in company with Sheffield.

  The British expedition in Norway did not fare well and on April 28th 1940 Captain Pegram received orders from Commander-in-chief Home Fleet to ‘proceed at best speed from Scapa Flow’ to Norway accompanied by HM Ships Jackal and Javelin as destroyer escort. Their mission was to effect the evacuation of King Haakon and members of the Royal Norwegian Government. It was not an easy passage for the Royal Navy force and, close to the Norwegian coast on the 29th at around 18:30, it was harrassed and attacked by two Heinkel 111s. Fortunately, all six bombs dropped missed their intended targets and the force continued their journey with the utmost haste. Late on the 29th and under the cover of darkness Glasgow entered Romsdal Fjord. Escorting destroyers Jackal and Javelin were immediately dispatched to protect the entrance against the threat of U-boats; Glasgow did not want to be caught unawares.

  The west coast ports were crucial to the Allies firstly because they were deep-water ports where warships could dock, though it was a tight fit. Secondly, Åndalsnes’ port was serviced by a crane, making it a little easier to load and unload, although only one ship at a time could tie up to disembark. Molde had a decent quayside but close by there were protruding rocks out in the fjord making it hazardous to turn large ships around. Thirdly, the Germans had not seized those two ports.

  Captain Pegram, who later wrote up his proceedings for the operation, takes up the story:128

  On nearing the coast, one heavy pall of smoke could be observed in the Ålesund area, one apparently over Kristiansund and another over Molde. This latter died down as we approached, but on proceeding up the fjord towards Molde it was seen that German aircraft were engaged in bombing the town and extensive fires had been started.

  When Molde itself was sighted, it was burning fiercely. At 23:10/29, the ship went alongside the quay, the eastern end of which was already on fire. Fortunately, there was a light onshore wind, or I should not have been able to go alongside, and ship’s parties were able to extinguish the fire in the vicinity of the ship.

  On arrival, a signal was received by lamp from ashore at a point some distance North-East of the jetty that the main body was there and that it was not possible to reach the jetty. I asked the Senior Naval Officer to come on board by puffer (small fishing boat) and when Captain Denny, RN, arrived it was at once clear that he was under a misapprehension regarding the plans for the re-embarkation of troops. Not having received the signals concerning this operation, he was under the impression the Glasgow had arrived in order to commence the re-embarkation forthwith, and the personnel of the Base Staff was ready to embark. Captain Denny made it quite clear to me that in his view there was no question of embarking troops from Molde, for there was no road communication to the town open, the fires were still raging and all local small craft had become frightened and fled. My signals timed 22:50/29, 00:30/30 and 00:23/30 were dispatched. Captain Denny himself insisted on remaining on shore with sufficient staff to assist any further evacuation, which might take place. He had been subjected to the most constant strain without sleep under hazardous conditions for many days: he was tired out, but indomitable. It must have been a blow to him having to remain ashore after feeling that his work was completed, and I hated having to see him go. His courage and quiet composure under such an ordeal was grand to see.

  His Majesty King Haakon of Norway and Crown Prince Olav embarked from a local tug at 23:38/29, and various members of the Norwegian Government were also embarked…

  Besides the Norwegians, French and Danish Ministers were embarked, together with the staffs of the British and French Legations…

  Also embarked were 117 survivors from six sunken trawlers, together with 17 officers and men of the Royal Artillery, and most of the base staff at Molde. Of the above 15 were wounded. A complete list of naval and military officers is given in Enclosure No4. The total number evacuated was: – civilians and officers 92, others 185.

  Captain Denny remained ashore at Molde with Captain HSM Harrison-Wallace RN, the Extended Defence Officer [XDO] and 14 others to attempt to maintain communications and to assist in carrying out the re-embarkation plan (HMS Glasgow’s 00:30/30) provisions for this party were landed from this ship.

  Two ships were requisitioned on April 29th to carry gold freight to HMS Glasgow. They were D/S Legona and the M/S Rovdehorn, the latter of which had up to that point been transporting troops and war material. Captain Peter Erstad of the steamer Rovdehorn later spoke about his experience in a newspaper interview given after the war.129

  I was conveniently available with Rovdehorn when I was requested to take heavy boxes cross the harbour area to [HMS] Glasgow. Legona, a smaller, private vessel was also hired to do the same job. British sailors helped us. The bombing of the harbour area made the work difficult for us. The anti-aircraft fire from the cruiser was intense and 11 bombs exploded around us.130

  Although Rovdehorn and Legona were not the intended targets they were very fortunate not to be hit or damaged as the bombs detonated on impact with the water.

  The initial thinking behind the requisitioning of the two ships was that HMS Glasgow would not berth alongside at Molde, but anchor in the fjord; this did not, in the event, come to pass.

  Captain Erstad made two short trips with the Rovdehorn from the nearby ‘Pharmacy Pier’ carrying the precious gold to HMS Glasgow. With the burning town providing a very bright backlight it wasn’t difficult for the Rovdehorn to lie up beside the cruiser on her starboard side to transfer the gold. Glasgow was able to use her crane to load the gold onboard and then lower it down through a mid-ships hatch way whereupon it was carefully stowed. Legona’s consignment was also taken onboard the same way. But it soon became clear that the loading of the bullion was too slow and that an alternative method was needed to get the gold onboard. Whilst Rovdehorn made two trips with bullion, Legona made one trip with her consignment of gold and then returned to ferry assorted passengers to the cruiser.

  The privately owned steamer Legona happened to be just west of Storkaia [the pier where Glasgow was moored]. The skipper and owner, Martin Legernes had arrived in Molde with his ship in order to save furniture from his newly built house. His family had evacuated the house to a nearby family farm at Daugstad. Onboard the Legona that night [29th] were several neighbours and relatives who had come to help evacuate the house of its contents.

  It was whilst Legona was moored at the pier that a British officer came aboard and requested to speak to the Captain. Fortunately for the officer Captain Legernes spoke reasonable English, and the officer asked if the Legona could be taken over to HMS Glasgow, which was moored at the end of Storkaia Pier. An agreement was quickly reached and some 18–20 people were embarked, including four ladies in sporting wear. Legernes is recorded as saying:131

  There was a very tall man in a blue overcoat whom we reckoned to be King Haakon. When we reached [HMS] Glasgow a rope ladder was dropped over the side of the cruiser and I asked the passengers to walk up on top of the bridge deck and then on to a crate containing the lifebelts and then on to Glasgow. That worked well and everyone was successful in getting onboard Glasgow.

  According to Glasgow’s log Legona pulled alongside just after 22:30. Captain Peg
ram’s report describes the Legona as a small tug, although other reports described the ship as a ‘puffer’. Whatever the descriptions, King Haakon was safely aboard HMS Glasgow.

  Captain Legernes was correct in his belief that he had the King aboard his ship. Another witness, Tomas Breivik, also noted the tall, erect figure of the King embarking the Legona, additionally spotting that the Crown Prince was already onboard Glasgow and walked up to greet his father when the King embarked. Breivik notes that the two men remained on deck, despite the danger, watching the fires raging and engulfing Molde. Breivik then states that with all safely aboard HMS Glasgow the Legona returned to Reknes Pier to continue the loading of furniture from various private houses.