Sted

STS26 Glenmore lodge

Beskrivelse

Kompani Linge, offisielt Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C. 1 eller Noric 1, derfor kalt «Norisen» av mange) var et norsk kompani som eksisterte fra 1941 til 1945. Det ble opprettet av SOE som et uavhengig kompani etter mønster av de britiske kommandosoldatene. Mannskapet var trent i sabotasjeaksjoner i små grupper, og kompaniet opptrådte aldri som en samlet kampstyrke. Kompaniet ble oppkalt etter dets første kommandant, kaptein Martin Linge. Dette navnet ble innført kort tid etter at han falt i desember 1941.

Opplæringsteder

Drumintoul Lodge, ved Aviemore i Cairngorms National Park i Skottland, var Kompani Linges hovedkvarter fra høsten 1941.

Våren 1941 ble det opprettet en samlingsleir for Kompani Linge i Fawley Court ved Henley-on-Thames, vest for London, et gammelt herresete. Terrenget var imidlertid dårlig egnet for hard trening, og i november 1941 ble kompaniet flyttet til det skotske høylandet, til et område som i dag ligger ved Aviemore i Cairngorms National Park. Kompaniet ble forlagt i tre bygninger noen kilometer fra hverandre: Drumintoul Lodge, Glenmore Lodge og Forest Lodge. Drumintoul Lodge var hovedkvarteret, der kontorene også lå. Betegnelsen for disse tre stedene samlet var "STS 26" ("Special Training Schools" i regi av SOE).

Det finnes et minnesmerke over Kompani Linge utenfor Glenmore Forest Park Visitor Center, i hjertet av området hvor man holdt til. Minnesmerket er reist av lokalbefolkningen. Inne på Glenmore Forest Park Visitor Center finnes også en liten utstilling over Kompani Linge.

At first glance, Drumintoul Lodge looks like the Scottish country home of a well-heeled family. And it is. Nestled in the foothills of Scotland’s Cairngorms, the graceful stone house and estate – originally a Victorian hunting lodge – both belong to the family of the 17th laird of Rothiemurchus.

But if the private lane to the lodge isn’t enough to keep out trespassers, another detail might: on the side of the dirt road are two armoured metal cylinders, sided with corrugated metal.

Dating to the 1940s, both were built in case of a foray by Nazis onto the site.

“That’s the first guardroom there,” says Johnnie Grant, laird and 13th Earl of Dysart, as we rattle over the dirt lane in a Range Rover. “They had two, so if that one got overpowered, there’s another one.”

The Linge Company (Kompani Linge) Norwegian nationals who escaped the Nazis during the war trained as commandos in Britain. After this ‘resistance training’ they returned to Norway to carry out sabotage attacks (Lofoten War Museum). A number of commandos trained in Abernethy and Glenmore – probably because the forested, hilly terrain and harsh winters were similar to those in Norway, where they would be operating. Forest Lodge was used as a base – the Naylors having moved out between 1941 – 45.

Perhaps for the sake of secrecy, the Linge Compay had little contact with locals – even having their own telephone wire between Glenmore and Abernethy (Naylor 1994). During their training they are said to have built an assualt course along the river Nethy and used Inchtomach and Cromault Lodge for target and bombing practise.

The Norwegian King at the time – King Hakon, visited them during the War and a military display was put on for him by the commandos at Inchtomach. They reputedly burned five tons of fuel a week whilst staying at the Lodge. The ‘Norwegian Stone’ stands as a memorial to them in Glenmore (Outside the Forestry Commission visitor centre).

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