.jpg) Bamse wearing aRoyal Norwegian Navy sailor's cap | |
| Species | Dog |
|---|---|
| Breed | St. Bernard |
| Sex | Male |
| Born | 1937 Oslo, Norway |
| Died | 22 July 1944 (aged 6–7) Montrose, Scotland |
| Resting place | Montrose, Scotland |
| Nation from | Norwegian |
| Occupation | Military mascot |
| Employer | Royal Norwegian Navy |
| Years active | 9 February 1940-22 July 1944 |
| Known for | Symbol of Norwegian freedom during World War II |
| Owner | Erling Hafto |
| Awards |  Norges Hundeorden PDSA Gold Medal |
| http://www.bamsemontrose.co.uk/ | |
Bamse (Norwegian word for "(male) bear", "teddy bear" or "big boy") (1937 – 22 July 1944) was aSt. Bernard dog that became theheroicmascot of theFree Norwegian Forces during theSecond World War. He became a symbol of Norwegian freedom during the war.
Bamse was bought inOslo, Norway, by CaptainErling Hafto, themaster of the Norwegian whale-catcherThorodd, and he was taken to sea from an early age. In her childhood memories of pre-warHonningsvåg, Captain Hafto's daughter Vigdis remembers Bamse as a very kind dog that would look after the children while they were playing.[1]
At the onset of the Second World War,Thorodd was drafted into theRoyal Norwegian Navy as a coastal patrol vessel, based inHammerfest,[2] and Bamse was enrolled as an official crew member on 9 February 1940. After theNaziinvasion of Norway on 9 April 1940 theThorodd was part of the naval opposition to the Germans and had as one of its usesPOW transport.
Shortly before the10 June 1940 capitulation of mainland Norway,Thorodd was one of 13 Norwegian naval vessels to escape to the UK, arriving 17 June 1940. She was converted to aminesweeper inRosyth from 30 June 1940 and stationed inMontrose andDundee inScotland, where she remained for the rest of the war.
Bamse lifted the morale of the ship's crew, and became well known to the local civilian population. In battle, he would stand on the front gun tower of the boat, and the crew made him a special metal helmet.
His acts of heroism included saving a young lieutenant commander who had been attacked by a man wielding a knife by pushing the assailant into the sea, and dragging back to shore a sailor who had fallen overboard. He was also known for breaking up fights amongst his crewmates by putting his paws on their shoulders, calming them down and then leading them back to the ship.
One of Bamse's tasks in Scotland was to round up his crew and escort them back to the ship in time for duty or curfew. To do this, he travelled on the local buses unaccompanied, and the crew bought him abus pass which was attached to his collar. Bamse would wander down to the bus stop at Broughty Ferry Road and take the bus down to Dundee. He would get off at the bus stop near his crew's favourite watering hole, the Bodega Bar, and go in to fetch them. If he could not locate his friends he would take the bus back to base.[3]
From being ship's mascot, Bamse became the mascot of the Royal Norwegian Navy, and then of all the Free Norwegian Forces. An iconic photograph of him wearing a Norwegiansailor's cap was used on patrioticEaster cards andChristmas cards during the war. ThePDSA made him an officialAllied Forces Mascot.
Bamse died ofheart failure on the dockside at Montrose on 22 July 1944. He was buried with full military honours. Hundreds of Norwegian sailors, Allied servicemen, schoolchildren and townsfolk from Montrose and Dundee attended his funeral.
His grave site lies off Ferry Road/Barracks Road in the eastern section of Montrose harbour on a section of pedestrian walkway beyond the industrial estate. It is cared for by local people, and the Royal Norwegian Navy holds a commemorative ceremony every ten years.
Bamse was posthumously awardedNorges Hundeorden (Norwegian Order of Dogs) on 30 September 1984 for his war service. In 2006, he was also awarded thePDSA Gold Medal (sometimes known as the "animals'George Cross") for gallantry and devotion to duty, the only World War II animal to have received this honour.
On 17 October 2006,The Duke of York unveiled a larger than life sized bronze statue of Bamse, made by Scottish sculptorAlan Herriot, on Montrose's Wharf Street. The Norwegianconsul in Edinburgh, Bjørn Eilertsen, brought greetings from Norway's king,Harald V. Other attendees included theLathallan School Pipe Band,[4] Royal Norwegian Navy representatives, Hans Petter Oset (director of theRoyal Norwegian Navy Museum), and Vigdis Hafto (the daughter of Bamse's owner).
In August 2008 author and columnist Angus Whitson and Andrew Orr of the Montrose Bamse Project published a new book,Sea Dog Bamse. The book charts Bamse's life – from prewar days inHonningsvåg, through the five years of war, until his heartfelt death. Using extensive source material and new eyewitness accounts, it relates stories of the Hafto family, theNorwegian Campaign, the minesweeperThorodd and its crew, the naval war off East Scotland, and the bonds between the Norwegians and the Scots. The hardback version became a Scottish bestseller, and a paperback version was released in October 2009.
Media attention renewed interest in Bamse in Norway. The Royal Norwegian Navy Museum (Marinemuseet) atHorten planned to install a smaller bronze version of the statue. In addition, the mayor ofNordkapp Municipality (which includes the town ofHonningsvåg), Kristina Hansen, and project manager Sigurd Berg-Hansen visited Montrose in November 2008, and launched a campaign to raise funds to purchase and install a duplicate bronze statue of Bamse on the waterfront at Honningsvåg, which currently has about 250,000 annual visitors. In December 2008 the NorwegianMinister of Defence,Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen announced that her ministry supported the Bamse project in Honningsvåg and would grant 70,000 kr to the memorial statue.[5]
On 16 May 2009 Royal Norwegian Navy cutter MVLeikvin transported a Bamse statue from the Port of Leith, Scotland to Honningsvåg. On 19 June 2009 schoolchildren from Honningsvåg and from Montrose unveiled the statue on the Honningsvåg harbour, in front of the museum (which tells his story in detail). The combined bands of the Skolekorps and Lathallan School's pipe band entertained the large crowd of supporters from Scotland, Norway, Sweden and Canada. The new statue of Bamse at Honningsvåg faces south-west towards Montrose, and the Scottish statue faces north-east towards Honningsvåg.
During 2016 a 17-acre (6.9 ha) forest was planted at Guards Lonning,Nether Wasdale, Cumbria (grid referenceNY 108 056) in honour of Bamse. The schemeBamse's Wood was supported by the Forestry Commission.
The Annual Bamse Cup Regatta hosted at theDartmouth Yacht Club is named in his honour, sponsored by the Convoy Cup Foundation.[6]
