The Heavy Water Operations (Heroes of Telemark) Col Wilson SEO 1945
WILSON, Colonel J.S. – The Heavy Water Operations in Norway 1942-1944 [with] HAUKELID, Captain Knut - Skis Against the Atom
*1 of only around 15 souvenirs made by Colonel Wilson for the heroes of Telemark, [along with] a first edition of Captain Haukelid's account of what happened*
Wilson Souvenir: London, Privately printed (1945)
Haukelid Biography: London, William Kimber (1954)
The very scarce souvenir made by Colonel Wilson is 8vo; bound in vellum, with a gilt emblem of the exiled Norwegian king on the upper board, along with hand painted flags of Norway and Great Britain; pp. [ii], [4], 5-33, [i]; hand woven paper with rough cut edges, the upper edge finished in gilt; no copyright or printer’s information; the vellum boards are lightly marked, the boards are bowed and there is a smattering of foxing marks to the edges of the inside boards along with the subsequent page; overall a very good to near fine book.
This is one of a very small number of souvenirs that Colonel Wilson of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) arranged to be made and given to those involved in the ‘Heavy Water Operations’ that were carried out in Norway between 1942 and 1944. Wilson explained in his letter at the front of the book that a close friend of his “was so thrilled with the saga that he suggested that the release to the British press, should be made into a souvenir for each one of you.” Wilson was addressing the 11 surviving members of operation “Grouse” and operation “Gunnerside”, that successfully blew up the Nazi’s stock of heavy water, in a hydrogen plant called Vemork in Telemark, Norway.
Captain Haukelid's biography is 8vo; in the original publisher's red cloth with gilt to the spine, along with the photographic dust wrapper of the Captain gun in hand ready to go; pp 201; a very good copy with minor wear to the edges of the jacket, not price clipped, book has the odd mark but overall a decent copy.
Heavy water was keenly sought after by the allies and Germany throughout the second world war, due to its necessity in nuclear physics for the harnessing of atomic energy. A reconnaissance party named ‘Grouse’ was sent in by the SOE to keep tabs on Germany’s efforts in this regard. They lived in the forest near to the plant, living off moss and Reindeer. They passed intelligence back to London, regarding troop placements, and who was going where and when. When news came back that heavy water production had been upped to 3000lbs a year, the British decided they had to strike. They first sent a team of 30 British Commandos in, on gliders in an operation called ‘Freshman’, but it ended in disaster. The gliders crashed killing most on board and handed the survivors into the clutches of the Gestapo to be interrogated and then executed.
A few weeks later, a second mission was hatched, this being operation ‘Gunnerside’. This time involving a smaller band of 5 Norwegian resistance fighters. They were given instructions to infiltrate the facility and blow up the stock of Heavy Water and equipment needed to make it. In the early hours of 28 February 1943, teams Grouse and Gunnerside set off to do just that. Leaders Jens Poulsson and Joachim Ronneberg set the instructions for their teams, to be either the covering or demolition parties. In the press release in this book the leaders were clear: “If anything upsets the plans, all are to act on their own initiative to carry out the operation. Any guards found will be dealt with in a determined manner. If any man is about to be taken prisoner, he undertakes to end his own life.” It was do or die, the balance of power and many thousands of lives were at stake. The Gunnerside and Grouse operatives scaled an ice cliff face, cut through a fence and infiltrated the building. Explosives were planted and detonated. The team then retreated to a safe distance and went into the wind. The mission was a success.
The souvenir made by the senior officer responsible for the operations, would have been given to either one of the operatives that destroyed the heavy water, or one of the officials that planned it, hence would be one of a very small number. For that reason, it is extremely scarce with no copies in institutions, none for sale anywhere and none appearing in auction records. It is with regards to espionage war books, about as good as it gets.