Henry Edward Diesen (3 April 1883 – 7 January 1953) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

naval officer. He was born in

Trondhjem Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

as a son of telegrapher Edward Diesen (1852–1909) and Johanne Christophine Stenersen (1855–1936). He was a first cousin of Emil Diesen and Andreas Melchior Seip Diesen, and a first cousin once removed of Andreas’s son

Ernst Diesen Ernst Diesen (6 April 1913 – 14 November 1970) was a Norwegian revue and film actor and theatre director. Biography He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Andreas Melchior Seip Diesen (1881–1958) and Sofie Elisabeth A ...

. He was a naval officer from 1903, graduated from the Norwegian Naval Academy in 1905 and was promoted to Premier Lieutenant in 1906. He worked in the merchant fleet from 1906 to 1908 and 1909 to 1911. From 1912 to 1913, he studied at the

Berlin Institute of Technology The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

. He served in the neutral

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and was promoted to Captain in 1917. His last service on a ship was as second-in-command of HNoMS ''Tordenskjold'' in 1929. He lived in Borre near

Karljohansvern Karjohansvern (''Karljohansvern Orlogsstasjon, KJV'') at Horten was the main base for the Royal Norwegian Navy from 1850 to 1963. Background In 1818, it was decided to establish a naval base in Horten. It was first called ''Hortens verft'', an ...

. Here he edited the newspaper '' Hortens Avis'' from 1919 to 1920 and was a member of the executive committee of Borre

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

from 1920 to 1923. He married Caroline Elisabeth Fretheim (1886–1968) in November 1907. From 1930 to 1936, Diesen was the second-in-command at the Navy Mining School. He was promoted to Commander in 1936. In 1937 he was appointed as chief of the Third Naval Defence District (Northern Norway), and in 1938 he became Commanding Admiral in Norway. He was also promoted to rear admiral. In 1940 Norway was invaded by Nazi Germany. Two months later, Diesen embarked the ship HNoMS ''Fridtjof Nansen'' with which he fled the country. The vessel left Norway on 10 June, arrived at

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

, in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, on 13 June and later sailed to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

where she was made war ready. From now the Royal Norwegian Navy was used in the Allied warfare. He left his position as Commanding Admiral in August 1941, over disagreements with the government, and served in the United States until 1944. From 1945 to 1947 he was the chief of ''Marinekommando Vestlandet''. He was decorated as a Commander with Star of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

in 1939. He died in January 1953 in Borre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diesen, Henry 1883 births 1953 deaths People from Trondheim People from Horten Royal Norwegian Naval Academy alumni Norwegian newspaper editors Vestfold politicians Royal Norwegian Navy World War II admirals Norwegian expatriates in England Norwegian expatriates in the United States