大象传媒

Diary of Thomas H. Mason My Experiences with the N. W.E.F. April to June 1940.
On April 15th. at 3pm we landed from a Destroyer at Harstaad, after eight days at sea. After one night of peace we were raided by German bombers all afternoon of the 16th. Our billet was in danger of being blown up, and about nine o'clock at night we packed up and left and went over the hill through 8 feet of snow. We secured some empty houses which we made our new home for the next fifteen days. During that time we built gun posts with snow walls, and manned the guns day and night. We had many raids during that time, but in between we were off duty. On the following Tuesday we received orders to evacuate the position.
We boarded a Destroyer "Delight" at around 8.30 and sailed at nine o'clock, our destination being Hanlinn. We landed on Thursday night May 2nd. After a four hour march over snow and ice-covered roads and in bright sunlight (as it is never dark during the summer months), we arrived at our final destination, that being Boltassen. We mounted guard at 2am on the morning of Friday the 3rd of May. We were billeted in a school and of course we dug in as well. Things went smoothly except for the air raids, but the enemy did not spot our position. We were alarmed one night, a person was sitting behind a tree on the hilltop behind the billet. Two sergeants and three men (myself included) went off on his trail but when we reached the hilltop, after wading through about seven feet of snow, he was gone. We followed his ski trails but they stopped abruptly on the mountains edge.
We returned to our billets and enjoyed the climb just the same, although our search had proved fruitless. Many times we packed our kit and unpacked it, but finally we moved on Saturday May 11th. We marched back to Hankim where we boarded the "Enterprise" and sailed, our destination this time being M'O. We landed on Sunday 12th at 5.30am. No sooner had we landed than the Cruiser was bombed but we all escaped injury. We sunk a German supply ship just before we reached M'O. We marched for three hours and covered a considerable distance, we finally took up a position in a thin clump of trees on a hillside. That night it started to snow hard and thick, and there we were lying out on the open hillside, frozen stiff. On the morning of Monday 13th, the weather took a turn for the better, the sun shone and it was extremely warm. The snow began to melt so we took the opportunity of building a sleeping shelter while the other half of our section dug in.
The bridge across the Fjord facing our dugouts was mined this afternoon by the R.E. As night drew on, we observed the first of the Norwegian soldiers withdrawing through our positions. They had been fighting a losing bailie. About 11pm that night, I took ill and was sick all night long. On Tuesday 14th I was taken to the R.A.P. where I was taken care of for a couple of days. Enemy reconnaissance planes flew over our position many times during the morning. During the early part of the night the Navy shelled the enemy encampment and much damage was done. In the early hours of the morning of Wednesday 15th, an enemy fighter plane skimmed the roof of the R. A. P. and machine gunned a number of retreating Norwegians. It returned at 6.30pm and was shot down by our AA guns. The rear gunner baled out just before the plane crashed into the mountainside. The pilot was trapped in the cockpit and both were taken

prisoner. I returned to our position shortly afterwards.
On the morning of Thursday 16th an enemy Seaplane was seen searching for the fighter we brought down last night. Later a troop carrier was shot down into the Fjord by the AA guns. The bridge was blown up in the afternoon by the R.E. On Friday 17th a large number of planes were over. It was a terrific heat during the day. About 3.30pm the guns of both sides went into action, and at around 6.30pm we had our first glimpse of the enemy. They attempted to come along the road, and cross the Fjord but we soon settled them. The ones who attempted to cross the Fjord stuck in the mud and were an easy target We did not see them again till 9pm when they launched their attack on our left flank. From then on it was guerrilla warfare, they were hidden by the trees, so could advance quite close and use their tommy guns. Fierce fighting continued until 5am on the morning of the 18th, when they had us cut off on three sides. The order was given to withdraw.
We had only two companies against the enemy's two divisions. Our only way of retreat was covered by a machine gun, and we had great difficulty in getting past it. We then climbed the hill and forced some of the enemy out of R.F. trenches. Our line of retreat was being shelled but we escaped injury. Only twenty were left of our parry but we met a large number later on. After withdrawing a considerable distance we took up another position but could hardly keep awake, we had no sleep for days. It was hopeless, we were matched against a much superior force, so we again withdrew. After 14 miles continuous marching we arrived at our rendezvous. We lost all our kit in our first position, so had not much weight to carry. We slept by the roadside all night. On Sunday morning 19th after a drop of hot tea we set off again.
The enemy were moving up fast behind us. I was on the verge of collapse when I was picked up by the MO's truck. We followed the line of march until we reached our billets on the morning of Monday 20th. After a small but hot meal, I slept about twelve hours. At night it was reported the enemy were creeping up fast behind us. About 10pm we boarded a bus which took us over the snow belt. At 4.30am on the morning of Tuesday 21st, we took up another position beside a waterfall. It was not long before the enemy appeared and there was another fierce battle. We were still holding the position on Thursday 23rd, but had to withdraw again that night. Early on the morning of Friday 24th, 3.30am approx, some of us left the company led by Sgt. Laird. We commandeered a lift to the Ferry at Rognan in a Norwegian lorry. We entered an empty house and were lucky to dig up a good meal. Later in the afternoon, we took over a barn where we had another well earned sleep.
In the early hours of Saturday 25th, the Battalion arrived, so we joined our Company again and crossed the ferry to Hoping from where we secured transport to the hills, where we had a few days rest, the Irish Guards having taken over. We moved off again at 8.30am on Wednesday 29th to take over from the Irish Guards. We took up a position at 3pm, about eight miles from Bodo. We received orders to hold the position for two days. On Thursday night 'B' Company went into action and the enemy withdrew. On Friday 31st at 7.45pm, we left our positions without having seen the enemy, and headed for Bodo, where we were to be picked up by the Navy at midnight.
While on our way over the hills, enemy dive bombers flattened Bodo. At lam on the morning of Saturday June 1st, we left Bodo harbour
on board HMS "Delight". At 12.3Opm we arrived at a small village a few miles from our first billet at Harstaad. We had a quiet stay there, during which time French and other troops 庐arrived. At 6.3Oam on Thursday 6th, we boarded the "Enterprise'a^ain, and they took us out to sea where we boarded the trooper Franconiaat lOam. We left soon afterwards. On Saturday 8th at 11.15am we were bombed but no damage was done. We had a good return passage and entered the Clyde again in the early hours of Monday June lOth. We landed at Gourock on Tuesday morning 1 1th and entrained for Coatbridge. And so ended an adventure which should never have started.
(Tom Mason was born in Galashiels on 30th November 1920. He moved with his family to Portobello, Edinburgh in 1934, then on to Dalkeith, Midlothian in 1935, where he worked as a Garden Labourer for Dobbies Nursery. He joined the Scots Guards in 1938 as a regular soldier. After his Norwegian adventure, he served as an RTO (Rail Transport Officer?) in London, and was demobbed at the end of the war. He spent the rest of his working life as a Driver with the local authority. He died in 1998).

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