Frank Corneliusson & Naomi Ritchie
Although Sweden was neutral during the Second World War, there were a considerable number of Swedes, primarily fishermen, who found themselves having to be based in Scottish ports for the duration of the conflict. Frank Torsten Corneliusson was one such Swede who found himself in Scotland for much of the War.
Frank was born at Röd, Hönö in the Municipality of Öckerö, on 25 January 1913. The Öckerö archipelago is situated on the west coast of Sweden just off Gothenburg. He was the son of Carl Alfred Corneliusson and his wife Maria Charlotte Andersson. |
Röd: en by på Hönö
The following account was written by Algot Andersson, one of Frank Corneliusson's shipmates. It appeared in local history publication Röd en by på Hönö in 1986. It refers to 'England' throughout as is common in Scandinavia but, in this context, it is Scotland that is referred to. The English translation has amended this. It tells the story of how the boats Hispano and Lillvor ended up in Scotland and, ultimately, in Buckie.
Med Hispano och Lillvor i England [sic]
Algot Andersson berättar: Jag var 16 år när vi gick hemifrån i mars 1940 för att fiska på Nordsjön. Det var med Hispano som hade en besättning bestående av: Karl Johansson, August Johannesson, Osvald Axelsson, Alek Larsson, Frank Corneliusson och jag. Den andra båten var Lillvor. När vi kom ut blev det storm så vi gick in till Norge. Vi låg där i tre veckor. Sedan gick vi till Vikingbank. När vi hade fiskat tre dagar fick vi order hemifrån om att det var förbjudet att gå in till Norge för tysken hade gått in där. Kriget hade börjat. Vi skulle vänta på ny order men det kom ingen så vi gick in till Aberdeen. Där låg vi stilla en månad. Vi fick inte lov att gå ut på fiske för engelsmännen [sic]. De visste väl inte vad vi var för några. Vi frågade om vi inte kunde få fiska för dem. Eftersom det var krig så gick det ju ändå inte att gå hem. De svarade oss att vi fick fiska för dem om vi skrev under att hålla på med det tills kriget var över. Vi pratade med varandra och kom överens om att göra som de ville. När vi hade skrivit på fick vi order om att gå till Bucky [sic] för att fiska. Där låg vi i två år. Men på somrarna låg vi på Island där vi fiskade rödtunga. I början hade vi båtarna vitmålade som vi hade hemma. En dag när vi låg ute på fiske blev vi beskjutna av några tyska flygplan. När vi kom till land frågade vi om det inte gick att måla båtarna gröna som de engelska [sic] båtarna var. Det fick vi, men då måste vi också byta nummer på båten. Det var Londonnummer som sattes på. Vi fick 396 och Lillvor 397. Vi hade det väldigt bra. Att det var krig märkte vi sällan. Brännolja och smörjolja fick vi så mycket som helst. Proviant fick allt sjöfolk dubbla ransoner av. När vi skulle ut på fiske så var det på hemliga order. Vi sade var vi ville fiska och då fick vi ett kuvert som var förseglat. Det skulle öppnas när vi hade kommit en bit ifrån land. I brevet stod det vilken väg vi skulle gå för att komma till fiskeplatsen. Ibland fick vi gå till en annan hamn där vi fick ett nytt kuvert där det stod hur vi skulle gå. Vi låg i England [sic] 5 år och sju månader innan vi kom hem igen. Det kändes konstigt när vi körde in i Rödhamnen. Vi kände oss som främlingar. Men efter ett tag tyckte vi allt att det var skönt att vara hemma igen. |
With Hispano and Lillvor in Scotland
Algot Andersson explains: I was 16 years old when we left home in March 1940 to fish the North Sea. It was with the Hispano which had a crew consisting of: Karl Johansson, August Johannesson, Osvald Axelsson, Alek Larsson, Frank Corneliusson and me. The other boat was Lillvor. When we got out, there was a storm so we went to Norway. We lay there for three weeks. Then we went to Viking Bank. After we had fished for three days, we received orders from home that it was forbidden to go to Norway because the Germans had invaded. The war had begun. We should wait for a new order, but none came so we went to Aberdeen. There we stayed for a month. We were not allowed to go fishing with the Scottish. They did not know what we were there for. We asked if we could not go fishing for them. Because of the war, it was not possible for us to go home. They replied that we could to fish for them but only if we signed up with it until the war was over. We talked to each other and agreed to do as they would. After we had it in writing, we were ordered to go to Buckie to fish. There we stayed there for two years. But in the summer we went to Iceland where we fished flatfish. At first we had the boats white painted as we had at home. One day when we were fishing, we were shot by some German aircraft. When we landed, we asked if it was possible to paint the boats green as the Scottish boats were. We got it done, but then we also had to change the number on the boat. It was London number which was put on. We got 396 and Lillvor 397. We got on very well. We saw rarely that there was war on. We got as much as possible fuel and lubricating oil, which seafarers got double rations of. When we went fishing, it was on secret orders. We said where we wanted to fish and then we got an envelope that was sealed. It would be opened when we had come out a bit from the shore. In the letter would be details of the way we would go to get to the fishing spot. Sometimes we had to go to another port where we got a new envelope telling us where we should go. We were in Scotland for five years and seven months before we returned home. It felt weird when we sailed back into Rödhamnen. We felt like strangers. But after a while we thought it was nice to be home again. |
Whilst in Buckie, Frank met and fell in love with Naomi Joan Ritchie. She was born on 31 August 1923 to John Ritchie, a fisherman, and his wife, Annie Murray. They lived at Malvern, 58 West Church Street, Buckie. On Boxing Day 1941, the couple married at St Andrew's Cathedral in Aberdeen in a service conducted by Gösta Nordin, the Church of Sweden chaplain in Aberdeen. Although in the Episcopal cathedral the service was carried out according to the rites of the Church of Sweden.
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The first two of Frank and Naomi's children were both born in Buckie; Asta Linnea Corneliusson in 1942 and Nils Göte Corneliusson in 1944, both births registered in the Parish of Rathven. After the end of the war they all returned to Hönö. Frank died on 17 January 1976, just short of his sixty-third birthday. Naomi lived on for almost thirty years, dying on 10 March 2005.
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