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Norway ships at sea 1943, Not all of our Sleipner destroyers became Torpedoboot Auslands, we still have the unsinkable boat

Here is one of those stories where they try to put the best face on a pretty bad picture. In doing so, they come right up to the edge of making a fake stamp. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

What right does a government in exile have to print stamps that should be collected and bought in bulk by the stamp collecting hobby. As with a similar Yugoslav stamp I wrote about here, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/07/30/communist-yugoslavia-1950-sells-off-the-invalid-exile-stamps/     , the answer was found in the navy ships at sea that escaped the invasions. The tiny crews could use the stamps on their mail, so that makes them real. Or course, you have to accept that the British Royal Navy was handling it. Well if you do accept it, sorry I think it fake. HNoMS  Sleipner was a good subject, it was pretty much it as far as Norway still fighting for the Allies. It had a crew of 72.

Todays stamp is issue A43, a 10 Ore stamp issued in London by the Royal government of Norway in exile in 1943. It was an 8 stamp issue in various denominations. Post war, the issue was made more real by selling them finally from Norway’s post offices.  According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused. A version of the stamp set with an overstamp of London with a date and a serial ups the value to $700. Barrel aged no doubt.

The Royal Norwegian Navy ordered 6 copies of the locally made Sheipner class of destroyers in the mid 1930s. They were reasonably modern but sized more like a larger torpedo boat. Four were in service when Germany invaded in April 1940. The lead ship Sleipner, named after Norse God Oden’s horse, had already seen its most interesting action. Germans had boarded and taken as a prize an American cargo ship the SS City of Flint. The treasure crew then sailed for the nearest neutral port to collect bounty. The Sleiper had chased it away from the port of Tromso without firing. The ship went on to Haugesund where the Germans were interned but the ship was not returned to the USA.

The Sleipner again went into action against the Germans after the invasion. The only one of the four destroyers in service to do so. It was to cover British landings at Narvik. The ship came under what must have seemed like intense attack from the air. 48 bombs were dropped near the ship with none hitting. There was a lot of Allied propaganda at the time portraying the Sleipner as an unsinkable ship. Given what happened later it was clear that the Germans were purposely missing because they intended to seize the ship intact and make use of it.

Two of the Sleipner class were seized intact by the Germans and put into action by the Kriegsmarine. Two more still under construction were finished and also used. Germany re-designated them Torpedoboots Ausland and gave them new names. The Gyller became the Lowe and had interesting service. In 1945 it was escorting the German troopship Wilhelm Gustloff which was evacuating German civilians by sea from East Prussia. Wilhelm Gustloff was then hit by a torpedo fired by a Soviet submarine S-13. Lowe pulled alongside and saved 472 people from the doomed ship.

Just because the Sleipner couldn’t be sunk doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be mothballed and that it was happened to it early in 1944 over a year before the end of the war. After the war the Sleipner and the four remaining sister ships that served Germany returned to Norway and were modernized and re-designated  as frigates. The served Norway’s Navy until the late 1950s.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the stamp designers that labor to provide much needed funds for governments in exile. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

 

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Norway 1992, how common can a Royal go before his house is itself common

Norway is a fairly new country that voted to create a new Royal line from heirs to the Danish Throne. That didn’t work so well for Greece but why not throw the dice. Royal duties  are so tiresome and doors open up for them into the jet set lifestyle. Soon how Royal are they really and how much are they costing the country. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The nice thing about a late middle age Prince taking over for his elderly father was that continuity seems assured. On this stamp, you have to look several times to notice King Herald V is not a stamp from 20 years before featuring his father. The first Norwegian King Herald had been the Herald the Fairhair, well that was a long time ago. Looks can be deceiving, Herald had married a commoner and the generations would get ever more common. So I hope Norway is ready for jet set Royals.

Todays stamp is issue A349, a 3.5 Krona stamp issued by Norway in 1992. It was a 15 stamp issue in various denominations, the lower ones featuring now Queen Consort Sonja. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

King Herald was born shortly before the German invasion of 1940 so spend part of his youth in exile in the UK, the USA, and Canada. He avoided neutral Sweden which hosted other Norway Royals because there were politicians there that would have turned Harald over to the Quisling government where he could be declared a boy King.  He developed a love for sailing and represented Norway at the Olympics of 1964, 1968, and 1972. His team won no medals but the Prince carried the flag during opening ceremonies.

During the 1960s, Harald dated a commoner and dressmaker Sonja Heraldson. Herald’s father King Olav thought the potential marriage not suitable. At the time Herald’s sisters were not at all in the line of succession and so one of the sisters had been allowed to marry a divorced commoner. Harald announced that if he was not allowed to marry Sonja, he would not marry anyone else and that would be the end of the Royal line in Norway. After considering and rejecting the idea of declaring the Duke of Schleswig- Holstein as heir apparent he gave in on the marriage. Sonja was given a title and took others. She was named a Rear Admiral in the Norwegian Navy, though she never served. She claims she took a class. At Norway Rear Admiral School? Those concerned with the defense of Norway will be heartened to know Queen Consort Sonja has also been named a Brigadier General in the Army. Yes she took the class. The sailing the Royal family love so has been recast as a Royal Duty of visiting. Sonja has taken a part in charities especially those welcoming refugees. She has also opened the Royal stables to the public so they get to see the Royal Horses.

The job of a Royal first off is to provide heirs and here Herald came through, a girl and a boy. The daughter is now in the line of succession. No one is now marrying Royal. The current Crown Prince even managed to find a commoner that was a single mother. Well at least she was pretty and a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein, so there were all those invitations to sex slave island. Princess Martha who claims to have ESP, married an anarchist writer who went by the made up name of Ari Behn. His artistic friends were part of the “new wine” school. Yes he was a fan of the grape. Even Behn’s relatives called him Prince Fool von and zu Fake. In his last days before his suicide due to mental illness and alcoholism, he was being followed around for a reality tv show called “Ari and the Half Kingdom”

Norway is a very rich country, North Sea oil, so can weather lousy Royals if it choses to. Unless of course they are invaded and have to rely on their Brigadier Generals and Rear Admirals.

Well my drink is empty and so I will put away the bottle. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Norway 2011, 150 years of the sports confederation

Often countries, especially smaller ones, look to sports as a place to excel. In Norway’s case, it is more than being the fan of a few great athletes. There is instead very broad participation, and it is thought that the sports are a great contributor to the athletes physical and even spiritual health. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp is kind of a mess and displays the kind of faults that are so often present on modern stamp offerings. Modern printing techniques allow for elaborate printing on a small scale. For those of us who remember studying tiny variations on some 19th century stamp that should be exciting. Instead a lot is going on with this stamp and you have to be a stamp collector to take the time to take in all that is going on. Another problem is that is a modern self adhesive stamp. As such, the condition used after getting it off the envelope is suspect.

Todays stamp is issue A618, a 14 Krone stamp issued by the Kingdom of Norway on January 3rd, 2011. It was a single stamp issue that celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Norwegian Sports Confederation. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $3.00 used.

The Sports Confederation got it’s start in 1861. That means it predates an independent Norway. At the time there was a political union with Sweden. Norway had previously been a subject of Denmark and when independence from Sweden was achieved in 1906, a Danish Prince was recruited and elected as the first King or Norway.

During World War II Norway was occupied by Germany but the sports confederation went on. The Germans hired Charles Hoff to lead the confederation. Hoff was an Olympian at the 1924 Paris Olympics and set several world records in the pole vault. As some of you may remember from reading this article https://the-philatelist.com/2019/02/07/1924-paris-olympics-the-last-of-the-modern-olympics-that-paid-homage-to-the-ancient-greeks/ , on the 1924 games it was a time when athletes were troubled by amateur status. Hoff was banned from further amateur competitions in 1926 after being paid for a series of exhibitions and performances in the USA. A 1931 pole vault world record was not recognized because of Hoff’s professional status. Hoff began to develop ideas on how  to improve amateur athletics in Norway and the change in government was the opportunity he was waiting for.

Hoff proposed that instead of a few stars there should be opportunities instead for large teams of Norwegians. He proposed a national sports university  and much increased funding that could be raised by a national lottery. He thought wider participation would increase the countries health and spiritual growth. Initially the German occupation was enthusiastic about Hoff’s ideas but as their fortunes in the war dimmed, they reneged on the promised funding. Hoff resigned in disgust in 1944.

Post war, Hoff’s ideas were quickly implemented. The lottery came in 1948 and the national sports university was founded in 1968. The Sports Confederation has currently over 2 million participants with 12,000 sports clubs spread out in 54 regions. The progress happened without Mr. Hoff. Post war he was sentenced to 9 years of hard labor for the crime of collaborating with the Nazis. Recently the sports confederation started having to share the lottery funding 50/50 with cultural investments.

Well my drink is empty and given the sedentary nature of stamp collecting it may be wrong to pour another to toast sports participation. Well maybe we should anyway as long as after a good sporting workout, everyone comes back tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Norway 1939, An old church stamp that both sides can live with

A church from the middle ages does not engender controversy. Even from governments as far apart as Norway’s two governments of 1940. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Germany invaded Norway in 1940. Norway resisted and the Prime Minister and King fled Oslo to avoid falling into German hands. They escaped to Britain and continued to issue stamps, now mainly to raise revenue. The Quisling government than canceled all earlier stamps except this issue and began issuing their own. In 1945, after the war the old government came back and in turn declared the Quisling stamp issues invalid. In 1981, the postal service revisited the issue and declared all the issues of whatever government to be official Norway stamps. This church stamp and the others of the issue retained their legitimacy, but by avoiding politics they were perhaps all the stamps Norway needed during that troubled period.

Todays stamp is issue A26, a 20 Ore stamp issued by Norway on January 16th, 1939. It displayed ancient Borgund Stave Church, and was part of a three stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

The time between the wars saw many coalition governments with no single party achieving a majority. Eventually in 1935, the less radical offshoot of the Socialists was able to form a coalition government with the Center Agrarian party that allowed the Socialists to get their agenda moving. In the late thirties the country was able to enact unemployment insurance and old age pensions. What it left undone was to prepare the country’s military forces for the coming World War. After all, Norway intended neutrality in any war.

Opposing the Socialist among others was former military man and diplomat Vidkun Quisling. He had gained some fame working with famous Norwegian Artic explorer Nansen exposing 1920s calamities such as the plight of the Armenians in Turkey and famines in the Soviet Union. Quisling had not however been able to attract many votes to his far right political party. He had come to the attention of Hitler however and Hitler had hoped to force King Haakon to appoint Quisling Prime Minister after Norway was occupied peacefully. Instead Norway resisted, the King fled and Quisling was left to announce his coup over the radio. He was ignored by the Norway Army and even the Germans at first but ended up forming a German puppet government. Resistance soon collapsed and the government was in London. Norway was fairly peaceful during the war with the Allies never seriously undermining German rule and Quisling never able to form the Norwegian Legion he hoped could fight beside Germany and make Norway more an ally and less a puppet. After the wars end, the King returned and appointed a new coalition government that included all parties except Quisling. Quisling understood he was going to be shot by the old government but thought over time he would be seen as a patriot  and another Saint Olav. He was right about being shot after a trial in 1945, but instead his name has become synonymous all over the world with scheming and traitorous collaboration.

The Borgund stave church was built around 1200AD. It had a stone foundation that helped it last and tall staves(wooden posts) that allowed for it’s unique appearance. The appearance was copied much later by other churches in Norway, Germany, and two replicas in the USA. At first the church was Catholic but with the rest of Norway became Lutheran. In 1868, Borgund built a larger church next door and the old church was preserved as a museum. It no longer hosts services. The church was honored with another stamp in 1978.

Well my drink is nearly empty and I will use the last sip to toast the long history of Borgund stave Church. Norwegians must love it, whatever their politics. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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The King is back, lets buy him a yacht!

Welcome readers to todays offering from The Philatelist. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. We have an interesting story to tell of an elected King of a new country who then has to figure out how to come back after 5 years in exile while his adopted country suffered under the Nazis.

The stamp today is Scandinavian from the 1940s. has such the picture on the stamp is formal and the green color is muted. A closer look will reveal filigree and a coat of arms. Overall not an impressive effort, but perhaps the intent was to establish presence but be inoffensive.

Today’s stamp is issue A54, a 1 Krone stamp issued on June 7th, 1946 by Norway. The stamp honors King Haakon VII. It was part of a four stamp issue in various colors and denominations. The Scott catalog lists the value of the stamp as 25 cents in it’s cancelled state. In this issue the stamp to look for is a mint copy of the henna brown 2 Krone. It is worth $60.

In 1905 Norway ended it’s union with Sweden and set out among European royals to start a new royal family of the new country. Prince Carl, the second son of the King of Denmark was approached, as his family had some ties to Norway. He also already had a male heir and his wife Maud was the youngest daughter of British King Edward VII. Before Carl agreed to take the throne, he requested an election to make sure that Norway truly wanted to be a kingdom. He easily won the election making him an unusual elected King. He took the old Norwegian name Haakon. In the 30s, he proved himself above politics by rejecting advise not to allow a communist prime minister to form a government after winning an election. He stated he was also the King of the communists.

World War II came to Norway and the Germans demanded that the King recognize Quisling, the Norwegian national socialist as prime minister. King Haakon’s brother, the King of Denmark had made a similar agreement with the Germans.  The existing government and gold supply had escaped and met to discuss what to do. The King advised that Quisling not be recognized and the government agreed. He stated that if they chose Quisling he would have abdicated. After a few months resistance and neutral Sweden refusing to take him. The British government evacuated the Norwegian government to Britain at a steep price. The aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and 2 destroyers were sunk at the loss of over 1500 British officers and men. King Haakon made speeches broadcast to Norway from exile. The Quisling government demanded the King abdicate but he refused citing the request had come from a government in distress.

King Haakon VII returned to Norway in victory soon after VE Day and reigned until his death in 1957. In celebration a voluntary subscription was taken up to purchase a new yacht for the King, an avid sailor. A British yacht was purchased, upgraded, and given the name Norge. The yacht still serves Haakon’s grandson, Harald the current King of Norway. In 2007 the Norge sailed the southern coast of Norway in company with the Danish royal yacht Dannebrog to celebrate the seventieth birthdays of the Queen of Denmark, the King of Norway and the seventieth birthday of the ship itself.

Well my drink is empty and so it is time to open the conversation in the below comment section. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting