| Main Performers | Rt. Hon. Sir Archibald Sinclair,
Professor Fredrik Vogt - speakers,
Waldemar Johnsen - vocal |
| Orchestra or Band | London Symphony Orchestra |
| Set List | 'Kongesangen',
'Pa Eidsvold Stander En Sagahall',
'Festpolonaise', Johan Svendsen,
'Ormen Lange, Bendik Og Arolilja', Gudrun Barlaup,
'Hilsen Fra Norge' (Prof. Fredrik Vogt),
'Vi Overlever Alt', Toralv Oksnevad,
'Statsminister Nygaardsvold',
'Hilsen Fra Den Britiske Regjering' (Rt. Hon. Sir Archibald Sinclair),
'Bojarenes Inntogsmarsj', Johan Halvorsen,
'Nar Fjordene Blaner Og Norge, Mitt Norge...' (Waldemar Johnsen),
'Bryllupsdag Pa Trollhaugen', E Grieg,
'Ja, Vi Elsker', Rickard Nordraak |
| Royal Presence | HRH King Haakon,
HRH Crown Prince Olav of Norway |
| Performance Notes | This event was part of a wider day of celebrations in London to mark Norwegian Independence and Constitution Day. The event was attended by the Norwegian Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Commanders-in-Chief of the Norwegian Forces. In the morning officers and cadets of the Norwegian Royal Military College laid a wreath at the Cenotaph. Men and women of the fighting forces and Norwegian seamen marched from Victoria Embankment to St. Paul's Cathedral for a service.
"A festival gathering was held in the Royal Albert Hall in the afternoon. King Haakon, in naval uniform, and Prince Olav, in grey military uniform, entered the hall at the head of a procession and took seats in the arena.
Professor Frederik Vogt, principal of Trondheim Technical High School, who recently escaped from Norway, brought greetings to his compatriots from Norway. He said that whereas during the first period of the war there were still some in Norway who did not appreciate the issues at stake, that period was long past. There was no longer room for any neutral middle-way; anyone who tried to sit on the fence was the object of general contempt, and was everywhere outside the pale. Among the little flock of quislings, too, there was now many who were weakening, who found they had backed the wrong horse and wishes to change over. The fight and the suffering had united the Norwegian people as never before.
The Norwegian Prime Minister, Hr. Johan Nygaardsvold, said that for three years Norway had been terrorized and looted by foreign soldiers. A foreign Power had tried to murder the freedom which Norway achieved through the constitution of May 17 1814. They had not succeeded, nor would they ever succeed. The final settlement with the gangsters and the traitors was approaching closer every day.
The Crown Prince, just returned from America, said that he brought greetings from the 1,000,000 Norwegians in the United States. All of them, whether American or Norwegian subjects, were celebrating May 17 as a day of demonstration for democracy.
Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air, said that he brought most cordial greetings on behalf of the British Government. After praising the exploits of Norwegian sailors, soldiers, and airmen in the allied forced, Sir Archibald Sinclair said: - "You and we are in this war together until the end, and the end is going to be the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. All our forces, land, sea, and air, are being concentrated on the task, with Bomber Command in the van.
King Haakon congratulated the RAF on its great achievement. He was, he said, sure that they were getting closer to the day when they would again see their country free and great among the free countries of Europe. The Norwegian merchant navy had been showing the Norwegian colours on all the seven seas, thus making it clear to everybody that Norway was still a fighting nation. When the Norwegian Government and he chose to take up arms against the aggressor in April 1940, it was a hard choice, but the attitude of the Norwegian home front since then had proved that the Government and hew were right. The Norwegian people at home soon realized that the bond of a German could never be trusted, and had created a sort of bastion against which all attempts of the Germans to break through had failed."
(The Times, 18 May 1943)
"AIR MINISTER'S 'GREAT NEWS'
The first announcement of the attached on the dams was made by Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary for Air at a Norwegian Day celebration at the Albert Hall.
"I have got news - great news - for you to-day," Sir Archibald said. "Bomber Command - the javelin in our armoury - struck last night a heavy blow of a new kind at the sources of German war power.
"The two greatest dams in Germany, the one containing 134,000,000 tons of water and the other 220,000,000 tons, were breached by bombers despatched by Ait Chief Marshal [Arthur] Harris.
"The operation was one of extraordinary difficulty and hazard. It is a trenchant blow for the victory of the Allies."
(The Daily Telegraph, 18 May 1943) |
| Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/1943/44) |