The North Sea Traffic () is the common name in Norway for the boats going between occupied Norway and Scotland and England during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. People that went with the boats were usually called "englandsfarere" (people traveling to England). The

Shetland bus The Shetland Bus (Norwegian Bokmål: ''Shetlandsbussene'', def. pl.) was the nickname of a clandestine special operations group that made a permanent link between Mainland Shetland in Scotland and German-occupied Norway from 1941 until the sur ...

played a vital part of the voyages to and from Norway but other small boats made the crossing to escape the German occupation. The voyages started early spring 1940 and around 3,293 persons managed to make their way to England and Scotland during the war and around 300 boats of various sizes, even some rowing boats participated. By decree by the German ''Reichskommissar''

Josef Terboven Josef Terboven (23 May 1898 – 8 May 1945) was a Nazi Party official and politician who was the long-serving ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Essen and the ''Reichskommissar'' for Norway during the German occupation. Early life Terboven was born in Essen ...

, it was punishable by death after 26 September 1941 to leave occupied Norway without authorisation; 51 Norwegians were eventually executed. Another 137 Norwegians died in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

during passage to England or Scotland.

Literature

* Sigurd Evensmo, ''Englandsfarere'' (1945) (English: "A Boat for England" (1947)) *

David Howarth David Ross Howarth (born 10 November 1958) is a British academic and politician who was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 2005–10. He served as an Electoral Commissioner between 2010 and 2018. He is Professor of L ...

, ''The Shetland Bus'' (1951) (Norwegian: "Nordsjøbussen") * James W. Irvine, ''The Waves are Free'' (1988) (Norwegian: "Men bølgene er jo fri") * James W. Irvine, ''The Giving Years'' (1991) * James W. Irvine, ''Final Curtain'' (2004) * Kåre Iversen, ''I Was a Shetland Bus Man'' (1996), (reprinted 2004 as ''Shetland Bus Man'') * Erling Jensen & Ragnar Ulstein, ''Company Linge'' (1948) * John MacRae of Kergord, ''Kergord House'' (1982) * George Mikes, ''The Epic of Lofoten''. London: Hutchinson, 94-* James R. Nicolson, ''Memories of The Shetland Bus'' (1984) * James R. Nicolson, ''The Shetland Bus'' (1987) * L. K. Schei & G. Moberg, ''The Shetland Story'' (1988) * Willie Smith, ''Willie's War and Other Stories'', Shetland Times Ltd. (2003) *

Odd Strand Odd Strand (21 August 1925 – 18 May 2008) was a Norway, Norwegian civil servant. He was born in Aure, Norway, Aure, but grew up in Trondheim. During the German occupation of Norway he was a member of Milorg. He later studied at the University of ...

, ''Hitra'' (1987) {{in lang, no * Trygve Sørvaag, ''Shetland Bus: Faces and Places 60 Years On'' (2002) *

Ragnar Ulstein Ragnar Leif Ulstein MM (19 April 1920 – 3 December 2019) was a Norwegian journalist, writer and resistance member. He wrote several documentary books from the Second World War, including surveys of the SOE group Norwegian Independent Compan ...

, ''Englandsfarten'' (1965/67) (English: "The North Sea Traffic" (1992))

External links

Detailed information about the Shetland bus, from shetlopedia
Norway in World War II Fishing in Norway Fishing in Scotland Fishing in England Norway–Scotland relations England–Norway relations England in World War II Scotland in World War II German occupation of Norway

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

Literature

See also

External links