M.B Nordlys
MB Nordlys (H67 B) left Melingsvågen, Bremnes (almost mid way between Bergen and Stavanger) on 6 July 1940 with twelve people on board. The voyage had been organised by Bernhard Håvardsholm (left), a significant figure in the early resistance.
On board the Nordlys were Skipper Ørevik, a shipowner called Amlie from Haugesund, Bernhard Håvardsholm, a man called Kristiansen, Gjert Ording, Nils Meling (who was the proprietor of the boat) and his brother Ingvald.
Also on board was the British Consul in Stavanger, Thomas Spence, his Norwegian wife and their children, two daughters and one son. Consul Spence and his family had, effectively, been on the run from the Nazis since the invasion. |
The boat arrived in Buckie on the evening of evening of Sunday 7 July 1940.
Bernhard Håvardsholm had been helped in organising the trip by of his contacts in Bremnes, Haldor Haldorsen, his son Kristian, and Ola Olsen. Haldor Haldorsen (below) was a businessman and local politician with good contacts. He would subsequent represent the area in parliament for the Liberal Party after the war. Bernhard Håvardsholm made directly for London and an audience with King Haakon to assure him that Norway remained loyal. Håvardsholm, a schoolteacher in civilian life, became part of Kompani Linge and made a number of trips as part of the Shetland Bus. He was lost at sea with the sinking of the M.B. Blia in November 1941. Thirty five people were on board. |