[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

On 12th December 2005 Captain Allan Mann passed away. He was put to rest in Stockholm two days ago.

Allan was a man who was easy to talk with - but not about his activities in WW 2. Once I asked him:

- Allan, you must have been in several dangerous situations during the war.
- Yes, I was.
- Did you ever come close to the edge?
- I did, but there were a lot of guys that faced even worse odds.
- What happened?
- Well, some never returned. As you see I am sitting here.

That was all i managed to get from himself. Witnesses however has told about his gallant actions in Narvik 1940 where he got the French Légion d´Honneur and Croix de Guèrre.

Severely wounded in Narvik he was considered unfit for military service in 1941 but joined the Norwegian underground and made 52 missions in German occupied Norway before joining the Norwegian Army in Scotland. There he got commando training.

He belonged to Norwegian 1st Independant Company "Kompani Linge" which did not operate as an unit but in small groups or individuals. The Company was paraded in full strenght only once and that was when it in 1945 entered Oslo after end of war.

Allan Mann was a Sergeant during most of WW 2 and came out 2nd Lt. In 1951 he left the Norvegian Army as a Captain and joined the Swedish Army.

Today I came across that he had participated in the Dieppe raid in 1942. He got british Miitary Medal and a second Croix de Guèrre - but why? Was it Dieppe or could there be a mixup with some other action?

So my question is: Were there Norvegian commandos participating in the Dieppe raid? As a group or as individuals?

Picture:

Standing middle as 2nd Lt 1945 after liberation of Norway.