Norway to Neilston

Local historian Jim Renfrew had offered to give the group a presentation he'd put together about how Neilston ended up hosting 525 Norwegian evacuees at the tale end of World War II.

So, 13 of us and Jim gathered in the Parish Church Halls to have breakfast and then JIm gave us his Norway to Neilston video presentation. A few of the group members were around at the tail end of the war and knew first-hand of what Jim was speaking about - it brought back a few memories.

The little island of Sørøya above the Arctic Circle, was home to a resistance group fighting against the occupying German forces and reporting on enemy shipping, which led to the sinking of many ships, including the battleship Tirpitz.

With allies running supply convoys to Murmansk and Archangel to supply the Russian effort and to help foster another invasion front against Germany, by late 1944 the Nazis were in retreat from occupied Norway. They had decided on a "scorched earth" policy, destroying everything that could be used by the Russian army as they pulled their forces back. Homes and crops were burned and livestock slaughtered, leaving the civilian population in dire straits, thousands being forcibly evacuated to Southern Norway.

After living in caves for three months, surviving on potatoes, dried meat, salted fish and lingonberries, on the 15 February 1945, less than three months before the end of World War II in Europe, 525 Norwegian civilians were evacuated from Sørøya by four destroyers (Zambesi, Zealous, and Zest from the Royal Navy, and Sioux from the Canadian Navy) and brought to safety in Murmansk.

The little island of Sørøya above the Arctic Circle, was home to a resistance group fighting against the occupying German forces and reporting on enemy shipping, which led to the sinking of many ships, including the battleship Tirpitz.

With allies running supply convoys to Murmansk and Archangel to supply the Russian effort and to help foster another invasion front against Germany, by late 1944 the Nazis were in retreat from occupied Norway. They had decided on a "scorched earth" policy, destroying everything that could be used by the Russian army as they pulled their forces back. Homes and crops were burned and livestock slaughtered, leaving the civilian population in dire straits, thousands being forcibly evacuated to Southern Norway.

After living in caves for three months, surviving on potatoes, dried meat, salted fish and lingonberries, on the 15 February 1945, less than three months before the end of World War II in Europe, 525 Norwegian civilians were evacuated from Sørøya by four destroyers (Zambesi, Zealous, and Zest from the Royal Navy, and Sioux from the Canadian Navy) and brought to safety in Murmansk.

Those brave Norwegians were then transported via the dangerous North Atlantic convoy route in a convoy of 38 merchant ships, accompanied by the SS Henry Bacon. Sadly, the Henry Bacon suffered engine trouble on route and was subsequently attacked and sunk by 23 Luftwaffe bombers, as it struggled to catch up with the rest of the convoy. Many of the crew sacrificed their lives to save the civilians, all of whom were rescued.

The refugees were then taken to Scotland, arriving in Greenock before being taken to Neilston to the Kingston Camp, which was originally intended for anyone made homeless as a result of bombings.

Of the 45 huts built in Neilston to house the evacuees, all we have left now is the one used as changing rooms on Kingston Playing Fields.

27 Norwegian birch trees were planted in Kingston Park in 2020 to remember the 27 Americans of the SS Henry Bacon – the last Allied ship sunk by the Luftwaffe in World War Two. Sadly, nine of them were damaged by mindless vandals in 2021.

Jim is a good presenter, obviously knowing the material very well, and he kept us all well entertained. We're hoping he'll agree to come back sometime and give us his Neilston Memories presentation as well.

If you're interested in reading more about the story, here are some articles I found online:

• Her warning allowed hundreds to flee Nazis, hide in Arctic caves

• Through Hell and High Water

• Norwegian woman returns to Neilston

• The Ones Who Stayed

• Norwegian dignitaries trace WW2 refugees back to Greenock

• World War II Norway: Finnmark (October 1944-May1945)

• Neilston to honour refugee story

• Forgotten Valor—LTJG Sippola and the Ordeal of the SS Henry Bacon, 23 February 1945

• Remembering the SIU-Crewed SS Henry Bacon

• The Sinking of the SS Henry Bacon

• Henry Bacon - The United States Navy Memorial

• Mindless vandals target memorial trees in Neilston erected in honour of heroes