3 Feb 2021
The first diary entry for this new surname in my family tree. My dad and I believe that Emil Gustav Hvaal is likely to be his father. I will explain the thinking in a later entry, but today I received the marriage certificate for the marriage of Emil Gustav Hvaal to Elizabeth Ann Dean:
Marriage of Emil Gustav Hvaal and Elizabeth Ann Dean on 23 March 1942 at the Register Office in the Metropolitan District of St. Pancras, London. He was a bachelor aged 33 working as Quartermaster Norwegian Forces. He gave his address as Norway House, Cockspur Street and his father was Lauritz Larsen Hvaal, a joiner. She was a spinster aged 27, with no occupation. She lived at 144 Euston Road and her father was Harry Leonard Dean (deceased), a horse trainer. The witnesses were A.G. Williams and R [Rahamann?]
We know that they had a daughter in September 1942 so Elizabeth was likely 8-10 weeks pregnant. However, the information we have shows that Emil was already married to Camilla Louise Hansen. They married 1934 in Norway, but we have no direct record of that event. It is alluded to in many records, such as this one found my my dad:
May of 1945, upon learning of her husband’s fate, Kamilla Hvaal wrote to the police chief in Bergen, “I hope that my husband got to do a little for his country as he was so eternally in love with it.” - (https://jenaconti.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/the-telavag- tragedy/, retrieved 23 Feb 2021)
Emil Gustav Hvaal was shot by the Germans as a spy during the war. My dad sent me this extract:
Trandumskogen is a forest located in Ullensaker, Akershus county, Norway. It was the site of one of the first discoveries in May 1945 of German mass graves in Norway. The German executioner Oskar Hans was the officer in command of the unit performing the executions.
14 October 1943 Thomas Henry Thornau Agnæs from Drammen Sverre Andersen from Oslo Reidar Furu from Drammen Aksel Eugen Grønholdt from Oslo Kaare Gundersenfrom Oslo Sverre Emil Halvorsen from Oslo Sigurd Jacobsen from Oslo Alv Johan Johnsen from Drammen Arthur Simensen from Nedre Eiker Emil Gustav Hvaal from Sem
I found a reference to Grave 11 at Trandumskogen which was part of an excavation started on 8 May 1945 (https://mia.no/ullensaker/gravene and https://mia.no/ullensaker/grav-11)
Grave 11: October 13 and 14, 1943 Emil Gustav Hvaal living in Sem, born in Lardal 27 September 1908 (35 years old). Radio telegraph operator and helmsman. Served during the war in the English Navy as a parachutist. Later joined Kompani Linge, and during a espionage operation was landed in Telavåg where he came into battle with the Germans and was arrested on April 26, 1942. Imprisoned until he was shot. Married to Camilla Louise Hansen.
The new information here is that he served in the English Navy. This could simply mean he was serving on a Norwegian ship that was pressed into service after the occupation of Norway. However it made me wonder if there were service records in the UK National Archives. I searched and found a reference to his Special Operations Executive personnel file:
Reference: HS 9/772/4
Description: Emil HVAAL - born 27.09.1908, died 19.10.1943
Date: 1939 Jan 01 - 1946 Dec 31
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Closure status: Open Document, Open Description
Access conditions: Closed Until 2010
Record opening date: 17 December 2010
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C10740644
I must go to Kew to see this file once the pandemic is over.
Here is a Norwegian TV program from 1968 about the Televag tragedy: https://tv.nrk.no/program/FOLA68001768
There’s so much information online about Emil Hvaal that it’s hard to know how to organise it.
Later I found a Norwegian document “Oversikt over den næraste familien til alle som kom vekk med D/S Ceres I i Vesterisen påska 1917” (“Overview of the immediate family of everyone who got away [died] with D / S Ceres I in Vesterisen Easter 1917”) which contains details of Erik Hansen, father of Kamilla Lovise Hansen who married Emil Gustav Hvaal. It states that she died in 1984.
Omkomne på D/S Ceres I i Vesterisen 8. eller 9. april 1917 Erik Hansen fødd 1.6.1865 i Botne i Vestfold, døypt 13.8.1865 og konfirmert 3.10.1880 i Botne. I folketeljingane 31.12.1865 og 31.12.1875 budde familien på Odderud i Botne. I folketeljinga 1.1.1891 er han registrert i Botne, og han var på reise frå England til Noreg.Han var stuert i 1917 på D/S Ceres I. Erik gifta seg 10.10.1899 i Tønsberg med Mathilde Olette Ole/Lovisesdotter Jerpekjønn (24.2.1871 – etter 11.7.1945). I folketeljinga 3.12.1900 budde dei i Løkkegade 144a i Sandefjord, medan dei i folketeljinga 1.12.1910 budde i Færgegaten 2 i Horten. I 1917 budde dei i Harbitzgt.12 i Tønsberg. Born: Oskar (15.1.1900 – 12.1970) Kamilla Lovise (7.7.1902 – 20.6.1984). Mannen Emil Gustav Hvaal vart avretta av tyskerane på Trandum 19.10.1943. Hans (9.9.1904 – 1992) Kolbjørn (8.12.1906 – 25.7.1978) Louise (20.5.1909 – 23.8.1999) Foreldre: Hans Kari/Kristofferson Odderudeie (5.4.1825 – etter 5.5.1877) Kristiane Marie Ole/Elensdotter Dalen (23.9.1825 – 5.5.1877) Syskjen: Kristoffer (3.4.1850 – etter 3.12.1900) Ole (18.2.1857 – 5.3.1871) Carl (10.10.1867 – etter 1.12.1910)
See sources/misc/1917_Ceres.pdf
In English:
Died on D / S Ceres I in Vesterisen 8 or 9 April 1917 Erik Hansen born 1.6.1865 in Botne in Vestfold, baptized 13.8.1865 and confirmed 3.10.1880 in Botne. IN the censuses on 31.12.1865 and 31.12.1875 offered the family at Odderud in Botne.In the census 1.1.1891 he is registered in Botne, and he was traveling from England to Norway. He was stewarded in 1917 on D / S Ceres I. Erik married 10.10.1899 in Tønsberg with Mathilde Olette Ole / Lovisesdotter Jerpekjønn (24.2.1871 - after 11.7.1945). In the census of 3 December 1900, they bid in Løkkegade 144a in Sandefjord, while those in the census of 1.12.1910 bid in Færgegaten 2 in Horten. In 1917 they lived in Harbitzgt.12 in Tønsberg. Born: Oskar (15.1.1900 - 12.1970) Kamilla Lovise (7.7.1902 - 20.6.1984). The man Emil Gustav Hvaal was executed by the Germans Trandum 19.10.1943. Hans (9/9/1904 - 1992) Kolbjørn (8.12.1906 - 25.7.1978) Louise (20.5.1909 - 23.8.1999) Parents: Hans Kari / Kristofferson Odderudeie (5.4.1825 - after 5.5.1877) Kristiane Marie Ole / Elensdotter Dalen (23.9.1825 - 5.5.1877) Siblings: Kristoffer (3.4.1850 - after 3.12.1900) Ole (18.2.1857 - 5.3.1871) Carl (10.10.1867 - after 1.12.1910)
I looked her up on Ancestry to see if I could find a record of her death or possible later marriage. I found her baptism:
Baptism of Kamilla Lovise on 3 Aug 1902 (born 7 Jul 1902), father Erik Hansen (born 1871), mother Mathilda Olson (born 1865) [BaptismOfKamillaLoviseHansen1902]
I had previously found this record at https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/255/pd00000022894534
I searched the Norwegian National Archives for relevant records and found the Banns for Emil and Kamilla. (ref. SAKO, Tønsberg kirkebøker, H/Ha/L0008: Banns register no. 8, 1931-1940, p. 26, https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/77/102942/26)
Number 30, from 2 to 5th May, Emil Gustav Hvaal (born 27/9 1908) and Camilla Lovise Hansen (born 7/7 1902), He was a “radiotelgrafist”
