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Notes by Nicholas Hutchings: The following account was written by my father, Raymond Hutchings (1924-1998), who was sent to Copenhagen on 8 May 1945 to supervise the German surrender. He was a 20-year-old private in the 8th Parachute Battalion (8 Para Bn). I found a carbon copy of a typed account amongst his papers after his death. It seems to have formed part of a letter to his parents and was probably written immediately after his return to England in early June 1945. I have retyped it here. Not one word has been added or omitted.

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We landed south of Copenhagen, on V.E. day, at about three o'clock in the after-noon. We landed, quite peacefully, we did not parachute down or anything like that, from about thirty Curtiss Commando aeroplanes. It was a very fine day and altogether a good start. We collected our gear and piled into a large lorry commandeered by the Danish resistance. On the side was painted 'Holger Danske' - Holger Danske is a mythical personage who lives in the underworld, and whenever Denmark is in trouble he goes into action and soon everything is all right again.

All along the road people were cheering and waving and smiling and saluting and an escort of cyclists was riding beside us. Then we de-bussed and went on foot into the centre of the city. Have you seen pictures of the liberation in France and Belgium - well, it was just like that and I can assure you that it was very inspiring. In the main square was the biggest crowd that I have ever seen, waving autograph books and shouting words of welcome, at least so I imagine, of course we couldn't understand a word ! That night and the next day and indeed the next week it was like that all the time. A man would come up to you in the street and shake your hand, or a girl pin a brooch on your chest, like this one here. Then the autograph hunters……children, boys and girls, but not only children either - I had quite a few elderly ladies - and one chap of about thirty who looked as if he hadn't shaved for a week and proffered a great thick pencil and dirty autograph book ! I shall never forget the first morning I went out to see the city. My friend and myself passed the barrier - after signing a good hundred autographs - but after a few yards we were separated with a small crowd gathered round each. If you hesitated in the street - as you were bound to do to find the way - or if you didn't stop there would be one, and when you had fixed that there were three more, and when you had signed their books there would be a score of people round you. that morning, we seriously doubted if we should get back to camp at all !

These first glorious days of liberation were celebrated by the Danes with unrestrained joy and gaiety and patriotic exuberance. Everyone was genuinely happy, as if they hadn't a care in the world. We were swept off our feet with the rest. The atmosphere of goodwill towards us was tremendous. You could never lose your way in Copenhagen - before you had time to ask there would be someone to show the way, and them-selves take you there, even if it was right out of their road. And then too the British soldiers began to meet the Danes and to be invited to their homes. The first morning I met a boy and girl in Tivoli and thence we got to know their families and others too, for in certain circles in Copenhagen everyone knows everyone else. The traditional long conserved bottle of Danish beer or Schnapps would come out and everyone would find themselves talking. I have made many good friends in Denmark, all the chaps say the same and nothing made a better impression than this generous hospitality, which was the same for all ranks.

You may ask if there was any fighting to do ? No virtually none, we arrived when the Germans had already packed in and there was fighting only some hundreds of Danish traitors, or Hipos , small groups of desperadoes who took up the attention of a Danish resistance army at least twenty times as numerous - not to its discredit, for the Hipos wore either Danish uniform or civilian clothes or exactly the same uniform as the Danish resistance, who themselves often wore German uniforms with simply the addition of an armband - so you can imagine that it was hard to distinguish them, even for the Danes. Practically impossible for us ! The liberation was entirely the work of the Danish resistance, with the co-operation of virtually the whole population which was solidly behind them when it did not actively support. In Copenhagen alone they had about thirty thousand men, armed to the teeth though for most of the time there was no-one to shoot at ! However, on V.E. night there was plenty of sniping around our Headquarters and elsewhere, and it was the same every night for near a week - they would start up round about half-past-ten - and sometimes you would hear firing in the daytime, but in general it seemed to be pretty innocuous and soon we ceased to take any notice of it at all. Of course, it wasn't always so, some days you would find flowers put down in the street where someone had been shot the night before: but in general there was a lot of noise and not too much effect. At first, we all carried arms about, but very soon we found it wasn't necessary.

There was a great deal of trouble in a minor way. When we arrived there were probably 250,000 German soldiers in Denmark, of which there were maybe 30,000 in Copenhagen, and they certainly outnumbered the Allied Forces. In general they did not want to fight and were willing to obey us, but from time to time they turned obstinate and a little expedition had to be sent out. Word came through once that some Germans were burning documents and we went to investigate. There was something burning, but it turned out to be only old newspapers, pictures of generals and admirals and odd junk and litter of all sorts. Then there was the time when we chased a Gestapo General, Günther Pancke, one of the most hated men in Denmark which is saying something. He was reported on a hospital ship in the Sound, and we gave chase on a ex-German lighter which was the only ship with steam up. This ship was not fast enough by a long chalk and the chase had to be given up - by us. That was a real disappointment.

Otherwise our work was mainly given up to supervising the evacuation of the German troops from the country. They were moving out, marching, from the start; you used to see them tramping through the streets of Copenhagen in the small hours of the morning, dragging little carts behind them with their belongings. They had the impression that they would be treated lightly, but when they reached the Danish-German frontier they will find their mistake. Much of their kit was doubtless loot, but they will lose that anyway.

So far as the Germans were concerned, they left in Denmark a reputation which could hardly have been lower. One didn’t hear a good word for them. The most one could say, was that the ordinary soldiers were not hated near so much as the Gestapo and S.S., but that is not saying a great deal. It was offensive to the Danes to joke when referring to Germans, or to say any German words. In that way, they are much more sensitive than ourselves. Whereas the chief preoccupation of the British soldiers in Denmark was to gather as many souvenirs - of every kind - as possible, the Danes didn't want any souvenirs, they wanted to forget there had ever been such a thing as an occupation. Now the Germans are going, and the Danes couldn't possibly be more pleased.

Denmark itself looks, superficially, as if it has suffered very little from the war. There is very little bomb damage in Copenhagen, aside from the Gestapo Headquarters which was accurately bombed by the R.A.F. a short while before the liberation, and this the Danes never tired of quoting. On the other hand, there was a good deal of wanton destruction of buildings, such as pleasure palaces, by the Hipos, apparently simply for spite. And, of course, there was the very considerable sabotage that was the work of the Danish resistance, who for instance greatly hampered the export of food to Germany by attacking the transport lines. However, in Copenhagen at least such damage is not obvious. The Hipos for many months had terrorized the city, for instance they took random hostages or even shot indiscriminately in the streets, and for the sake of a better aim some removed the rear doors of their cars. Still, one can say, in comparing an enemy occupation with our experiences, and our own war effort which has gradually slowed, and of course still has not stopped, that when occupation lifts, it lifts universally and absolutely. Denmark today is settling down to what is something like normal existence. They have by comparison with most other countries abundant food, including more milk and eggs than they know what to do with, and are most eager to send to Holland or Norway : clothes are unrationed except for socks and stockings : many things, like fountain pens or thermos flasks, are obtainable which you could never get in England. On the other hand, they have no coal, using peat instead, and very little tobacco. A single English cigarette is worth in Denmark one krone, or about tenpence, and the result of this was that at first we lived almost solely by the black market ! Still there was some excuse because we had then no Danish currency.

But more important you have to remember that they had no security and no liberty under the occupation. Every night and day there were patriots murdered. For a long time they had no police - the Germans blew an air-raid siren, and arrested everyone above ground. A family I knew had their car taken by Hipos, another had all their valuable silver plate stolen, with no possibility of redress. Apart from the many occasions when the Germans resorted to brutal violence in the streets.

One consequence of this was that private families would come to collect weapons, and Denmark today is flooded with firearms. In the streets, perhaps one man in four carries a rifle, or a revolver, or a tommy-gun, or a bayonet, or some combination of these. A typical way to open a conversation, instead of the weather, is to point to the other chap's revolver, and ask him where he got it, and when, and then he asks about yours and soon you are talking like old friends. Even girls of fifteen or so want to know how to fire revolvers, and one, when I asked if there was anything else I could teach her, replied yes, she wanted to learn ju-jitsu ! Those are two girlish hobbies in Denmark now.

The Danish resistance, of which we saw a good deal, was extremely well armed with Swedish and British tommy-guns, German rifles and Danish and German revolvers. When I left they were still patrolling the streets, literally loaded down with weapons, but there was really good reason for their armaments though at first sight in the peaceful streets you might not think so - there were still many Hipos, and German sympathizers at large. They are bringing in the traitors one or two a day, but it is a long and slow task. In the business of guarding the many Germans in the city, and providing the main weight of power behind our expeditions, they were absolutely invaluable.

The Danes are as friendly to England and the English as one could possibly wish or imagine - they regarded us not only as heroes but as virtuous heroes and I don't suppose it will ever be my good fortune to be so regarded again ! They read all our books and know and care more about our royal family than we do ourselves. (Their own king, of course, is extremely popular). But they are rather lukewarm towards America, and definitely cold towards Russia. Maybe they had caught the Russian bogey from German propaganda and I think their fears will prove unjustified. They are perfectly willing and eager to help in the occupation of Germany.

I would say the best thing you could all do now is to start to learn Danish.

Afternotes by Nicholas Hutchings: HIPO means Hilfepolizei. I have learnt from various websites that Gunther Pancke (1899-1973) was captured after all and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment in Denmark.

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