Vollrath Sebastian Adolf Wilhelm Tham (3 December 191328 January 1995) was a Swedish Army officer. Tham served in the Volunteer Corps during the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and as battalion commander in Congo during the

Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...

. Tham retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1968.

Career

Tham was born on 3 December 1913, the son of August Vilhelm Vollrath Tham (1883–1938) and his wife Karin, née Berg (1882–1974).

Career

Tham was commissioned as an officer in 1936 with the rank of second lieutenant and was assigned to

Svea Artillery Regiment The Svea Artillery Regiment ( sv, Svea artilleriregemente), designation A 1, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment that traced its origins back to the 17th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from S ...

. Tham passed the Higher Artillery Course at the Artillery and Engineering College and attended the Swedish Army Physical Training School (''Arméns gymnastik- och idrottsskola''). He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1939. When the

broke out in November 1939, Tham joined the

Swedish Volunteer Corps The Swedish Volunteer Corps ( sv, Svenska frivilligkåren) during the Winter War numbered 9,640 officers and men. Sweden was officially non-belligerent during the war, so the Corps was used by Finland. The Swedish volunteers were in the front l ...

as a fire control officer. He was present at the time when regimental comrade Lieutenant Colonel Magnus Dyrssen was killed. In 1944, Tham was promoted to captain and in 1954 to major. He then served as a teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College. In 1956 he transferred to Skaraborg Armoured Regiment but returned to the artillery in 1960 as a Lieutenant Colonel in Småland Artillery Regiment. From 1963 to 1964, Tham served as commander of the Swedish XXII K Battalion during the

. He retired from the military at Småland Artillery Regiment in 1968. After completing military service, Tham ran his own engineering firm for oil sanitation issues.

Personal life

Tham was married to Christina with whom he had two sons; Pehr and Gustaf.

Death

Tham died on 28 January 1995 in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...

and the funeral was held on 10 February 1995 at Vaksala Church in Uppsala. Tham was interred in a family grave in Lidingö Cemetery on 10 July 1995.

Dates of rank

*1936 – Second lieutenant *1939 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

*1944 – Captain *1954 – Major *1960 – Lieutenant colonel

Awards and decorations

Knight of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the ...

Fourth Class of the

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty ( fi, Vapaudenristin ritarikunta; sv, Frihetskorsets orden) is one of three official state orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. Organisation ...

with Swords

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tham, Vollrath 1913 births 1995 deaths Swedish Army colonels Volunteers in the Winter War People of the Congo Crisis Knights of the Order of the Sword Vollrath