Martin Linge

Martin Jensen Linge
File:Martin Linge.jpeg Kaptein Martin Linge
Born	(1894-12-11)11 December 1894 Linge Farm in Norddal, Sunnmøre, Norway
Died	Måløy on South Vågsøy in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
Allegiance	Norway
Service/branch	Norwegian Army
Years of service	1940 - 1941
Rank	Kaptein (Captain)
Unit	Royal Norwegian Army SOE
Commands held	Units: Norwegian Independent Company 1 (1941)
Battles/wars	World War II Norwegian Campaign Operation Claymore Operation Archery  †
Awards	War Cross with sword Distinguished Service Cross
Other work	Pioneer aviator, actor, sailor

Martin Jensen Linge, DSC (11 December 1894 – 27 December 1941) was a former Norwegian actor who, in World War II, became the commander of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1) (pronounced as Norisen by the Norwegians), formed in March 1941 for operations on behalf of the Special Operations Executive.

Biography

Martin Linge was born in Norddal, Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. In 1915 he graduated as a non-commissioned officer from the military school in Trondheim. He subsequently studied at the Trondheim Theatre (1917–1918). He debuted on the stage at the Central Theater in Oslo in 1921 and appeared in both theater and films during the 1920s and 1930s.

Martin Linge was father of Jan Herman Linge, an internationally renowned engineer and boat designer. He was also the grandfather of Norwegian novelist Espen Haavardsholm, who wrote about his grandfather in Martin Linge – min morfar. Familieroman med fotografier (Gyldendal norsk forlag. 1993).

Military career

Shortly after the German attack on Norway on 9 April 1940 he traveled to Åndalsnes to join his regiment. He had previously attained the rank of Lieutenant (in the reserve forces), and were also one of the first Norwegians to obtain license as a pilot. When British troops landed at Åndalsnes from 17 April, Linge became liaison officer between the local regiment and the British. Åndalsnes (and other towns in Møre og Romsdal county) was at this time still unoccupied territory and the only port with railway connections to the East Norway and the campaign there. The King, the crown prince, the cabinet, Norway's gold and cash holdings, and finally general Otto Ruge with staff, escaped through Åndalsnes. Trygve Lie in his memoirs recalls meeting Linge at Åndalsnes. During German air bombing of a makeshift airfield at Setnesmoen, he was wounded and evacuated by boat to Britain. He was the first wounded Norwegian soldier to arrive in Britain.

Among exiled Norwegians, Linge along with Nordahl Grieg and Olav Rytter were the first to propose ideas for resistance against the German occupation. "Our land is perfect for secret resistance and guerrilla warfare" he declared in June 1940. In August 1940 he was appointed as liaison officer to the War Office and soon began recruiting men and organizing what became Norwegian Independent Company 1.

Linge was killed during Operation Archery, a British Combined Operations raid at Måløy against German military positions on Vågsøy Island. During the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, Måløy was used as a German coastal fortress, which had led to the eradication of all settlement on the island to make room for the fortress. His body is buried at the Vestre gravlund (Western Cemetery) in Oslo.

Subsequently the unit he had led was named Kompani Linge in his honor. Linge Company was more formally as Lingekompaniet (The Linge Company) ('-et' being the definite article suffix), by Norwegians. He was awarded Norway's highest military decoration for gallantry, the War Cross with sword.

Filmography

• 1939 - Gjest Baardsen – Fisherman
• 1938 - Bør Børson Jr. – Nils Bækken
• 1938 - Det drønner gjennom dalen – Policeman (Lensmannsbetjent)
• 1935 - Samhold må til – Warden
• 1926 - Vägarnas kung – Ola, a farm boy

Legacy

He is portrayed in a documentary by XpoMedia Ltd/FRM entitled Martin Linge - skuespiller og legende by directors Mary Ann Myrvang and Runar Skjong which appeared on the NRK1 program "Fakta på lørdag" on 8 May 2004. He was also portrayed by Norwegian actor Petter Næss in the 2008-movie Max Manus.

File:Martin Linge memorial.JPG

Memorial at Linge farm in Norddal.

Memorials

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• Statue in the Linge park in Måløy
• Crown prince Olav unveiled a memorial stone and plaque at Linge farm in Norddal, 17 June 1946.
• Oil Field in North sea named after him in honour. Field was previously named Hild.

Streets named in his honour

• Kaptein Linges vei, Ålesund
• Kaptein Linges vei, Stavanger
• Martin Linges vei, Snarøya
• Martin Linges vei, Oslo
• Martin Linges vei, Strømmen
• Martin Linges veg, Moss
• Martin Linges veg, Heimdal

Other sources

• Ford, Ken (2011) Operation Archery - The Commandos and the Vaagso Raid 1942 (Osprey Publishing) ISBN 978-1-84908-372-0
• Devins, Joseph H., Jr. (1983) The Vaagso Raid (Bantam Books) ISBN 978-0-553-23310-0

External links

• Martin Linge at Find a Grave
• Linge memorial at Måløy
• Kompani Linge at Lofoten War Museum