"ANOTHER MAN'S SHOES"
The Speaker took us back to the time of the Second World War not in England but
Norway, and told us of her father's escape from the invasion forces.
Back in 1944, Sven Somme was living alongside a Norwegian fjord as the Director
of a nationally renowned fishery school, but his house had been commandeered, and the school was likely to go the same way. He tried in many ways to battle against overwhelming forces, by negotiating for a better deal for his compatriots, and running an underground newspaper based on the facts gleaned from a strictly unauthorised radio tuned to the BBC. He had joined the resistance, but took one risk too many and was caught.
Ingeniously, he managed to escape, and walked across Norway to the safety of
Sweden. Many Norwegians helped him over the mountains on this perilous journey, and 60 years later his daughter Ellie (our speaker) and some relatives and friends decided to honour his memory by doing the same walk and trying to find any of these people, or their descendents on the way.
Sven had left a detailed diary of his escape, so the route planning was already done,
now the group had to follow in his footsteps, carrying all they needed on their backs.
The only difference was that they chose to go in the height of the summer -
They wondered whether they had bitten off more than they could chew when
challenged by a chain bridge stretched across a waterfall before confronting a 3,000
feet drop into a valley which Sven had rolled down! The route was not direct, as Sven had been warned of Germans hunting him. He had to stay away from the known routes. Many days were spent in the wilds away from the shops, and food became a problem, so the party also had to make some diversions.
They met some of the people who were around to help Sven, and also their
descendents were delighted to reminisce about his famous escape. They told of how he had jumped from tree to tree so no footprints were left for anyone to follow. Many of these helpers were farmers, and were all very hospitable to Ellie and her group. It was at one of these meetings that the old lady of the house declared that she had something of Sven's to give them. She presented them with a pair of his shoes. When he had begun to run he was wearing his office shoes, her brother had realised that he could not hope to get through the mountains in those, and so had swapped them for his own boots. Sven had walked across Norway in another mans shoes!
We thanked Ellie for her inspiring talk, and many of our members decided to purchase
a copy of Sven's adventures there and then. Ross & District U3A have monthly meetings
for most of the year with a speaker, if you would like to join us, please contact
our membership secretary on 01989 567789 -