BBC Scotland features Norwegian celebration of maritime war heroes, commemoration of the fallen and gratitude for Shetland’s and Britain’s support during WW2

The BBC has produced its first report so far about the Liberation Convoy 2025, a flotilla of six historic ships that will cross from Bergen, Norway to Lerwick, Shetland Islands in time for the 80th anniversary of VE Day on the 8th of May.

The vessels, which were used to ship agents and freedom fighters from Shetland to Norway, refugees from Norway to Shetland, and to supply food, ammunition and weapons to the UK throughout the war, will welcome visitors during its visits to Lerwick, Scalloway and several other UK ports, in an effort to educate new generations about the cost of freedom and the importance of preserving peace.

The Shetland Bus Memorial in Scalloway

Two of the flotilla’s representatives told BBC Scotland’s Good Evening Shetland programme about what to expect and how they are preparing for the main event, which will be a ceremony in Lerwick 8 May, possibly followed by a church concert.

“We are planning a group of five musicians who will play… national anthems and music that the people of Shetland and Norway have together,” said Commander Sten Brath, head of the Royal Norwegian Navy Band.

“They are professional musicians and they love to play in church… to celebrate the efforts [of the war heroes] and also to commemorate the fallen.”

The vessels that will be in Lerwick around the 8th of May include a war sailor’s museum ship that was in active service during the war, a former submarine chaser that was also used as a Shetland Bus to ferry oldiers and refugees back and forth across the North Sea, and four fishing boats that were also used in active service as Shetland Buses by Norwegian civilians who received military training in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK during the war, explained Kyrre Haugen, General Manager, Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce.

Close allies
Norwegians are generally knowledgable about the help offered by the people of Shetland as they hosted soldiers and refugees crossing the North Sea throughout the war in a variety of vessels known collectively as the Shetland Bus, and the relationship between the two remains as strong now as it was during the war, Mr Haugen insists.

“Everyone [in Norway} knows where Shetland is and that the people here nearly identify as Norwegian”, said Mr Haugen, highlighting the close relations that remain between the people of Shetland and the people of Norway. “We have been met and greeted like kings here,” Mr Haugen told BBC Scotland. “We’ve been taken everywhere with a connection to the Shetland Bus. The Norwegian delegation visited the graveyard in Lerwick, where many of those who died during the war are buried, museums in Scalloway and Lerwick and other relevant sites".

Prior to the ceremony in Lerwick, there wil be an event in Bergen on 2 or 3 May, and later in May, two of the vessels will be in Liverpool on the 17th May to celebrate Norwegian Independence Day and to express gratitude to the people of the United Kingdom for its support during our two countries’ shared battle against the Nazi regime.

Click here to listen to the report at about 23 minutes into the programme.


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